The pork board wants to see producers certified by the end of June next year and achieve PQA Plus site status by the end of that year.

The board is calling on the producers to embrace the ethical principles adopted in the industry last year.

Steve Weaver, the president of the board directing the programme that is funded by the Pork Checkoff, announcing the initiative during the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, said that the new push should give added momentum to the pork industry's We Care initiative.

This initiative is designed to show consumers that the industry cares about welfare and aims to gain consumer trust.

"We care is important because it gives pork producers the opportunity to talk about what they do on their farms both in terms of the ethical principles that guide them and the practices they employ" Mr Weaver said.

"That's a conversation we want to have with as many people as we can.

"PQA Plus is important because it includes steps that allow us to demonstrate directly to our customers that we are raising animals and producing pork in a socially responsible way."

He added that is a way that the industry can demonstrate that what it does every day is being done in the right way.

The scheme has already received significant support from the industry with 30,000 producers being certified as PQA Plus by May this year.

"The World Pork Expo is the fitting place to highlight the industry's support for these efforts, because is was here in 2007 that PQA Plus was rolled out," Mr Weaver said.

"We look forward to seeing all US pork producers certified in PQA Plus in the next year."