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| Delegates hash out pork aims at annual meeting |
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By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent DES MOINES, Iowa — Pork producers from across the country gathered last month in St. Louis, Mo., at the National Pork Industry Forum to hash out industry-related advisements and resolutions – one of which included whether to raise the pork checkoff rate.
“There was a good debate regarding the resolution to increase the national rate of the pork checkoff from 40 cents for $100 value of pork sold, to 42.5 cents per $100 value of pork sold,” said Lynn Harrison, an Elk Mound, Wis., pork producer and president of the Pork Checkoff, which is housed at the National Pork Board (NPB) in Des Moines.
“We wanted to make sure all delegates had a chance to voice their opinions prior to acting upon this resolution,” he said about the annual meeting, held March 6-8.
Under the current checkoff rate, U.S. pork producers and importers pay 0.40 of one percent of the market value of each animal, which is 40 cents per $100 in value, which generates about $50 million per year. Through committees and a national business meeting, pork producers direct and audit how those funds are used.
According to the NPB, approximately 20 percent is returned to state pork associations for their checkoff-funded work and oversight by individual state producer leadership – a rate recommended by the Pork Act delegates at the 2008 annual meeting.
The delegates eventually moved to refer the checkoff-rate resolution to the NPB to facilitate further consideration over the next year. They also made motion to form a working group representing the interests of state pork associations and ensure that the question of a checkoff rate increase be brought before the various states for their review prior to the 2009 Pork Act Delegation.
According to the NPB, Pork Act delegates are pork producers or importers nominated by their state pork producer associations or individually, then appointed by USDA Secretary Ed Schafer. Each of the 50 states may be represented by at least two Pork Act delegates and the number of and voting power of each delegate are determined by the amount of checkoff dollars collected from the state they represent.
“The Pork Act assigns the National Pork Board full responsibility for managing all checkoff-related matters except those assigned to Pork Act delegates,” Harrison said. “However, the Pork Board has invited Pork Act delegates to provide input and advice to the board on any checkoff-related matter.
“All motions related to Pork Board-managed programs are called ‘Pork Act Delegate Advisements,’ since they are advisory only and not binding to the board,” he said.
For 2008, Schafer appointed 155 pork producers and eight importers to the Pork Act delegate body. Under the act, states have the option of not submitting nominees; three states did not submit and four submitted only one nominee each, with importer representation based on assessments on imported pork and pork products.
Each year, Pork Act delegates have three specific duties under the Pork Act, which include recommending the rate of the checkoff, setting the percentage of checkoff that is returned to states and nominating producers and/or importers for appointment to the NPB and to the Checkoff Nominating Committee. The recommendations for appointments to the NPB are made to Schafer, who then makes the final determination.
In voting on NPB members, eight pork producers were ranked for consideration by Schafer, who will then appoint five producers to serve three-year terms, which is typically announced during the summer.
The following nominees, as ranked by the delegates, are Roy Henry of Kansas, Conley Nelson of Iowa, Alan Wilhoite of Indiana, Brian Zimmerman of Nebraska, Karen Richter of Minnesota, Dale Norton of Michigan, Jamey Tosh of Tennessee and Curtis Meier of Iowa. Pork Act delegates also elected two members to two-year terms on the Pork Board Nominating Committee: Wayne Peugh of Illinois and William Kessler of Missouri.
At the meeting, delegates asked the NPB to adopt such advisements as the document Ethical Principles for U.S. Pork Producers and support all Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA Plus) swine production practices and vigorously advocate those swine production practices in a cooperative manner with industry partners.
Harrison said this year’s meeting was a great opportunity for U.S. producers to come together and work together on issues that are going to affect the pork industry.
“Producers responded to this year’s theme of ‘Owning Our Future, the Choices We Face,’ by adopting ethical principles for U.S. pork producers as a statement for what we, as producers, believe and how we view our obligation to demonstrate those beliefs, in order to earn the trust of our customers and of those who have the power to regulate,” he said.
As outgoing NPB president, Harrison was recognized with six awards for leading the board, where he’ll continue serving through August overseeing checkoff investments.
“As president, Lynn is committed to assuring a better future for all of America’s pork producers,” said Steve Weaver, a producer from Elk Grove, Calif., and NPB vice president. “Producers have benefited from his desire to seek continuous improvement for the National Pork Board, its staff, his fellow board members and himself.”
This farm news was published in the April 9, 2008 issue of the Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
| 4/9/2008 |
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