USDA Asks Pork Producers for Input on Pork Checkoff Program

USDA is asking the pork industry to decide whether to hold a referendum on the Pork Checkoff Program, a mandatory promotion fund overseen by the National Pork Board and the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. The agency’s request for referendum gives pork producers and importers between December 8 and January 2, 2009, to vote in favor of a referendum on the program. “If 15 percent of the
total number of eligible producers and importers want a referendum on the Pork Checkoff Program, the referendum will be conducted within one year after the results for the Request for Referendum are announced,” stated USDA, which issued the request in accordance with the settlement agreement stemming from a 2001 lawsuit initiated by the Michigan Pork Producers Association.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Food Policy Blog has urged the pork industry to back the referendum, in part because the checkoff program is “an ineffective way of increasing consumer demand for pork.” Noting that USDA dismissed a 2000 referendum on the Pork Checkoff Program as “non-binding,” the blog further argues that a “well-designed voluntary program” could still raise significant funds toward product promotion. See U.S. Food Policy Blog, November 30, 2008.