A26-Lancast*r Fanning, Saturday, December 16, 2000
DES MOINES, lowa The
National Pork Board has ap
proved a spending budget of
$51.4 million for checkoff
funded programs in fiscal year
2001. The action came here
during the board’s fall meeting.
Pork checkoff funds research,
promotion, and education pro
grams that are designed to build
a future and create opportuni
ties for pork producers.
“As we await the announce
ment of the referendum vote,
both the National Pork Board
and National Pork Producers
Producers Approve Research
Projects Addressing Pork Priorities
KANSAS CITY, Mo. More
than 90 pork producers, indus
try scientists and other special
ists gathered in Kansas City,
Mo., to discuss progress and in
novation in the pork industry.
Members of five producer
committees reviewed more than
ISO research proposals during
the checkoff sponsored 2000
Unified Research Review Meet
ing, which was organized by the
National Pork Producers Coun
cil in conjunction with the Na
tional Pork Board.
The committees se
lected 47 projects to
recommend the Na
tional Pork Board
fund with checkoff
dollars. James Ledger,
a pork producer from
Washington, lowa,
said all the funded re
search addresses
issues producers face
on a daily basis
“Producers are in
terested in what
checkoff dollars do to
help us be as efficient
as we can be,” said
Ledger, a member of
the Swine Health
Committee. “For ex
ample, diseases in
swine are a top prior
ity for our committee,
which affects the
bottom line that pro
ducers deal with on a
day-to-day basis.”
Committees partici
pating in the meeting
represented the indus
try areas of swine
health, pork safety,
pork quality, human
nutrition, and envi
ronmental issues.
Mark Reding,
member of the
Diet/Health and Food
Policy Committee and
a pork producer from
Howardstown, Ky.,
welcomed the chance
to learn about research
advances in all aspects
of the industry.
“It’s good for pro
ducers, industry and
scientists to meet each
other, and the meeting
brought us all to
gether. We couldn’t
have all this expertise
brought to each com
mittee individually,”
said Reding, who also
serves on the National
Pork Board.
Pork Board Adopts 2001 Industry Budget
Council (NPPC) continue to
plan and work on the programs
that benefit all producers,” said
National Pork Board President
John Kellogg, a pork producer
from YorkvUle, 111. “The pro
grams that will be funded with
checkoff dollars in 2001 reflect
the needs and priorities of U.S.
pork producers.”
The board is allocating $39.4
million in contracts to its gen
eral contractor the NPPC. A
total of $10.4 million will be re
turned to the state pork pro
ducer association level for
“It’s important for all of us to
have an idea of what the other
committees are working on. This
way we’re not operating in a
vacuum.”
Dr. Chris Calkins, member of
the Pork Quality Solutions
Team and a meat scientist from
the University of Nebraska, also
appreciated the opportunity to
meet with others involved in the
pork industry.
“One of the strengths of this
meeting is that it gets producers,
packers and scientists together.
The interaction is good, and it
promotion, consumer informa
tion, and research programs
complementary to the national
checkoff programs. Administra
tive costs of the National Pork
Board will remain relatively low
for 2001, representing about
three percent of the total
checkoff collections.
Promotional programming of
the total 2001 national and state
checkoff funding will account
for 61 percent of the budget.
Twenty-five percent of the
budget will be directed into re
search and education. Con-
allows us to hear from all per
spectives,” Calkins said.
Other topics discussed during
the meeting included updates on
antimicrobial resistance, a pork
quality research initiative, the
Pseudorabies eradication pro
gram, and food labeling issues.
Researchers will be notified of
their proposals’ approval and
will work with the National
Pork Board and National Pork
Producers Council to relay the
information on to producers. ■
sumer information programs
will account for 14 percent of the
budget.
“We are also focusing on
areas of emerging importance to
pork producers. Four cross*
departmental strategic work
areas are high on the priority list
for 2001,” said Kellogg. He ex
plained the areas include food
safety, value-added and niche
marketing, nutrition and diet
health, and certification pro
grams. “Through producer
input, it has been determined
that addressing these program
areas will help provide produc
ers access to the tools they need
to remain profitable in the
future.”
The following checkoff
funded grants were awarded to
NPPC: consumer communica
tions, $12.9 million; retail/food
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Of the overall checkoff funds
allocated to programs, approxi
mately 20 percent, or $10.4 mil
lion, is returned to state pork
associations for work in the state
and local level. “The state and
national programs complement
each other and provide for the
most efficient use of checkoff
funds,” according to Kellogg.
“As an example, the states have
a more even distribution of
funds between consumer infor
mation, research and promo
tion. They rely on national
dollars to carry the majority of
promotion so they can focus on
other more locally effective ac
tivities.”
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