The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominations of domestic cotton producers from Arizona, Georgia and Texas and importers to fill positions for eight members and eight alternates on the Cotton Board. USDA will appoint members and alternates from the nominees to serve three-year terms from Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2021.
Certified producer organizations (CPO) and certified importer organizations (CIO) will hold caucuses to nominate two qualified persons for each open position in their respective industry segment.
Producer caucuses are scheduled as follows:
- Arizona: Thursday, June 21 at 10 a.m. Local Time
- Georgia: Monday, July 9 at 3:50 p.m. Local Time
- Texas: Thursday, July 19 at 11 a.m. Local Time
An importers caucus is scheduled for Tuesday, June 19 at 10 a.m. ET in Washington, D.C.
For nominating and caucus information, including organizations seeking certification and a list of CPOs and CIOs, contact Shethir M. Riva at (540) 361-2726 or email Shethir.Riva@ams.usda.gov.
The cotton research and promotion program is authorized by the Cotton Research and Promotion Act of 1966. Since 1966, Congress has authorized 22 industry-funded research and promotion boards to provide a framework for agricultural industries to pool their resources and combine efforts to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets and conduct important research and promotion activities. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) provides oversight, paid for by industry assessments, which helps ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
More information about the board is available on the AMS webpage on the Cotton Board.
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