The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominations for the National Peanut Board. Nominations are needed to replace one producer member and one alternate for the States of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia. The Secretary of Agriculture will appoint individuals to succeed members whose terms of office end on Dec. 31, 2023. Appointed members will serve three-year terms.
Members and alternates are nominated by producers or producer groups within their respective states. State peanut nomination meetings are scheduled as follows:
- Alabama on Feb. 2.
- Mississippi on Feb. 8.
- Florida on Feb. 23.
- Virginia on Feb. 23.
- North Carolina on April 14.
For more information about state nomination meetings and the application process, contact Maria Mehok, Vice President of Finance and Compliance, National Peanut Board, at (678) 424-5750 or at mymehok@nationalpeanutboard.org. You may also contact Jeanette Palmer, Marketing Specialist, USDA, at (202) 720-5976 or at Jeanette.Palmer@usda.gov; or Deanna Bakken, Marketing Specialist, USDA, at (970) 652-0923 or at Deanna.Bakken@usda.gov.
The 12 member board includes11 members and their alternates representing the primary peanut-producing states and one at-large member and their alternate who represent the minor peanut-producing states. More information about the board is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) National Peanut Board webpage or on the National Peanut Board’s website.
AMS policy is that diversity of the boards, councils and committees it oversees should reflect the diversity of their industries in terms of the experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies and other distinguishing factors, including but not limited to individuals from historically underserved communities, that will bring different perspectives and ideas to the table. Throughout the full nomination process, the industry must conduct extensive outreach, paying particular attention to reaching underserved communities, and consider the diversity of the population served and the knowledge, skills and abilities of the members to serve a diverse population.
Since 1966, Congress has authorized industry-funded research and promotion boards to provide a framework for agricultural industries to pool resources and combine efforts to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets and conduct important research and promotion activities. AMS provides oversight to 22 boards. The oversight ensures fiscal accountability and program integrity and is paid for by industry assessments.
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