Release No. 119-15
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2015 -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today appointed four members and five alternates to serve on the National Peanut Board. The appointees will serve three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2016, and ending on Dec. 31, 2018, with the exception of the appointee for Florida, whose term will begin immediately and expire on Dec. 31, 2017.
Members selected include Andy Bell of Climax, Ga.; Bud Bowers of Estill, S.C.; Peter Froese Jr. of Seminole, Texas; and Mary Eileen Jordan of Rayville, La.
Alternate members selected include William T. Carte of Live Oak, Fla.; Thomas Neil Lee of Dawson, Ga.; Neal Baxley of Alcolu, S.C.; Bob White of Clarendon, Texas; and Micah Barham of Oak Ridge, La.
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) provides oversight of the National Peanut Board in accordance with the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 and the Peanut Promotion, Research, and Information Order. Under the order, domestic producers pay an assessment at the rate of 1 percent of the total value of all farmers stock peanuts sold. The program is administered by board members who are selected by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
USDA encourages board membership that reflects the diversity of the individuals served by the programs. USDA encourages all eligible women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to seek nomination for a seat on the Peanut Board.
Research and promotion programs are industry-funded, were authorized by Congress, and date back to 1966, when Congress passed the Cotton Research and Promotion Act. Since then, Congress has authorized the establishment of 22 research and promotion boards. They empower farmers and ranchers to leverage their own resources to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets, and conduct important research and promotion activities. AMS provides oversight, paid for by industry assessments, which ensures fiscal responsibility, program efficiency and fair treatment of participating stakeholders.
For more information about research and promotion programs, visit www.ams.usda.gov/FVPromotion. For information on the Board, please contact Jeanette Palmer by phone: (202) 720-9915, or email: Jeanette.Palmer@ams.usda.gov.
Get the latest Agricultural Marketing Service news at www.ams.usda.gov/news or follow us on Twitter @USDA_AMS. You can also read about us on the USDA blog.
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