The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominations for the United States Potato Board. Prospective nominees must submit completed applications by July 1, 2017.
Selected representatives will replace members whose terms expire Feb. 28, 2018, or will fill currently vacant seats. Those selected will serve three-year terms.
The board is composed of producers, importers and a public member. The board is seeking nominees to fill a total of 56 open seats for producers from the following states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The board is also seeking nominees to fill an open seat for an importer.
Nominations for producer members are submitted by potato producers in the various states. Producer members must produce five or more acres of potatoes to be eligible to serve. Importers nominate importer members. The board nominates the public member. About one-third of the board is appointed each year.
The U.S. Potato Board does business as Potatoes USA and meets regularly to plan promotion, marketing and research activities that benefit the industry. The national program, which became effective in 1971, is industry-funded and supports domestic and international marketing and promotion of U.S. potatoes. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) oversees the board’s activities.
For more information or a nomination form, please visit the United States Potato Board’s page on the AMS website or contact Hakim Fobia at (202) 720-4835 or email hakim.fobia@ams.usda.gov.
Since 1966, Congress has authorized the establishment of 22 research and promotion boards that are industry-funded and empower agricultural industries with a framework to pool resources and combine efforts to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets, and conduct important research and promotion activities. AMS provides oversight, paid for by industry assessments, which helps ensure fiscal responsibility, program efficiency and fair treatment of participating stakeholders.
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