March 17, 2000

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman has called for the first vote on the pork checkoff program since it started 14 years ago.

The Campaign for Family Farms has been lobbying pork producers to sign a referendum petition for the program, best known for its advertising campaign, "Pork: The Other White Meat." The campaign is funded by a mandatory checkoff fee of 45 cents for every $100 in hog sales.

According to John McNutt, National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) president, the checkoff is working. Demand for pork is up, he said, the U.S. is the No. 2 exporter of pork worldwide, and research is providing producers with the tools they need to be the most efficient producers in history.

"Pork producers need to fight for the continuation of their checkoff program," he said.

Opponents of the program say it has done little to stimulate pork consumption and mostly benefits meat processors and large hog operations.

Under government rules, Glick-man would have been required to call a referendum if petitions submitted by USDA last year contained at least 14,986 signatures, or 15 percent of all producers. USDA officials could not verify that number through a sampling process.

The Campaign for Family Farms accused USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service of bungling the verification system.

In a prepared statement to the group, Glickman said the process "is vulnerable to criticism in a number of respects."

The American Farm Bureau Federation supports a periodic referendum to determine continuation, amendment or termination of the program. The nation’s largest farm organization also supports the National Pork Checkoff and encourages producers to vote for its continuation.