Marla Conley, a pork producer from Cherokee, IA served as a delegate at the Pork Act Delegate assembly March 1-3 in Denver, Colo. Conley was named a delegate by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
Conley was one of the delegates who represented producers from across the country and importers who sell pork products in the United States. The delegates are charged with helping to provide direction to the pork promotion, research and consumer information programs that are funded by the Pork Checkoff through the National Pork Board. Producers contribute 40 cents of every $100 of sales to the Checkoff, and importers use a sales formula to contribute a similar amount. That money helps producers support the We Care initiative, promoting pork to consumers and research into animal welfare, food safety, swine health, environment and other topics.
"From managing issues to promoting our product at home and internationally, Pork Checkoff programs are continually working toward the end results of yielding positive results for pork producers," said Conley.
The National Pork Board approved a 2012 budget for national spending of $69.3 million for programs of promotion, research and education to protect the ability of farmers to produce pork, to reposition pork's image and to enable producers to remain highly competitive on a global basis.
