USDA Seeks Milk Board Nominations

WASHINGTON - Sep 21/07 - SNS -- The USDA is looking for candidates for the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board.

The Secretary of Agriculture will appoint six individuals from those nominated to succeed members whose terms expire June 30, 2008. Newly appointed or reappointed members will serve 3-year terms from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2011.

The National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board was established by the Fluid Milk Promotion Act of 1990, as amended, to develop and administer a coordinated program of advertising and education to promote fluid milk products. Of the board's 20 members, 15 represent geographic regions and five are at-large members. The at-large members must include at least three fluid milk processors and at least one member from the general public. Currently, there are four at-large processor members and one member from the general public serving on the board.

The national fluid milk program is financed by a mandatory 20-cent per hundredweight assessment on fluid milk processors who process and market commercially in consumer-type packages more than 3,000,000 pounds of fluid milk products per month in the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia, excluding those fluid milk products delivered directly to consumer residences.

USDA will accept nominations for board representation in five geographic regions and one at-large processor position. Nominees must be active owners or employees of a fluid milk processor. The geographic regions are: Region 2 (New Jersey and New York); Region 5 (Florida); Region 8 (Illinois and Indiana); Region 11 (Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma); and Region 14 (Northern California). No fluid milk processor shall be represented on the board by more than three members.

To nominate an individual, please submit originals of both the nomination form and a signed background form for each nominee by Oct. 31, 2007, to: Promotion and Research Branch, Dairy Programs, AMS, MRP, USDA, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Stop 0233, Room 2958-S, Washington, D.C. 20250-0233. To obtain forms or additional information, call (202) 720-6909. Blank forms are available on the Dairy Promotion and Research Branch’s website at http://www.ams.usda.gov/Dairy.