Generic Agricultural Commodity Promotion Programs
Source:  Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Names of Board (year started)	Board Composition	Approx. Annual Revenue	Sources of Funding	Assessment Rate	Coverage	Initial and last referendum	Referenda Requirements
American Egg Board (1976)	18 producer members	$14 million	98% from assessments	$0.10 per 30-dozen	Producers with more	Initial:  Prior to program start	At the request of 10%
	alternates		2% from investments	case of eggs sold	than 75,000 laying hens	Last:  November 1994 (rate increase approved)	Discretion of the Secretary
			1% from other sources
Cattlemen's Beef Promotion	110 domestic producers	$80 million	90% from domestic assessments	$1 per head of cattle sold	Producers and importers	Initial:  Delayed until 22 months after program start	At the request of 10%
and Research Board (1986)1	1 importer		8% from import assessments		of cattle and beef
			2% from investments
			1% from other sources
Cotton Board (1967)	30 producers and importers	$59 million	73% from domestic assessments	$1 per bale of cotton sold	Producers and importers	Initial: Prior to program start	At the request of 10%
		(FY1994)	23% from import assessments	plus 0.5% of bale value	of upland cotton and	Last:  July 1991 (approved by 60%)	Evaluation by Secretary every 5 years
			1% from other sources		cotton products
Haas Avocado Board	7 producers	$9.8 million	100% from assessments	$0.025 per pound	Producers and importers	Initial: Prior referendum scheduled for June - July 2002	At the request of the Board
	2 importers						At the request of 30%
	3 "swing" positions
Lamb Promotion, Research	Not Available	Not Available	100% from assessments	$0.005 per pound live lamb	Producer, feeders, seedstock	Not available	At the request of 10%
and Information Program				$0.30 per head purchased for slaughter	producers, and exporters		Discretion of the Secretary
(July 1, 2002)
Mohair Council of America	50 to 60 producers	$600,000 - $700,000	100% from assessments	scheduled to "phase out"	Producers	Initial:  None	Every four years
(mid-1960s)				with elimination of		Last:  June 1991 (approved by 87%)
				price support program
Mushroom Council (1993)2	producers	$1.6 million	88% from domestic assessments	$0.21 per pound	Yes	Initial:  Prior to program start	Not less than every 5 years
			5% from import assessments			Last:  February - March 1998 (approved by 70%)	At the request of 30%
			7% from other sources
National Dairy Promotion	36 milk producers	$252 million (includes funds	99% from assessments	$0.15 per hundredweight	Dairy farmers	Initial:  Delayed until 18 months after program start	At the request of 10%
and Research Board (1984)3		retained by qualified state	1% from investments	of milk marketings		Last: August 1993 (approved by 71%)	Discretion of the Secretary
		and regional programs)				Note:  Allows bloc voting
National Fluid Milk Processor	20 fluid milk processors	$110 million	Not Available	$0.20 per hundredweight	Fluid milk processors of more than 500,000 lbs.	Initial:  Prior to program start	At the request of 10%
Promotion Program (1993)				of milk processed		Last:  March 1996 (approved by 65%)	Discretion of the Secretary
							At the request of the Board
National Honey Board (1986)4	7 producers	$3.6 million	49% from domestic assessments	$0.01 per pound	Producers and importers  marketing more than	Initial:  Prior to program start	Not less than every 5 years
	2 handlers		49% from import assessments		6,000 lbs.	Last:  February 2002 (approved by 52%)	At the request of the Board
	2 importers		2% from Foreign Agricultural Service				At the request of 10%
	1 cooperative officer
	alternates
National Mango Board	8 U.S. importers	$2.5 million	100% from assessments	$0.05 per pound	First handlers and importers	Initial:  Required before program start	Not less than every 7 years
	1 U.S. first handler				of more than 500,000 lbs.		At the request of the Board
	8 foreign producers						At the request of 10%
	1 public member						Discretion of the Secretary
	2 non-voting U.S. wholesalers
	and retailers
National Peanut Board (2000)	10 producers	$12.2 million	not available	1% of total value	Producers	Initial:  Prior to program start	Not less than every 7 years
	alternates						At the request of the Board
							At the request of 10%
							Discretion of the Secretary
National Pork Producers	175 members	$42.2 million	91% from domestic assessments	0.45 - 1% of market value	Producers and importers	Initial:  Delayed until 24 months after program start	At the request of 15%
Delegate Body (1986)	(minimum of 2 from each state)		9% from import assessments			Last:  Jan. 2001 Referendum to terminate program	No more than every 2 years
	(5 importers)					invalidated by USDA
National Potato	105 producers	$12.7 million	75% from domestic assessments	$0.02 per hundredweight of sales	Producers and importers	Initial:  Prior to program start	At the request of the Board
Promotion Board (1972)	4 importers		5% from import assessments			Last:  August - September 1991 (approved by 81%)	At the request of 10%
	1 public member		19% from Foreign Agricultural Service				Discretion of the Secretary
			1% from investments
National Watermelon	14 producers	$1.5 million	76% from domestic assessments	$0.02 per cwt. on domestic watermelons	Producers with more than 10 acres in production	Initial:  Prior to program start	At the request of the Board
Promotion Board (1990)6	14 handlers		17% from import assessments	$0.04 per cwt. on imported watermelons	Importers of more than 150,000 lbs.	Last:  Only amendment referenda	At the request of 10%
	2 importers		7% from Foreign Agricultural Service				Discretion of the Secretary
	1 public member
Popcorn Board (1998)	9 processors	$688,000	60% from assessments	$0.06 per hundredweight	Processors of more than 4 million lbs.	Initial:  Prior to program start	At the request of the Board
			40% from Foreign Agricultural Service		(regardless of country-of-origin)		At the request of 30%
United Soybean Board (1991)	62 producers	$57 million	98% from assessments	0.5% of net market	Producers	Initial:  Delayed until 32 months after program start	At the request of 10%
			2% from investments	value of soybean sold		Last:  Producer polls rejected referenda
U.S. Highbush Blueberry	9 domestic producers	$2.6 million	76% from domestic assessments	$12 per ton	Producers and importers  of more than 2,000 lbs.	Initial:  Prior to program start	Not less than every 7 years
Council (2001)	1 importer	(Oct. 1, 2001-Dec. 31, 2002)	20% from import assessments				At the request of the Board
	1 exporter		4% from Foreign Agricultural Service				At the request of 10%
	1 handler						Discretion of the Secretary
	1 public member
	alternates
Discontinued Programs
Kiwifruit	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented
Limes	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented	Initial:  Rejected in November 1995 referendum	never implemented
National PromoFlor Council	14 qualified handlers	$10 million	100% from assessments	0.5% of total sales	Qualified handlers	Initial:  None	No
(Fresh Flowers) (1994)	3 qualified handler producers					Last:  June 1997 (terminated by 58%)
	2 importers
	2 producers
	3 retailers
Olive Oil	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented	never implemented
Pecan Marketing Board (1992)	8 growers	$1 million	100% from assessments	$0.005 per lb. on in-shell pecans	Producers and importers	Initial:  None	No
	4 shellers			$0.01 per lb. on shelled pecans		Last:  October 1993 (terminated by 62%)
	alternates
1Oral arguments on Charter v. U.S. Department of Agriculture were held by the U.S. District Court in Montana on April 16, 2002
2The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the use of mandatory assessments for promotion in United States v. United Foods.
3Cochran v. Veneman is currently pending.  Additionally, the 2002 farm bill amended the dairy program to extend mandatory assessments to dairy importers
4A USDA administrative hearing is scheduled for August 2002 to hear a petition challenging the validity of the honey promotion program
6USDA hearing on a petition challenging the watermelon program was held in Mar. 2002 and will continue in Jan. 2003							Page 6
Prepared by The Dairy Trade Coalition, June 20, 2002