U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has appointed an Iowa Pork Producers Association Board member to the 15-member National Pork Board.

Gene Noem of Ames will serve a three-year term beginning in July. He was nominated by Pork Act delegates during the Pork Industry Forum in Indianapolis, Ind., in March. Noem is vice president of market development for IPPA and serves as the director of swine operations for Reicks View Farms in Lawler.

Also appointed to three-year terms are Alicia Pedemonti of Hopkinton, N.H., and Michael Patrick Skahill from Williamsburg, Va. The members reappointed to the board are Janet C. Archer from Goldsboro, N.C., and Terry O’Neel of Friend, Neb.

Established under the Pork Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act of 1985, the board develops budgets and awards contracts to carry out a coordinated program designed to strengthen the position of pork in the marketplace.

Research and promotion programs are industry-funded, were authorized by Congress, and date back to 1966. Since then, Congress has authorized the establishment of 22 research and promotion boards. They empower farmers and ranchers to leverage their own resources to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets, and conduct important research and promotion activities. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service provides oversight, paid for by industry assessments, which ensures fiscal accountability and program integrity for participating stakeholders.

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