The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominees to fill three producer member seats for the Mushroom Council. Nominations for these seats are due to the council by May 1, 2022.
The council will hold an election to select nominees for consideration by USDA to fill two seats representing U.S. producers in Region 1 and one seat in Region 2. USDA will appoint individuals to succeed members whose terms expire on Dec. 31, 2022.
Region 1 includes all states except Pennsylvania and California. It also includes the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Region 2 consists of the state of Pennsylvania.
For a nomination application contact Bart Minor, CEO and president or Cheryl Abbate, operations manager, Mushroom Council at (816) 251-4514, or email Bart@mushroomcouncil.org or Cheryl@mushroomcouncil.org. You may also contact Jeanette Palmer, marketing specialist, USDA at (202)720-5976 or Jeanette.Palmer@usda.gov.
The nine-member council is comprised of eight producers and one importer. More information about the council is available on the Mushroom Council web page on the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) website.
Since 1966, Congress has authorized the development of industry-funded research and promotion boards to provide a framework for agricultural industries to pool their resources and combine efforts to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets and conduct important research and promotion activities. AMS provides oversight of 22 boards, paid for by industry assessments, which helps ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
AMS policy is that diversity of the boards, councils and committees it oversees should reflect the diversity of their industries in terms of the experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies, and other distinguishing factors, including but not limited to individuals from historically underserved communities, that will bring different perspectives and ideas to the table. Throughout the full nomination process, the industry must conduct extensive outreach, paying particular attention to reaching underserved communities, and consider the diversity of the population served and the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the members to serve a diverse population.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender