The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominations for the National Honey Board to fill three member and three alternate seats for members whose terms end Dec. 31, 2023. Applications are due by June 1, 2023.
The board is seeking nominees for one first handler, one producer, one importer, and their alternates to serve three-year terms in office.
Only qualified national organizations within the honey industry may nominate members. All nominees must meet the qualifications and submit a completed application. Producer members or alternates must produce a minimum of 50,000 pounds of honey in the U.S. annually, based on the best three-year average of the most recent five calendar years.
A nomination form is available online at https://honey.com/nomination-form. For additional information, contact the National Honey Board at (303) 776-2337; or USDA Marketing Specialist Katie Cook at (202) 617-4760 or by email at Katie.Cook@usda.gov.
The current ten member board includes three first handlers, three importers, three producers, one marketing cooperative representative, and their alternates. More information about the board is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) National Honey Board webpage or on the board’s website at honey.com.
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.
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.
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