Release No. 240-14

Contact:

Hakim Fobia (202) 690-0488

WASHINGTON, January 12, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominations for the Softwood Lumber Board.

The 19-member board will hold elections to fill six seats for members whose terms will expire on Dec. 31, 2015. Each member will serve a 3-year term.

Domestic manufacturers will fill four seats – two small companies representing the South region and two large companies representing the West region. Two seats will be filled by softwood lumber importers representing large companies – one in the Canada West region and one in the Canada East region. Under the program, large companies are defined as those that account for the top two-thirds of the volume of assessable softwood lumber annually and small companies account for the remaining assessable softwood lumber.

To be eligible, nominees operating within the regions must manufacture and ship within the United States, or import, at least 15 million board feet of softwood lumber annually. Ballots will be mailed to eligible companies and votes will be tabulated for each region. The top two candidates for each position will be submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture. The Secretary will then appoint members from the pool of candidates receiving the most votes.

The Softwood Lumber Board meets periodically to develop marketing and research activities that encourage market growth and benefit the industry. The national program, which became effective in 2011, is industry-funded and supports the national marketing and promotion of softwood lumber. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) oversees board activities.

USDA encourages board membership that reflects the diversity of the individuals served by the programs. All eligible women, minorities and persons with disabilities are invited to seek nomination for a seat on the Softwood Lumber Board by the March 6, 2015, deadline. Visit www.softwoodlumberboard.org for a copy of the application, or contact the Board’s Director of Operations, Peter Andrews by calling (312) 321-5131, or by email at: pandrews@softwoodlumberboard.org. You may also contact Maureen Pello, USDA Marketing Specialist, by phone at (503) 632-8848 or via e-mail maureen.pello@ams.usda.gov, for more information.

Research and promotion programs are industry-funded, were authorized by Congress, and date back to 1966, when Congress passed the Cotton Research and Promotion Act. Since then, Congress has authorized the establishment of 22 research and promotion boards. They empower agricultural industries, including the forest products industry, to leverage their own resources to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets, and conduct important research and promotion activities. AMS provides oversight, paid for by industry assessments, which helps to ensure fiscal responsibility, program efficiency and fair treatment of participating stakeholders.

Get the latest Agricultural Marketing Service news at www.ams.usda.gov/news or follow us on Twitter @USDA_AMS. You can also read about us on the USDA blog.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).