Release No. 057-14

Contact:

Hakim Fobia (202) 690-0488

hakim.fobia@ams.usda.gov

WASHINGTON, Mar. 4, 2014 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominations for the Popcorn Board. The board will fill two seats to replace representatives whose terms expire at the end of this year. Each selected member will serve a three-year term.

The Popcorn Board is comprised of five members, who are nominated by the industry. Processors who process more than four million pounds of popcorn annually are eligible to serve on the board and to submit nominations. To the extent practicable, nominations take into account the geographic distribution of popcorn production.

The Popcorn Board meets periodically to review marketing and research activities that benefit the industry. The national program, which became effective in 1997, is industry-funded and supports the national marketing and promotion of popcorn.

USDA encourages board membership that reflects the diversity of the individuals served by the program. All eligible women, minorities, veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to seek nomination for a seat on the Popcorn Board by May 1, 2014.

For more information, please contact the Popcorn Board at www.popcorn.org, by calling Genny Bertalmio at (312) 821-0217 or emailing gbertalmio@smithbucklin.com. You may also contact Deborah Simmons, USDA Marketing Specialist, by phone at (202) 720-9915 or e-mail at deborah.simmons@ams.usda.gov.

Research and Promotion programs are industry-funded, were authorized by Congress and date back to 1966. Since then, Congress has authorized the establishment of 21 research and promotion boards. They empower agricultural industries by establishing a framework for them to pool resources and combine efforts to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets, and conduct important research and promotion activities. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) provides oversight helping to ensure fiscal responsibility, program efficiency and fair treatment of participating stakeholders.

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