By CAROL KINSLEY

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is “appalled” at the Secretary of Agriculture’s announcement of a referendum to be held as soon as possible on the pork checkoff. Secretary Dan Glickman made the decision public at a convention of the National Farmers Union in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Feb. 28.
Glickman said, “As a matter of basic fairness, I believe producers deserve the opportunity to vote on this checkoff program. It is, after all, a mandatory assessment, akin to a tax that all producers must pay even if they disagree with it.
“The checkoff derives its legitimacy from the support of producers, and pork producers have endured dramatic changes in their industry since 1988, the year the checkoff was established and the last time producers were able to vote on this issue. So, in addition to upholding the bedrock democratic principle of the right to vote, it is appropriate and necessary to determine whether a majority of pork producers do, in fact, continue to support the checkoff.”
The checkoff amounts to 45 cents per $100 of hog sales.
NPPC noted USDA called for the referendum without the petition of the required 15 percent of bonafide pork producers as established by law in the Pork Act and Order, which was passed by Congress in 1985.
Early in January, USDA determined petitioners were 2,600 signatures short of having the 14,986 producers needed to trigger a vote. According to NPPC, when USDA attempted to validate some of the signatures, many responded they had not even signed the petition, did not sell hogs and were not pork producers.
In a letter sent Jan.7, NPPC commended USDA for its diligence in the verification process, but encouraged USDA to stay firm and follow the letter of the law. “NPPC strongly supports legally binding documentation to identify bona fide pork producers to assure the validity of the verification process.” The Pork Act and Order defines pork producers as those who market hogs in a given time period and pay the checkoff.
The Secretary of Agriculture has the right to call for a referendum without a petition, said Lynne Hoot, executive director of the Maryland Pork Producers Association.
“Who knows where it will go?” Hoot wondered. Based on an informal survey she conducted, there are about 143 farmers in Maryland who have any sizeable number of hogs. But if the rules are the same as in the last referendum, anyone who has raised at least two pigs in the previous six months would get an equal vote with large corporations, such as Murphy Farms, which has thousands. “There are more 4-Hers than farmers, so 4-H could swing the vote,” Hoot said. “It could be very interesting.”
USDA has not yet established the rules for the referendum, Hoot noted. The pork industry has changed drastically since the 1980s, she continued.
“I’m not sure they’ll use the same rules. USDA will have to decide what’s fair. There are some people who believe (one farm one vote) is fair.
“At least the referendum will be at USDA expense,” she said.
Pork producers from across the United States debated the appropriate course of action last week during the National Pork Industry Forum in Kansas City, Mo.
NPPC President John McNutt said, “It is unbelievable that the law was somehow bent in favor of apparent political interests, who in many cases aren’t even pork producers, while punishing bonafide pork producers who created a program that truly works to benefit pork producers of all types and sizes.
“We are deeply concerned that people not legitimately in the business of raising pigs are making the decisions for those of us who try to make a livelihood from pork production,” said McNutt, who is a pork producer from Iowa City, Iowa.
He noted the success of the pork checkoff — demand for pork is up; the United States is the No. 2 exporter of pork worldwide; and research is providing producers with the tools they need to be the most efficient producers in history.
“Pork producers need to fight for the continuation of their checkoff program,” he said. “Without it, we won’t have access to basic necessities the checkoff provides, which are promotion, research and information. Now is the time for pork producers to take a stand and fight for their future which, to a great extent, includes the checkoff.”
Mike Miller, director of investor relations in the New York office of Smithfield Foods, said, “We’re in favor of the ‘Pork. The Other White Meat’ program (which is funded by the checkoff), so we’d like to see the campaign continue.”
Smithfield represents a major portion of the industry, both in growing and processing, Miller said.