USDA Sets Dates for Pecan Research and Promotion Program Referendum
The order will continue if it is favored by the majority of domestic producers and importers voting in the referendum
Current producers who have domestically produced 50,000 pounds of inshell pecans (25,000 pounds of shelled pecans) and current importers who have imported 50,000 pounds of inshell pecans (25,000 pounds of shelled pecans) during the representative period Oct. 1, 2022, through Sep. 30, 2023, are eligible to vote in the referendum.
The order will continue if it is favored by the majority of domestic producers and importers voting in the referendum who, during the representative period, have been engaged in the production or importation of pecans.
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will conduct the referendum by express mail and electronic ballot. AMS staff will express mail ballots and voting instructions to all known eligible producers and importers of pecans before the voting period. Completed ballots must be delivered to AMS via express mail or electronic means no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on June 10, 2024. Any eligible domestic producer or importer who does not receive a ballot by May 22, 2024, should contact referendum agents Matthew Collins, Marketing Specialist, at (972) 210-9109, or by email at MatthewB.Collins@usda.gov, or Katie Cook, Marketing Specialist, at (202) 617-4760, or by email at Katie.Cook@usda.gov.
The Federal Register Notice was published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2024. For more information about the board, visit the American Pecan Promotion Board website.
AMS policy is that the diversity of the board should reflect the diversity of its industries in terms of the experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies, and other distinguishing factors that will bring different perspectives and ideas to the table. When submitting nominations, the industry must 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.
