A budget of $51.4 million has been set by the National Pork Board (NPB) for fiscal year 2001.
NPB is allocating $39.4 million in contracts to general contractor, National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). A total of $10.4 million will be returned to states.
"As we await the announcement of the referendum vote, both the NPB and the NPPC continue to plan and work on the programs that benefit all producers," says NPB President John Kellogg.
Four cross-departmental areas are high priorities: food safety, value-added and niche marketing, nutrition and diet health and certification programs, says Kellogg.
Checkoff-funded grants were awarded to NPPC for consumer communications, $12.9 million; retail/ foodservice marketing, $10.4 million; foreign market development, $6.1 million; production technology and information, $5.9 million, and swine health/ pork safety/pork quality, $4.0 million.