The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is currently seeking nominees for the American Egg Board (Board) to fill ten member and nine alternate member vacancies. One appointed member will serve a one-year term due to a resignation and the remaining nine members and nine alternate members will serve two-year terms beginning March 2025 to March 2027. The deadline for nominations to organizations certified in Area I – (AL,CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, LA, ME, MD, MA, MS, NH, NJ, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, VA, WV) to nominate is Friday, May 17, 2024.
Egg producers who own more than 75,000 laying hens may be nominated by a certified eligible operation. Producers owning 75,000 or fewer laying hens may be nominated provided they have not applied for exemption and are paying assessments to the Board. USDA will select appointees from the nominated producers. Nomination forms and a list of the certified eligible operations within each area are available on the AMS American Egg Board webpage.
The Board, which is composed of 18 members and 18 alternates, administers the egg research and promotion program authorized by the Egg Research and Consumer Information Act of 1974. Since 1966, Congress has authorized industry-funded research and promotion boards to provide a framework for agricultural industries to combine their resources and 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.
AMS policy is to promote diversity in their boards, councils, and committees, reflecting the diversity of their industries in terms of the experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies, and other factors, including individuals from historically underserved communities, bringing different perspectives and ideas to the table. The industry must conduct extensive outreach and consider diversity in the population served throughout the nomination process. For more information about the nomination process for Area I, please contact Lisa Prince at (919) 319-1195 or egglady@ncegg.org.
