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FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Pork Producers Association has applied with the Kentucky State Board of Agriculture for a statewide referendum asking swine producers if they wish to pay a state checkoff assessment that would be collected if the national pork promotion program is discontinued.
The pork producers association proposes initiating a mandatory assessment of 40 cents per $100 of sales. The assessment would take effect at the moment the federal program ends.
If the Kentucky State Board of Agriculture approves the application, Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer will certify the board’s vote and set a date for the referendum.
The Kentucky Pork Producers Association would collect the fees and administer the program. Funds would be used for promotion and research.
The United States Supreme Court is expected to rule whether the national beef checkoff is constitutional in the first half of 2005. A federal appeals court has ruled that beef producers do not have to pay the checkoff fee. The Supreme Court ruling will affect other checkoff programs. The pork checkoff program also has been challenged in court, and in October 2003 a federal appeals court upheld a district court ruling that the pork checkoff is unconstitutional.
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A copy of the application can be found here.
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