Dear Pork Act Delegate,

The National Pork Board Nominating Committee is pleased to present the candidates listed in this booklet. These candidates have undergone an intensive screening and interview process by the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee has verified that all candidates meet the minimum requirements to serve on the National Pork Board. High-quality candidates ensure you will continue to have the opportunity to elect Pork Board leadership that reflects the great vision, talent, diversity and geographical balance offered by our industry.

The Pork Act requires that no fewer than 12 states be represented on the National Pork Board. Rules require the USDA Secretary to satisfy the 12-state requirement by appointing nominees ranked by Pork Act Delegates in the top five of the 10 nominees submitted. With the outgoing board members, the board will need representation from an additional two states. Please click here for detailed information as to the states represented on our Board. The delegate body is charged with ensuring the 12-State Rule is not violated with your final slate of candidates to the Secretary of Agriculture.

The Board asked the Nominating Committee to evaluate each candidate and provide comments in five essential areas deemed important for Board members. Those areas include Industry Knowledge; We Care® Ethical Principles; Leadership Skills; Communication Skills; and Attitude, Passion and Commitment. The Committee carefully followed a comprehensive set of protocols as it conducted its business to ensure an ethical and fair process that affords equal opportunity to every candidate.

Regardless of the Nominating Committee work, you — the Pork Act Delegate Body — have an obligation under the Pork Act to evaluate each candidate. We trust that this detailed assessment will help you make an informed decision about whom to support, based on which of the five essential components you believe is most important for high-quality service on the Pork Board, as well as to fulfill the 12-state requirement. The Pork Act Delegate Body will present a ranked list of qualified pork producers to the Secretary of Agriculture, ranked in order of who you believe would do the best job in carrying out the mission of the Pork Checkoff.

The Pork Act specifies that 1.5 names be submitted for each of the five seats to be filled, but the past two Secretaries of Agriculture have requested two names per position. As such, all Pork Board candidate names will be submitted. While the Secretary can appoint any five of the 10 candidates submitted (without violating the 12-state rule), we ask the Secretary to respect the wishes of delegates and appoint the top-five nominees to the Pork Board in accordance with delegate ranking. Nevertheless, we are comfortable the list of candidates presented contains the names of 10 high-quality pork producers, all of whom can serve our industry well.

Thank you to everyone who submitted applications for the National Pork Board and the National Pork Board Nominating Committee. You provide the leadership to keep this organization focused on its mission of service to all U.S. pork producers into the future.

2023-2024 Nominating Committee
Heather Hill, Indiana – Chair
Marcus Belshe, Missouri
Steve Brier, Missouri
Joel DeRouchey, Kansas
Lukas Fricke, Nebraska