The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is seeking nominees for the American Lamb Board (Lamb Board) to succeed four members with terms that expire in February 2023. Nominations are needed to succeed members that include one producer with 100 or less lambs, one producer with more than 500 lambs, one feeder at-large, and one first handler. The deadline for nominations is June 9, 2022.

Any U.S. producer, feeder, or first handler who owns or purchases lambs may be considered for nomination. To satisfy the requirements of the Lamb Promotion and Research Order, the producers with 100 or less lambs or the producers with more than 500 lambs can be from either of the Lamb Board’s two Regions: the designated area east of the Mississippi River or the area designed west of the Mississippi River. The at-large feeder nominees must be from Region 1: the designated area east of the Mississippi River. Producers, feeders, or first handler must be nominated by certified nominating organizations and submit a completed application. The Secretary of Agriculture will select individuals from the nominations submitted.

The 13-member Lamb Board was established to maintain and expand the market for sheep and sheep products. A list of certified nominating organizations, the nomination form and information about the Lamb Board are available on the AMS American Lamb Board webpage and on the boards website, https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/research-promotion/lamb. For more information, contact Barbara Josselyn at (202) 713-6918 or Barbara.Josselyn@usda.gov.

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.

AMS policy is that diversity of the boards, councils and committees it oversees should reflect the diversity of their industries in terms of the experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies, and other distinguishing factors, including but not limited to individuals from historically underserved communities, that will bring different perspectives and ideas to the table. Throughout the full nomination process, the industry must conduct extensive outreach, paying particular attention to reaching underserved communities, and consider the diversity of the population served and the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the members to serve a diverse population.

Source: USDA