The board is seeking to improve the effectiveness of the Pork Checkoff's marketing and research programmes in an effort to sustain the resurgence of the pork industry. The board meeting will be held in conjunction with the pork industry's annual meeting, the National Pork Industry Forum, which will follow on 5-6 March.

"Pork producers have struggled for the past two years with high feed prices and low market prices," said Tim Bierman, a Larrabee, Iowa, pork producer and president of the board. "As the industry works toward recovery, the Pork Checkoff needs to take a hard look at what else we can do to help producers by taking a fresh look at how we improve the return on investment for our Checkoff dollars. That's why we'll be considering several new efforts in Kansas City that will keep us moving in the right direction."

The delegates attending Pork Forum will get the opportunity to preview new efforts aimed at repositioning pork with today's consumers. Additionally, the delegates will get a glimpse of the pork industry's new Strategic Plan that the board approved in January. These two elements are the foundation for the board's efforts to reinvigorate existing Pork Checkoff programs.

During its discussion of the strategic plan, the board will consider three specific plan recommendations, including:

• Development of a long-term research strategy that can direct future Checkoff-funded research investment toward higher priority targets;
• Exploration of a new way for state and national organisations to work more effectively together;
• Enhancement of the structure and efficiency of the board's systems for ensuring grassroots input into the development of the board's programmes and budgets.

Additionally the board is expected to:

• Discuss how a recent US Department of Agriculture announcement regarding the national animal identification programme will affect ongoing pork industry disease surveillance and producer certification programmes;
• Receive an update on trade issues from pork representatives on the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) board;
• Meet with members of the National Pork Producers Council Board of Directors to discuss common issues.