Five appointees will serve 3-year terms and one will serve a 1-year term to complete the term of a Board member who resigned.

"I am pleased that these individuals have agreed to provide their time and expertise," said Mr Vilsack. “I am confident that pork producers and importers will be well served by them.“

In 2010, according to USDA statistics, there were 69,100 pork operations, representing about 64 million pigs at the beginning of 2011. Top pork producing states included Iowa, North Carolina, Minnesota, Illinois and Indiana.

The six appointees were chosen from among eight pork producers nominated by the National Pork Producers Delegate Body during its meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, in March.

The newly appointed members representing pork producers are: Henry E. Moore III, Clinton, North Carolina; Glen Walters, Barnesville, Georgia; and Janice Miller, Belden, Nebraska. Ms Miller will serve a 1-year term to complete the final year of resigning Board member Gene Nemechek’s term.

Members reappointed to the Board include: Conley Nelson, Algona, Iowa; Karen Richter, Montgomery, Minnesota; and Roy Henry, Longford, Kansas.

Established under the Pork Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act of 1985, the Board develops budgets and awards contracts to carry out a coordinated program designed to strengthen the position of pork in the marketplace.

The mandatory programme is funded by an assessment of 0.4 per cent of the market value of all hogs sold in the United States and an equivalent amount on imported hogs, pork and pork products.