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“This committee will bring greater transparency and confidence to our wholesale pork reporting program,” said Rayne Pegg, administrator of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service. “Once implemented, this market reporting program will benefit pork producers, packers, processors, retailers, and consumers.”
In a negotiated rulemaking, a proposed rule is developed by a committee composed of representatives of government and the interests that will be significantly affected by the rule. The interests significantly affected by this rule will be represented by the American Meat Institute; Chicago Mercantile Exchange; Food Marketing Institute; Grocery Manufacturers Association; Livestock Marketing Information Center; National Farmers Union; National Livestock Producers Association; National Meat Association; National Pork Producers Council; North American Meat Processors Association, American Association of Meat Processors, and Southeastern Meat Association (1 combined representative for all three per organizations’ request); United Food and Commercial Workers International Union and AMS.
The first meeting will be held Feb. 8 through 10 and will begin daily at 8:30 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. The meeting will take place at the Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel in St. Louis, Mo. The agenda includes the discussion of protocols, timeframes, scope of the rulemaking process, and identification of key issues for a mandatory program of wholesale pork reporting.
The meeting is open to the public without advance registration. Public attendance may be limited to the space available. Notice of future meetings will be announced in the Federal Register.
For more information, contact Michael Lynch, chief; USDA, AMS, LS, LGMN Branch; Phone (202) 720-6231 or e-mail atMichael.Lynch@ams.usda.gov.
