The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeks nominations for the Softwood Lumber Board to fill seats for five members and four alternates whose terms begin Jan. 1, 2026. Nomination applications are due Feb. 7, 2025.
The board is seeking nominees for five member seats and one alternate seat with three-year terms, from Jan. 1, 2026, to Dec. 31, 2028:
- One small domestic manufacturer member representing the U.S. South.
- One small domestic manufacturer member representing the U.S. West.
- One domestic manufacturer of any size representing the U.S. Northeast and Lake States.
- One large importer member representing Canada West.
- One public member and alternate.
The board is also seeking nominees for four alternate member seats to serve staggered terms of two, three, and four years as determined by the board:
- One alternate domestic manufacturer of any size representing the U.S. South.
- One domestic manufacturer alternate seat representing the U.S. West.
- One importer alternate of any size.
Nominees may seek nomination to the board for all open seats for which they are eligible and self-nominations are permitted. No two members or alternates may be employed by a single company or their subsidiaries and affiliates.
Large companies are those who account for the top two-thirds of the volume of assessable softwood lumber annually. Companies that ship or import about 560 million board feet or more of assessable softwood lumber annually would be considered large. Small companies account for the remaining assessable softwood lumber.
Applications are available at softwoodlumberboard.org at the Board Nominations tab, under the topic “About SLB.” You may also contact Softwood Lumber Board Vice President Operations Maureen Pello at (503) 632-9933 or mpello@softwoodlumberboard.org or USDA Marketing Specialist Katie Cook at (202) 720-8085 or katie.cook@usda.gov.
The current 14-member board includes 10 domestic manufacturers and four importers. The 2026 Board will be a 15-member board, which will be made up of 10 domestic manufacturers and two alternates, four importers and one alternate, and one public member and alternate. More information about the board is available on the Softwood Lumber Board webpage on the AMS website.
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.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender