The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeks nominees for the National Watermelon Promotion Board. Nominees are needed to fill eight member seats with terms beginning Jan. 1, 2026, and ending Dec. 31, 2028.
There are two producer and two handler seats available for both Districts 4 and 5. The deadline for nominations is Feb. 26, 2025.
District 4 consists of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C.
District 5 consists of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
The board will hold teleconference calls on Feb. 12, 2025, for producers and handlers to select their representatives for the two districts. For more information about these calls and to obtain nomination information, contact the National Watermelon Promotion Board’s Industry Affairs Manager Andrea Smith at asmith@watermelon.org or (407) 657-0261.
The board is made up of 30 industry members including 10 producers, 10 handlers, nine importers, and one public member. More information about the board is available on the AMS National Watermelon Promotion Board webpage and on the board’s website, www.watermelon.org. For additional information, contact USDA Marketing Specialist Harrison Hodges at William.Hodges2@usda.gov or (443) 571-8456.
AMS policy is that diversity of the boards, councils and committees it oversees should reflect the diversity of its 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, who 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.
Since 1966, Congress has authorized industry-funded research and promotion boards to provide a framework for agricultural industries to pool resources and combine efforts to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets and conduct important research and promotion activities. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) provides oversight to 22 boards. The oversight ensures fiscal accountability and program integrity and is paid for by industry assessments.
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