Release No.: 146-15
WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2015 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced four appointments to the 2016 Lamb Promotion, Research, and Information Board. Each appointee will serve 3-year terms.
The newly appointed board members are: Tom Colyer, Massachusetts, and Gwendolyn Kitzan, South Dakota, representing producers; Martin Auza, California, representing feeders; and Jeffrey D. Oatman, Colorado, representing first handlers.
The board is composed of six producers, three feeders, one seedstock producer, and three first handlers. The Secretary of Agriculture appoints approximately one-third of all board members each year.
Research and promotion programs are industry-funded, authorized by Congress and date back to 1966. Since then, Congress has authorized the establishment of 22 research and promotion boards. They empower farmers and ranchers to leverage their own resources to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets, and conduct important research and promotion activities. The Agricultural Marketing Service provides oversight, paid for by industry assessments, which ensures fiscal responsibility, program efficiency, and fair treatment of participating stakeholders.
Get the latest Agricultural Marketing Service news at www.ams.usda.gov/news or follow us on Twitter @USDA_AMS. You can also read about us on the USDA blog.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).