Cocking duo attends pork meet in Atlanta

Robin and Tom Cocking of Colfax served as delegates to the Pork Act Delegate assembly March 1-3 in Atlanta, Ga. They were appointed as delegates by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

They were among two of 168 appointed delegates who traveled from 49 states across the country to represent pork producers and importers who sell pork products in the United States.

Duties of the delegate body included nominating members to serve on the National Pork Board, establishing how much of the Pork Checkoff is returned to state pork organizations and providing direction on pork promotion, research and consumer and producer education priorities funded by the Pork Checkoff.

To fund programs, America’s pork producers contribute 40 cents of every $100 of sales to the Checkoff. Importers use a sales formula to contribute a similar amount. The role of the Pork Checkoff is to promote and enhance consumer demand for pork on a global basis, as well as invest in research designed to improve production practices.

The National Pork Board earlier approved a 2017 budget for national spending of $55.4 million for promotion, research and education programs.