About NCPC

Mission

To foster, enhance and improve the capabilities of all those associated with pork in North Carolina.

History

The North Carolina Pork Council (formerly the North Carolina Pork Producers Association) was organized as the North Carolina Swine Industry Association. It was chartered in 1962 as a North Carolina non-profit corporation. It is the oldest state pork producer organization in the nation that has operated under a mandatory checkoff funding system since its inception.

Policy Making

The main policy making body of the Council is the Board of Directors. The Board is composed of 18 district directors elected by the membership. In addition, allied industry and meat processors are represented on the Board by one director each. The state officers and any individual from NC serving in a national pork industry position serve as directors at large. Representatives of NC State University, NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine and the NC Department of Agriculture serve as non-voting members of the Board.

The Board meets four times each year with an occasional organizational meeting held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting in February.

The North Carolina Pork Council is involved in many activities that benefit pork producers in North Carolina. These activities fall basically into five categories:

Promotion: The virtues of pork are promoted to increase the consumption of pork. This is achieved through many promotional vehicles, such as cooking competitions for professional chefs, the statewide barbecue cook-off, exhibiting at meetings for nurses, family physicians, dietitians, school foodservice professionals and consumer science teachers, and co-op promotions with retail stores.

Consumer Information: Providing the latest nutritional information and recipes to consumers is a vital part of NCPC. We develop consumer brochures, exhibit at consumer shows, such as Southern Living magazine's cooking schools, co-op web page promotions, and provide resource information for newspaper food editors. We distribute materials in our NC Welcome Centers and through NC Cooperative Extension offices and elementary schools, and sponsor events where we can educate consumers.

Research: Providing seed money for research into new product development, improved production methods and improved technology in waste management is an important part of the Council's function.

Producer Education: Modern day pork production depends heavily on the latest research and up-to-date technology, and providing this information to producers. The NC Pork Council sponsors the largest pork specific conference and trade show in the southeast, and participates in numerous trade shows and educational seminars throughout the year.

Public Policy: The Council and it's members are the most active agricultural commodity organization in the state. The Council encourages its members to get to know their elected officials and regulatory personnel and make certain that these officials are aware of issues that can have an impact, not just on pork producers and their families, but also on 46,000 other North Carolinians that depend directly or indirectly on pork production for their livelihoods.

Funding Sources

The North Carolina Pork Council's funding is classified into two major areas, checkoff and non-checkoff. The national checkoff program is mandated by the 1985 Farm Bill and the funds are contributed by pork producers nationwide. U.S. pork producers and importers pay $0.40 per $100 of value when pigs are sold and when pigs or pork products are brought into the United States. A portion of these funds are provided to state associations. The Agricultural Marketing Service of USDA restricts the use of these checkoff funds to promotion, consumer information, research and producer education.

Non-checkoff funds are generated by the Council for use in activities outside of the areas listed above. The majority of these non-checkoff funds also comes from producers and from businesses that depend on pork production. Non-checkoff funds are generated by a state assessment, trade shows, golf tournaments, food booths, sponsorships, and other fundraising events.