Celebrating their record of success, 16 commodity groups and marketing orders participated Sept. 26 in what was called the inaugural Agriculture Promotion Groups’ Educational Showcase.
Held in Washington, D.C., the event featured remarks by U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Greg Ibach.
“Even though ag promotion groups have been around for more than 80 years, few people truly understand how these industry-funded groups operate and why,” Ibach said in his remarks. “We hope this showcase raises awareness of how research and promotion programs and marketing orders help American farmers, ranchers, importers and industry work together to build demand and be more competitive through promotion, research and education, while providing value to consumers and the economy.”
The USDA currently oversees 22 research and promotion boards, including the Hass Avocado Board, the Highbush Blueberry Council, the Mushroom Council, the National Mango Board, the National Potato Promotion Board and National Watermelon Promotion Board.
The first checkoff, The Cotton Board, was formed in 1966. The most recently formed marketing order, the American Pecan Council, was established in 2016, according to a news release.
Consumer advertising campaigns like “Got Milk,” “The Incredible Edible Egg” and “Pork, the Other White Meat” are examples of generic marketing programs paid for by farmers and allied industry members through their checkoffs.
“Being a part of an ag promotion group helps us achieve common goals,” Michael Warren, chairman of the National Mango Board, said in the release.
Ag promotion groups are required to measure their return on each dollar invested, according to the release.
A 2017 study, “U.S. National Economic Contribution of Generic Food and Agricultural Product Advertising,” concluded that for each dollar spent on advertising and promotion by agricultural promotion group campaigns, stakeholder returns ranged from $2 to $15.
The study also estimated that more than 825 jobs were supported for each million invested in 2015.
The 27 agricultural promotion groups measured in the 2017 study invested a combined $624.6 million in commodity promotion programs in 2015.
According to the release, USDA conducts comprehensive management reviews with each group and requires independent annual financial audits and periodic econometric reviews to measure ROI to ensure full and complete transparency.
“As a family farmer, I know from experience how important the USDA oversight role is,” Ibach said in his remarks. “We are committed to helping the thousands of farmers and ranchers represented here to communicate the successes they achieve by working together to overcome agricultural challenges.”
