CLIVE, Iowa — When the National Pork Board (NPB) celebrated its 25th anniversary Nov. 15-16 in Des Moines, the similarities between the meeting to mark the occasion and the very first meeting in 1986 were notable, the NPB’s top official recalled.

“I was looking at the minutes of that first meeting recently and noticed some striking similarities with today’s board,” said Everett Forkner, a Richards, Mo., pork producer and president of the NPB, which also houses the pork checkoff.

According to Forkner, Virgil Rosendale of Illinois was the first elected producer leader of the new board, where at that initial meeting, “there were many challenges ahead.”

“The minutes show he also talked about how ensuring producer involvement would be very important to the new board’s success,” he said. “I can say the same things today.”

The NPB’s silver anniversary included a luncheon where members honored staff and the nine employees who have been there since day one. The pork checkoff was founded in 1966 by a group of producers known as the “Moline 90.”

But by the early 1980s, pork producers were “sensing shifting consumer preferences toward leaner meat and feeling new market pressure from other proteins,” said Cindy Cunningham, NPB assistant vice president of communications.

“Producer leaders determined they were going to need additional resources to compete and agreed the best solution was to ask Congress for legislation requiring every pork producer who benefited from national promotion, research and education efforts to help support those programs,” she said.

Shortly after, Congress formally created the framework for the new checkoff in the 1985 farm bill, which required that for the checkoff to continue, a majority of producers had to approve it. In 1988, producers unanimously approved the referendum.

In November 1986, collections for the checkoff began – the same month the newly created 15-member NPB met for the first time. The first checkoff deducted 0.25 percent of the proceeds when a pig was sold, with producer leaders hoping to collect about $27 million.

Today, producers have increased their support of the checkoff to 0.4 percent of sale price, Cunningham said. “In 2011, those proceeds are expected to total approximately $72 million,” she noted. “By law, the money can be used by the national and state pork organizations only for promotion, research and consumer education.”

November 1986 was also the year “The Other White Meat” campaign was approved, at the board’s first meeting.

“Our current board just months ago approved the ‘Pork – Be Inspired’ campaign, an equally groundbreaking marketing and branding effort that helps consumers understand why pork is such a good choice and value for all types of meals,” Forkner said.

“I’m pretty sure that producers who were in the business in 1986 – and that includes me – would agree that we continue to face challenges not unlike those of 25 years ago. But I think we’d also agree we’ve made great progress, thanks to the pork checkoff, in the last 25 years.”

Among this “great progress,” Forkner said, are: the Pork Quality Assurance and Transport Quality Assurance; the growth of exports taking the United States from a net importer to being the leading exporter of pork in the world; the research that has led to genetic improvements and swine disease management; the Operation Main Street program that allows producers to tell their stories and promote their product to influential groups all over this country; and the We Care initiative “that is building trust among our customers.

“We focus so hard on the everyday challenges we as producers face that we sometimes forget to pause and reflect on all the good things we’ve accomplished,” he added. “That’s what we’re doing with this 25th anniversary celebration.”

In fact, the Pork – Be Inspired campaign is helping share the message of convenience, affordability and value of pork, said Chris Novak, the board’s CEO. “With 1,700 different recipes listed online, they are working to reach 330 million consumers through different approaches of advertising,” he said.

Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. was also importing more pork from overseas than exporting, Novak added. “Today, the U.S. has about 37 percent of the global market share and trade and we are the number one leading exporter of pork.”

During its business meeting this month, the board:

•Approved the 2012 budget submitted by the producer Plan of Work Task Force in September. The budget calls for program spending of $69.9 million.

•Received a progress report on certifications and site assessments completed in the Pork Quality Assurance Plus program. With a goal of having all sites with pigs assessed, sites representing approximately 73 percent of all pigs in the U.S. have been assessed by a trained third-part advisor.

•Heard recommendations to improve the way the national and state pork organizations work together.

•Began planning for 2012 Pork Industry Forum in Denver, Colo., March 1-3.

For information on checkoff-funded programs, pork producers may call the Pork Checkoff Service Center at 800-456-7675 or visit www.pork.org