NPPC asks for court ruling on pork checkoff

Washington - The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the MichiganPork Producers Association (MPPA) are asking a federal district judge todetermine the constitutionality of the pork checkoff, and to rule on thelegality of the settlement agreement between NPPC and the USDA.

The supplemental complaint was filed in late July in the United StatesDistrict Court, Western District of Michigan.

In the case of United States v. United Foods, the U.S. Supreme Courtruled that the assessments on handlers of fresh mushrooms to pay for genericmushroom advertising violated the First Amendment's free speech guarantee.

Previously, in Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliott, Inc., thehigh court upheld mandatory assessments on California tree fruit producersagainst a First Amendment challenge.

In the United Foods case, the court failed to answer the question whetherthe mushroom promotion program could be defended as "government speech,"holding that the government had waived that argument, NPPC explains.

In its supplemental filing, the two pork producer groups have asked thecourt to declare that Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman acted withinher discretion and authority in entering into a settlement agreement continuingthe pork checkoff program.