Producer Sidesteps Pork Checkoff

An Indiana pork producer has cited his opposition to the National Pork Checkoff as the reason he's selling hogs directly to Chicago restaurants, according to an Associated Press report.

Greg Gunthorp quit paying the checkoff fee in January. He and his wife run a 65-acre farm.

USDA officials have warned the Gunthorps that they are violating the law and must pay their mandated checkoff contribution. The National Pork Board advised them that charges on their unpaid checkoff balance are growing 18 percent annually.

Gunthorp teamed up with a couple of ostrich growers to purchase a small
locker plant in Michigan that could process meat for trendy restaurants in Chicago. NPB cites Gunthrop as the first pork producer in the nation to take action against the checkoff deduction.

Source: Associated Press

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