An economic analysis of the effectiveness of the pork checkoff program, final report

Abstract

The Pork Checkoff Program is funded by a mandatory assessment collected from hog producers and hog and pork importers, and the revenues are collected and managed by the National Pork Board, a quasigovernmental, nonprofit entity that administers the program. The primary goal of the Pork Checkoff Program is to increase the profitability of hog and pork producers and importers through expansion of the demand for hogs and pork and reductions in production costs. The purpose of this study is to assess how well the Program’s goals are being met. Davis et al. (2001) previously conducted a study that focused on the Program’s performance from inception of Program activities in 1987 through 1998. Although we use data covering the entire time frame of the Program for estimation purposes, the focus of the current study is on the period from 1999 through 2005.