Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has appointed five representatives to serve on the Peanut Standards Board. Each member will serve through June 2015. A sixth nominee has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board through June 2014.

The Peanut Standards Board is made up of 18 members representing the Southeast Region, which covers the states of Alabama, Georgia and Florida; the Southwest Region, covering Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico; and the Virginia-Carolina Region, which includes Virginia and North Carolina. One third of the board is appointed each year.

Alabama producer Carl Sanders and industry representative Ann D. King of Georgia were selected to represent the Southeast Region; Oklahoma producer Leslie D. Crall to represent the Southwest Region; and North Carolina producer George H. McGee and industry representative Jane Campbell of Virginia to represent the Virginia-Carolina Region. Carl Gray of North Carolina was also selected to fill an industry representative vacancy, which ends June 30, 2014, for the Virginia-Carolina Region. An additional vacancy remains in the Southwest.

The Peanut Standards Board is authorized under the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. The USDA consults with the board to establish or change quality and handling standards for domestically produced and imported peanuts.