DES MOINES, Iowa – Steve Weaver, a pork producer from Elk Grove, Calif., has been elected president of the National Pork Board (NPB).

Members of the NPB also elected Tim Bierman of Larrabee, Iowa as vice president. Both terms are for one year.

Weaver and Bierman were elected during the board's summer meeting at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, reports said. Their terms begin immediately.

Board members also continued work on the 2009 budget and operating plan at the meeting, establishing a $55 million spending limit for 2009. That represents a 2.5 percent increase over the $53.657 million spending limit set for 2008. The new spending limit is based on estimates of 109 million hogs being marketed during 2009 at an average price of $51 to $55 per hundredweight on a live-weight basis.

Members of the search committee appointed to screen candidates to replace outgoing CEO Steve Murphy reported that they expect to interview their final two candidates in August and have a recommendation for the board by early September.

Source: The Pork CheckOff