The United States Agriculture Department said on Friday it reduced the amount mushroom producers must pay into a fund that supports industry research and consumer information programs. USDA said effective August 6, the mandatory assessment rate will decrease to $0.001 from $0.0025 per pound of mushrooms marketed or imported into the United States and Puerto Rico. Producers and importers whose business average over 500,000 pounds of mushrooms annually for fresh use will be affected, USDA said. "Funds generated by this mandatory assessment will be used for non-promotional activities by the Mushroom Council," the agency said. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Mushroom Council's promotional activities were unconstitutional. The majority opinion said First Amendment values were at serious risk if the government can compel someone to subsidize speech on the side the government favours. The Mushroom Council will accept voluntary contributions to fund its promotional program, USDA said. The Council's budget for the 2001 calendar year is $1.689 million. Last month, the National Pork Producers Council asked a federal judge in Michigan to determine whether its $50 million marketing program was constitutional. The USDA runs dozens of promotional programs, similar to the mushroom industry's, worth hundreds of million of dollars for various agricultural commodities ranging from cotton and beef to eggs and milk. Producers of the commodities are required to contribute to help pay for programs that encourage consumption.
