National Pork Board

Some of the biggest commodity groups in the country have enlisted lawmakers in a quiet campaign to shut off public access to the activities of the quasi-governmental boards that promote U.S. cotton, beef, eggs and other agricultural products.

The U.S. appeals court in Washington "is breathing new life into a previously dismissed lawsuit alleging pork checkoff funds were indirectly used to benefit the lobbying efforts of the National Pork Producers Council," said Agri-Pulse.

The farmer-funded National Pork Board "will use an online marketing campaign to counter a critical television documentary on antibiotics use in livestock," says Reuters.