The U.S. Department of Agriculture has withdrawn a proposal that would have redrawn the production districts of the national watermelon checkoff program and cut the number of seats held by importers on its board. The Agricultural Marketing Service published the withdrawal notice in the Federal Register on Sept. 9, and it took effect that day.

USDA said the calculation used to justify cutting importer seats was legally insufficient and that withdrawing the proposed rule was the only viable option. Because the seat cut and the district changes were part of the same proposal, the withdrawal leaves watermelon growers with the five-district map set in 2020, even though the board's own review of recent harvests recommended moving three states.

This is a small regulatory story, but it offers a clear look at how commodity checkoff programs work and how slowly they adjust when farming patterns shift. Nothing in the notice points to a change for shoppers. Growers in three states, however, will keep voting in districts that their own board recommended changing to reflect production trends.

A Seat Count USDA Now Calls Flawed

The original proposal, published Sept. 19, 2025, followed a unanimous board vote at an Oct. 15, 2024, meeting in Atlanta. It would have moved Alabama and South Carolina into the Georgia district, shifted Missouri out of the western district and into the district that includes Texas and North Carolina, and cut importer seats from nine to seven.

Under the program's rules, importer representation must be proportionate to the share of assessments importers pay, with at least one importer on the board. Board audits showed imports accounted for about 36 percent of assessment income from 2021 through 2023, an average of roughly $1.16 million a year out of about $3.2 million.

The 2025 proposal measured importer representation by comparing importer seats only with the 20 domestic producer and handler seats. On that basis, it said seven importers, equal to 35 percent of the domestic seat count, would closely match the 36 percent share.

In its withdrawal, USDA said it had since found the methodology of those calculations "flawed, resulting in an underestimation of importer seats." The notice also said importers' share of assessments during the 2021 to 2023 review period had risen 4 percent from the board's previous review in 2020. Only four public comments were filed on the proposal, according to the regulations.gov docket.

Where America's Watermelons Actually Grow

The district map exists so that growers and handlers from regions of comparable production get comparable representation. Each district is represented by two producer members and two handler members. The plan originally divided the country into seven districts, and the current five districts were set by the realignment rule that set today's map.

The board's latest review used USDA production data for 2021 through 2023 from the National Agricultural Statistics Service and Market News reports, filling gaps with its own assessment data for states that federal surveys no longer cover. Florida led with 23.6 percent of U.S. production on a three-year average, followed by Georgia at 14.8 percent, California at 11.5 percent, Texas at 9.6 percent and Indiana at 9.2 percent.

North Carolina, Arizona, Missouri and Delaware each accounted for between 3 percent and 6 percent. The board's table listed no production data at all for 17 states and Washington, D.C., including Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas and Wyoming.

Under the map that now stays in force, Missouri remains in a sprawling western district with California, Arizona and a string of Plains and Mountain states. Alabama and South Carolina stay in a district with Texas, North Carolina and much of the South, rather than joining neighboring Georgia. The board said its preferred plan would have provided more proportional geographic representation, limited board vacancies and widened the pool of nominees.

The data gap is worth noting on its own. USDA said changes in the geographic coverage of its watermelon production data forced the board to rely partly on its own assessment records, which were converted to percentages to protect the privacy of growers and handlers.

Checkoff Programs, Explained

Checkoffs are industry-funded research and promotion programs that operate under USDA oversight. The watermelon plan took effect on June 8, 1989, under the Watermelon Research and Promotion Act, and is run by the National Watermelon Promotion Board, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.

The 30-member board includes 10 producers, 10 handlers, nine importers and one public member. The program is funded by assessments on producers growing 10 acres or more of watermelons, on handlers, and on importers of 150,000 pounds or more a year.

Under a final rule that raised the program's assessment rate, the total rate rose from 6 cents to 9 cents per hundredweight on Jan. 22, 2025. Domestic producers and first handlers each pay 4.5 cents, and importers pay the full 9 cents. According to the board, roughly 429 producers, 121 first handlers and 183 importers are subject to the program.

The money pays for research, development, advertising and promotion aimed at expanding markets for watermelons. USDA said the proposed realignment would not have imposed any additional costs on growers, handlers or importers, and the withdrawal does not change the assessment rate.

Next Steps for Growers and Importers

USDA said the Agricultural Marketing Service will engage with the watermelon industry on next steps for realigning board membership in line with the law and the plan. The notice gives no timeline, and it does not say how many importer seats a new proposal would include.

The plan requires the board to review district boundaries at least every five years, weighing the most recent three years of production data and trends in where the crop is grown. USDA must also evaluate importer representation every five years, based on the share of assessments importers paid over the preceding three years.

Growers in Alabama, South Carolina and Missouri are the most directly affected, since their district assignments stay put. Importers keep nine seats for now. Producers and handlers with questions about nominations or district assignments can contact the Agricultural Marketing Service specialty crops staff named in the withdrawal notice. What remains unknown is whether USDA will simply rerun the importer calculation or also revisit the district lines with newer harvest data.

The bottom line: a flawed seat calculation has frozen a map the industry itself asked to update. Until a new proposal appears, the 2020 districts and nine importer seats remain the rules of the road.

What Readers Want to Know

What did USDA withdraw?

A September 2025 proposal to realign the National Watermelon Promotion Board by moving three states between production districts and cutting importer seats from nine to seven. The withdrawal took effect Sept. 9, 2026.

Why was the proposal withdrawn?

USDA said the method used to calculate importer seats was flawed and led to an underestimate of how many seats importers should have. Because the importer change was part of the same proposal, the district changes were withdrawn too.

Which states are affected?

Alabama and South Carolina would have joined Georgia's district, and Missouri would have moved from the western district into the one that includes Texas and North Carolina. All three now stay in their current districts.

What is a checkoff program?

It is an industry-funded research and promotion program overseen by USDA. Watermelon producers, handlers and importers pay assessments that fund research, advertising and promotion run by the National Watermelon Promotion Board.

Will this affect watermelon prices?

Nothing in the notice indicates a price effect. USDA said the realignment would not have added costs, and the withdrawal leaves the assessment rate unchanged.

What happens next?

USDA said it will work with the industry on next steps. The board must review its districts at least every five years, so a revised proposal could follow, but no timeline has been announced.