Gene
Nemechek Elected President of National Pork Board
Gene Nemechek, a swine veterinarian from Springdale, Ark.,
has been elected president of the National Pork Board by
his fellow board members. The board also elected Everett
Forkner, a pork producer from Richards, Mo., vice president.
Both will serve one-year terms effective July 1.
Nemechek is a swine quality assurance veterinarian with
the live swine division of the Tyson Pork Group, Inc. for
Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. Nemechek has a shared responsibility
to work with the Tyson pork production units in Arkansas,
Oklahoma, and Missouri as well as customer quality assurance
for the Tyson Pork Group weaned pig and feeder pig customers.
Nemechek, the current board vice president, is serving
his second three-year term on the National Pork Board and
serves on the organization's Budget Committee, Resolutions
Committee, Pork Safety Committee and Swine Health Committee.
Previously, he served as president and vice president of
the North Carolina Pork Council.
Forkner was nominated for a second three-year term on the
board by Pork Act delegates at Pork Industry Forum in March
and is awaiting the secretary of agriculture's appointment
of the 2010 National Pork Board members.
Forkner is the owner and president of Forkner Farms Inc.,
which has 500 purebred sows and markets 8,000 hogs per year.
He has sold hogs in 27 different countries. He also raises
corn, soybeans and wheat on 2,000 acres.
Nationally, Forkner is chair of the board's Budget Committee
and serves on the board's Administrative Committee. He also
serves on the Pork Checkoff's Animal Science Committee and
Niche Committee. He also serves on the Nutritional Efficiency
Consortium. At the state level, he is a member of the Missouri
Pork Producer Association and serves on the board of directors.
He also has served as chair of the Missouri Pork Expo and
chair of the Research Committee. Locally, Forkner is past
president of the Vernon County Pork Producers; he served
on the board of directors from 1970 to 1995.
National
Pork Board Implementing New Strategic Plan
Just months after adopting a new
five-year strategic plan, the National Pork Board is busy
implementing the plan's vision, National Pork Board President
Tim Bierman told reporters June 9 at World Pork Expo in
Des Moines.
"Through the Pork Checkoff, we've set our sights on "Leading
a World-Class Food Industry," and I'm already beginning
to see some evidence of making that happen," said Bierman,
a pork producer from Larrabee, Iowa. "If you look at the
three areas of focus in that plan - helping farmers produce
hogs in a socially responsible manner; refreshing the image
of pork to increase consumer demand; and pursuing strategies
to remain competitive globally - you can see some of the
specific steps to implement the plan and its vision."
Bierman said the industry's We Care initiative is helping
pork producers demonstrate their commitment to socially
responsible production. He said one of the most visible
ways pork producers do that is through the Pork Quality
Assurance Plus® certification program.
"PQA Plus helps assure the world we're producing a safe
and wholesome product and incorporates animal care and well-being
principles. PQA Plus was introduced three years ago at World
Pork Expo," Bierman said, "and I am proud to announce that
we are very close to having 50,000 producers certified by
June 30. It's quite a remarkable achievement and demonstrates
the commitment producers make each day to producing safe
food in a responsible way.
"We still have some work to do because we've set some ambitious
goals to complete site assessments of all our farms by the
end of this year," Bierman said. "But I am proud of my fellow
producers' commitment to this important program."
Significant progress also is being made toward the goal
of refreshing and repositioning the pork brand, said Ceci
Snyder, the Pork Checkoff's vice president of domestic marketing.
"We have just finished the early stages of our consumer
research, and one insight I can share is that pork lovers
see the world as full of possibilities," Snyder said. "One
not surprising finding is that The Other White Meat is certainly
well-known. But we have also found that it is so familiar
that it blends into the background. It's not motivating
our customers to buy more pork.
"How the Other White Meat factors
into our new brand position is still being explored," she
said. "We know for certain that we will protect the Other
White Meat's important heritage both in marketing and legally."
Snyder said that based on consumer
research, the new target audience is likely to be consumers
who already are medium to heavy pork users. Members of the
target audience also are more likely to be women who are
married and have children.
Snyder noted the Pork Checkoff will continue to advertise
pork between now and the end of the year, but that it will
be "transitional" advertising and not the new brand position.
"Between now and next March at Pork Forum, when we'll be
ready to show you the brand evolution, some of the advertising
and marketing materials you'll see will feature the pork
logo with the word "pork" only, along with TheOtherWhiteMeat.com."
She said additional consumer
research is planned this summer and there likely will be
a test of the new brand position with a target audience
this fall.
Life-like
Drill Helps Public Officials and Farmers Test FMD Response
In the event of a foot and mouth
disease (FMD) outbreak in the United States, what public
official would be in charge? What would happen to farmers
in the outbreak area? Where would farmers go for information?
Those questions and others were put to a test Tuesday,
June 8, at World Pork Expo in Des Moines, where more than
80 attendees representing production agriculture, law enforcement,
media and state and federal governments participated in
Pork-Checkoff-sponsored table-top exercise based on a simulated
FMD outbreak.
The United States has not had an FMD case since 1929, but
recent outbreaks in Japan and elsewhere have brought renewed
attention to the need to be vigilant, said Patrick Webb,
a veterinarian and director of swine health programs for
the Pork Checkoff. Webb said exercises such as the one conducted
Tuesday are based on scenarios that require participants
to make decisions and to move equipment and animals on a
scale model of a small town and surrounding farms.
"We know from experience that each decision the participants
make and each movement of resources on the table creates
new challenges that must be solved," Webb said. "We've found
that it is a very effective way to demonstrate the importance
of planning, preparedness and surveillance."
The Pork Checkoff has conducted the table-top drill for
law enforcement, government officials, media members and
representatives from agriculture throughout the country.
"I know every time I participate
in an FMD drill I realize just how devastating an FMD outbreak
would be to me as a pork producer, and to all livestock
producers in the U.S.," said Jim Niewold, a pork producer
from Loda, Ill., and chairman of the Pork Checkoff's Swine
Health Committee. "By practicing how we would respond, I
feel like we as an industry are better prepared and have
plans in place should we ever have FMD in this country.
"
The Pork Checkoff's
online information resource for pork producers - pork.org
- is getting a new look to make it easier for producers
to get the information they need quickly and efficiently.
The redesigned site went "live" Monday morning and will
be introduced to pork producers during World Pork Expo in
Des Moines this week.
"The last time we made major improvements
to our producer Web site was almost eight years ago," said
Bill Kessler, a Missouri pork producer who chairs the Checkoff's
Producer and State Relations Committee. "So it was time.
Members of our committee got to test drive the site last
week and I think producers are going to like what they see."
User data show that several thousand producers visit pork.org
each week. In 2009, the site had more than 165,000 unique
user visits. "Pork.org is easily the most complete source
of information about Pork Checkoff programs," Kessler said.
"Producers use it for everything from market information
to checking on their PQA Plus® certification status,
and for the latest news.
"Even though the site is designed primarily for producers,
we know that others come to the site searching for information
about pork production. So resources such as our 'Quick
Facts' book are easy to find and should help us demonstrate
the principles of our We Care initiative to visitors." Kessler
said.
The redesigned site, in addition
to having a cleaner look and feel, has a number of new features
producers are going to find useful, Kessler said. Here are
just a few:
• A
new search feature allows a producer to type in a word
or phrase to find the information they're seeking.
• Because certification information is one of
the most used features of pork.org, there is a new section
devoted to making it easier for producers to get the information
they need about certification programs.
• There is a searchable database of all Pork
Checkoff-sponsored research.
• Short videos demonstrating how today's pork
producers raise hogs, and audio "podcasts" that feature
useful information for producers from industry experts,
have a prominent spots on the home page.
• And because producers like to prepare pork
as much as any consumer, the new site features a daily
recipe combined with a convenient link to TheOtherWhiteMeat.com
for additional pork information.
Free
pork producer certification programs offered in Hutchinson
June 9
Pork producers and livestock transporters can earn their
individual certifications for Pork Quality Assurance Plus
(PQA Plus) and Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) at free
trainings on June 9 at the Commercial Building on the McLeod
County Fairgrounds, 840 Century Avenue, Hutchinson.
The PQA Plus training will be from 10 a.m. to noon and
the TQA training will be from 1:30-4 p.m.
To assure adequate seating and materials, preregistration
is strongly encouraged. To preregister, telephone the Minnesota
Pork Board office at (800) 537-7675 or e-mail colleen@mnpork.com.
When preregistering, provide your name, address, telephone
number and e-mail, if available.
PQA Plus is required as a condition of sale by nearly all
packers for those individuals who provide daily care of
pigs, such as owners, managers and employees. The PQA Plus
training also describes the site assessment process and
how to achieve PQA Plus Site Status. The minimum age for
PQA Plus certification eligibility is 14.
TQA training is also a common hog packer requirement for
the drivers delivering hogs to the plant and for on-farm
animal handlers.
Pork producers can check their PQA Plus and TQA certification
status by calling the Pork Checkoff Service Center at (800)
456-7675. Contact your hog buyer/packer for their specific
PQA Plus certification, PQA Plus Site Status and TQA certification
requirements.
PQA Plus and TQA trainings are hosted by the Minnesota
Pork Board, Pork Checkoff and University of Minnesota Extension
Swine Team. For additional training locations and dates
go to www.mnpork.com.
