Media Note:To arrange an interview of Chef Torgerson, contact Amy Brandel at the Minnesota Pork Board office, (507) 345-881 or amy@mnpork.com
Chef Torgerson’s sizzling idea rocks the fair
Famous Dave’s BBQ and Minnesota pork producers sizzled at this year’s Minnesota State Fair with the introduction of the Butt and Belly BBQ Pork Sandwich and Chocolate Covered Pig Lickers.
Pork producers invested Pork Checkoff funding into the promotional signage and marketing associated with the introduction of the two original pork items created by Chef Charlie Torgerson.
Torgerson, and his business partner Randy Jernberg, own four Famous Dave’s restaurants, including the facility on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Each fair season, they launch new menu items, and once again, the pair demonstrated pork’s versatility with this year’s state fair menu items - Chocolate Covered Pig Lickers™ and the Butt & Belly BBQ Sandwich.
The novelty of these items caught the media’s attention prior and during to the fair – especially the Pig Lickers; chocolate-covered smoked bacon sprinkled with sea salt.
The Pig Lickers were talked about on national television shows such as Jay Leno and Good Morning America, and Torgerson appeared on several Twin Cities television stations and did numerous print and radio interviews discussing his culinary invention.
Torgerson, a 2008 National Pork Board Celebrated Pork Chef and Minnesota Pork Board Taste of Elegance participant, enthusiastically promotes pork on behalf of the state’s pork producers and the Pork Checkoff.
At the state fair, Famous Dave’s served-up 150,000 half-slices of Nueske's applewood-smoked bacon covered in one-and-a-half-tons of Celeste chocolate.
The equally delicious Butt & Belly BBQ Sandwich featured brined, slow cooked, smoked pork belly that was finished on the grill for added crispiness and then served on a bun with pickled jalapeno red onion, shredded cabbage and chipotle BBQ sauce.
For the sandwich, Torgerson used 300 pounds of pork belly from Prairie Pride Farm of Minnesota, which is owned and operated by Mankato hog farmers Roger and Dawn Hubmer.
Media Note:To arrange an interview with an Operation Main Street speaker, contact Amy Brandel at the Minnesota Pork Board office, (507) 345-881 or amy@mnpork.com
Minnesota pork producers help educate others
Minnesota pork producers are volunteering their time to educate the public on contemporary pork production practices and improvements to pork quality.
There are currently 22 Minnesotans in the Operation Main Street (OMS) speaker’s bureau, a national program that has trained 300 pork producers in several states to give presentations about their livelihood to Rotary and Lions clubs, chamber of commences, and many other civic organizations. Since its launch four-years-ago, Minnesota pork producers have given over 200 OMS talks to community groups in rural, suburban and urban areas.
The OMS speakers discuss pork producers’ environmental and land stewardship practices, how and why the pork industry has changed through the years, new technologies pork producers use, and how pork production positively contributes to local and state economies.
OMS audiences will learn that Minnesota pork producers generated $2 billion in on-farm income
last year and that each $1 in farm-level income creates another $2.80 in economic activity for the state, making Minnesota pork production a $7.6 billion annual economic contributor. Additional positive attributes from Minnesota pork production is the creation of 22,500 jobs, the ability to supply valuable fertilizer to crop land, and a market for 169 million bushels of corn and 60 million bushels of soybeans.
To schedule an OMS presentation, contact the Minnesota Pork Board office at (507) 345-8814.
Pigs have long provided contributions to our society? Enjoy these little known but extremely interesting facts about swine in our time!
Did you know…?
The current record for the highest selling hog of all time is the Champion Yorkshire Boar at the 2001 Summer Type Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. He was bred and owned by Creager Farms of Wauseon, Ohio. The boar was sold to Lifeline Genetics of Oklahoma for $220,000.
Did you know…?
The first World Pork Expo held in 1988 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds attracted 60,000 people.
Did you know…?
Symbol III is an ideal market hog that symbolizes profitability for every segment of the industry. Adopted in 2005, this hog has correctness of structure, production, performance, function, livability, attitude, health and optimum lean yield.
Did you know…?
Pork is a true leader when it comes to pizza with 77 percent of all meat pizza toppings come from pork.
Did you know…?
China, not America, is the number one producer and consumer of fresh pork in the world.
Did you know…?
Pigs give us more than a loveable cartoon character named Porky and a meat product that can’t be beat. From heart valves, insulin and life-saving drugs to dyes, glue and antifreeze, pork products help make our lives safe, healthy and efficient.
Did you know…?
The longest sausage measured 5,917 feet in length and was cooked in Barcelona, Spain, on September 22, 1986.
The Minnesota Pork Board (MPB) annual meeting will be Dec. 2 at the Country Inn & Suites, 1900 Premier Drive, Mankato. The meeting will be from 3:30-5:30 p.m.
The MPB administers Pork Checkoff programs relating to research, consumer and producer education, and promotion. Minnesota pork producers who have paid into the mandatory Pork Checkoff are encouraged to attend and are eligible to run for leadership positions and vote on resolutions.
Pork producers do not have to be a member of a county pork association to take part in the annual meeting.
The annual meeting agenda will include financial and program reviews, and election of Minnesota Pork Act Delegates. These individuals also serve on the MPB Executive Board. The one-year terms end after the 2010 Pork Industry Forum in March.Producers who are interested in serving on the board and as a Pork Act Delegate, or who would like more information, should call the MPB office. Nominations will also be accepted at meeting
Resolutions for discussion at the annual meeting are due into the MPB office by Oct. 30. Resolutions must relate to Pork Checkoff programs. To submit a resolution, mail it to the MPB, 151 Saint Andrews Court, Suite 810, Mankato, Minn., 56001; fax to the MPB at (507) 345-8681; or e-mail to mnpork@mnpork.com. Please include your name, address, and day/evening telephone numbers. Resolutions made at the meeting will require a two-thirds margin to be brought to the floor for discussion and three-fourths majority vote for approval.
To help with meeting preparations, pork producers who plan to attend the MPB Annual Meeting are asked to pre-register by calling the MPB office at 1-800-537-7675 or by e-mail at mnpork@mnpork.com
The National Pork Board named Chris Novak, a state commodity association executive, as the organization’s new chief executive officer. Novak began work at the National Pork Board on Oct. 1.
Novak replaces Steve Murphy, who announced his resignation in January. Murphy became the National Pork Board’s first CEO in October 2002. Prior to that time, the National Pork Board’s Checkoff-funded programs were handled under a contract with the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC).
Novak grew up on a diversified farm near Marion, Iowa, and has served as executive director of the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Indiana’s corn organizations. He led the merger of two soybean organizations and helped build partnerships between Indiana’s soybean, corn and livestock commodity organizations.
Novak has a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University, a law degree from the University of Iowa and an executive master’s degree in business administration from Purdue University.
He began his professional career as a legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa and joined NPPC in 1990 as director of public policy. In 1992, he became NPPC’s first director of environmental services. His career experience also includes serving as executive director of the nonprofit environmental education organization Terrene Institute and as science communication manager for Syngenta, where he directed biotechnology communication activities.
The nutritional value of pork has undergone quite a change from 1991 to 2005. A new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) analysis of fresh pork reveals six common cuts of pork found in today’s meat case are, on average, 16 percent lower in fat and 27 percent lower in saturated fat compared to 15 years ago.
Key Findings:
Pork tenderloin is now as lean as the leanest cut of chicken. Trimmed pork tenderloin contains only 2.98 grams of fat per 3-ounce serving compared to 3.03 grams of fat for the same amount of a boneless, skinless chicken breast.
Several cuts of pork are among the leanest meats in the USDA database.
For the first time in the USDA database, pork was analyzed for trans fatty acids content. The results confirm that pork contains no artery-clogging trans fat.
Tenderloin – the leanest cut of pork – experienced a significant drop in total fat and saturated fat, yet also increased in B6 and niacin content.
Six of the nine pork cuts announced by the government have a nutritional content that meets guidelines for “lean,” with less than 10 grams fat, 4.5 grams saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving.
Pork tenderloin meets the “extra lean” guidelines of less than 5 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving.
The Minnesota Pork Board, on behalf of the state’s pork producers, annually invests Pork Checkoff funding into swine research. The MPB Production Technology and Research committee members strive to look into the future and focus research on areas that will result in beneficial and positive financial outcome for pork producers by improving production, lowering costs and increasing margins.
A recently completed project by University of Minnesota researchers helps pork producers calculate the value of manure as a fertilizer replacement. Minnesota Pork Checkoff dollars helped finance this publication, The “Other Fertilizer” The Economic Value of Swine Finishing Manure.
Publication highlights include a spreadsheet tool for determining and maximizing manures nutrient value and maximum manure utilization, data showing the economic response from manure, and observations on the influence of dry matter on manure’s nutrient value.
The study’s authors collected three years of data on Minnesota swine farms and results focus on liquid swine manure from finishing barns, but the research results can be applicable for other livestock species and for solid manure.
The “Other Fertilizer” The Economic Value Of Swine Finishing Manure, is available at no cost to Minnesota pork producers by contacting the Minnesota Pork Board office at 1-800-537-7675 or mnpork@mnpork.com. Please include a mailing address when requesting this publication. The report is also available at www.mnpork.com/producers.
The MPB administers Pork Checkoff programs relating to research, consumer and producer education, and promotion. Minnesota pork producers who have paid into the mandatory Pork Checkoff are encouraged to attend and are eligible to run for leadership positions and vote on resolutions.
