IARN — As 2021 winds down, the National Pork Board is reminding people about the benefits of the Pork Checkoff and some of its highlights over the past year.
Gene Noem, president of the National Pork Board, talks about how staff and board members teamed up to protect producers’ freedom to operate.
“The board of directors and the National Pork Board staff have worked to invest your checkoff dollars in key producer priorities. We remain focused on promotion, education and research initiatives that support the industry and protect your freedom to operate.”
Noem says the National Pork Board launched AgView this year. The organization collaborated across the industry to prevent foreign animal diseases such as African Swine Fever from reaching domestic swine herds.
“We launched AgView and helped producers register almost 4,000 premises already. This technology will help all producers share disease updates and pig movement data with state animal health officials in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak.”
Noem says an NPB national campaign helped bust myths about pork production by redefining commons sayings about pigs to show that pig farmers are committed to doing what’s right for people, pigs, and the planet.
“We partnered with award winning actor Eric Stonestreet to create social media videos that dispel consumer misconceptions. We redefine common sayings about pigs to show that pig farmers are committed to doing what’s right for people, pigs and the planet. The videos have received more than 14 million views and made headlines in more than 200 news outlets.”
Lastly, Noem says pork producers remain committed to sustainability.
“More than 80 farms around the country representing more than 300,000 pigs are participating in free on-farm sustainability reports. The reports will measure and document improvement efforts on their farms and showcase the pork industry’s commitment to sustainability.”
Learn more by visiting porkcheckoff.org.
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
Image courtesy NPB
