Every U.S. pork producer invests their dollars into the Pork Checkoff, but it also takes the investment of time from volunteers to be faithful stewards of those funds. For National Pork Board President and Iowa pork producer Gene Noem, being involved creates strength for the industry.
“Something in marketing, something in promotion, something in education, give back to the industry and what I come to realize is not just an honor, but it’s also the enormity of the responsibility that we have to make sure that that the funding is done, is spent right and in a way that majority of our investors say that was a good move.”
From rising feed costs to the continued threat of African Swine Fever, Noem says National Pork Board moves at the speed of business to stay relevant to producers.
“What are the things that are happening today? Not kind of like what you have to just imagine what happened before or it’s more than a graduate thesis to where every result takes two years to make. We’ve got to be really relevant now, but with a long view in mind as well.”
Later this week, the World Pork Expo will give producers the chance to network and get the latest information about developments in the industry.
“The time to do this kind of networking that we get to do it is really important to understand what are the new technologies people are talking about, what are the new techniques, you know, what are you doing around health and how can we avoid some of the things we’re doing, what are the ways to cooperate with other producers? We’re a cooperative bunch ,were competitive but cooperative to, there’s a lot of ideas shared it’s a fantastic event to do that.”
Noem says producers look forward to having many great conversations over great pork meals at Expo. More information about the event can be found at porkcheckoff.org.
