Agricultural organizations continue to release plans for the year ahead.
Bill Even, Chief Executive Officer of the National Pork Board, this week outlined four major priorities set forth by the Pork Checkoff’s Board of Directors.
- First: Foreign Animal Disease Prevention & Prevention
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- ?With African Swine Fever moving rapidly across Asia and concerns in Europe, it?s important for the Pork Checkoff to help lead and coordinate those efforts with the (National) Pork Producers Council, veterinarians and other allied industries.?
- Second: We Care
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- ?There?s a lot of conversation around how animals are raised, issues related to antibiotics, what I should eat – a plant-based diet or meat as a part of that diet. People have questions about how we raise pigs. The advantage we have ther is the We Care platform has been around for 12 years. The Pork Checkoff is looking to ramp that up aggressively, particularly reaching out to the grassroots, such as contract growers and getting them deeply involved in our ethical principles of how we raise pigs.
- Third: International Marketing
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- ?With trade deals on the horizon, we have lost market share in some international markets. Our focus, in particular, is in Japan and Mexico. That?s where we?re at now with task forces working specifically on picking up market share.?
- Fourth: Sustainability, health, and human nutrition
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- ?When folks are thinking, particularly after the first of the year, about ?What is my diet going to be? What should I be eating?,? protein is important, and pork can be a simple, clean and straightforward protein that you don?t have to look at a long list of labels to understand.?
Coming up next week: Bill Even will speak to changes made to the Pork Checkoff, as well as what pork producers can expect from the updated program. Norman Bessac, vice president of international marketing for the National Pork Board, will outline new and existing opportunities for United States pork overseas.
