How a Grocery Store and a Packing Plant Opened Two Pig Farmers’ Perspectives
If there’s one thing Jesse Heimer took away from his Pork Leadership Institute (PLI) experience, it’s that as a pork producer, he needs to better understand what’s going on at the grocery store.
Heimer, a Missouri show pig producer, joined 15 other pork industry enthusiasts from 11 states for a one-year comprehensive training program co-led by the National Pork Board and the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC).
A Shocking Discovery
During a PLI trip to Chicago, Heimer and fellow professionals visited Tony’s Fresh Market in Chicago.
“It’s an amazing grocery store,” Heimer says. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It would blow anyone’s mind how much pork they sell, the presentation of pork and the variety of pork. The emphasis they put on pork in their store was unmatched in all of our stops in Chicago.”
The group met with Vince, one of the owners of the stores, and experienced his passion for pork firsthand. Heimer says Vince spoke with a high level of confidence and conviction about pork as a protein for their 17 grocery stores.
“I kept thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if producers actually understood there was a guy named Vince with that sort of conviction and passion for selling pork?’” Heimer says.
He wants more producers to understand the supply chain and retail process that gets the product they are passionate about producing into a grocery cart to be cooked as a nutritious meal.
“It would be neat if you could get all of those people in the pork supply chain in the same room so they better understood exactly what happens to get pigs from sows to finishers and from finishers to packing plants and from packing plants to a grocery store so domestic consumers can buy that product,” Heimer says.
It was a full-circle moment for him, he adds. He believes the industry spends a lot of time worried about what the consumer does and doesn’t understand about pork production.
“But do producers?” Heimer challenges. “Do our average pork producers in our country right now really understand the retail process? And do they have any comprehension of what's going on at the grocery store level with our consumer?”
"It's been beneficial to figure out what pieces I can take from PLI and how I can share that with a younger generation who may or may not have interest in the pork industry," Jackie Lackey says.
Debunking the Disconnect
Jackie Lackey, a Texas show pig producer, says the Prestage Foods of Iowa packing plant tour was one of the most impactful parts of her PLI experience.
“It was phenomenal to see the automation, the cleanliness, the process in which they run pork through the plant,” Lackey says.
Being able to take that experience back to Texas with her is the main reason she applied to be part of the experience.
“As someone who views myself as a responsible party to help educate young people, it's been beneficial to figure out what pieces I can take from PLI and how I can share that with a younger generation who may or may not have interest in the pork industry,” Lackey says.
There are a lot of kids who enjoy showing pigs, especially in Texas, she says. But there’s been a gap in connecting that experience to real-world pork production she hopes she can help bridge.
“I think this will continue to be an issue we face – it’s hard to find qualified ag educators,” Lackey says. “I often reference a survey done by Texas AgriLife Extension that shows kids who show pigs rank ag teachers and Extension agents third and fifth on the list of people who help them with their projects. I find that breeders and producers in the show pig space are taking on more of a role of education, not just on how to feed and show a pig, but also exposing kids to opportunities within our industry.”
It’s a big responsibility Lackey doesn’t take lightly. She enjoyed being able to network and bring information home to share with their young customers. It has helped her better explain the size, scope and opportunity in the pork industry today.
"The kids who show pigs have a powerful voice as advocates for the pork industry," Jesse Heimer says, congratulating a youth exhibitor after a win at The Exposition.
A Seat at the Table
“I appreciated having a seat at the table for our PLI discussions,” she says. “It’s been a very respectful collaboration of people coming together and talking about industry topics and working within their own space to be successful in the pork industry.”
Heimer says he became part of PLI because he wanted to be at the table, too, and have conversations with others in the industry about how the show pig side of the business can help connect a new generation of swine enthusiasts to the pork industry.
“The kids who show pigs have a powerful voice as advocates for the pork industry,” Heimer says. “I don’t think there’s a stronger argument for why the show pig industry has value today. We need to find a way to use opportunities like PLI to better understand each of our roles because at the end of the day, we all need each other.”
For all these reasons and more, Heimer and Lackey encourage pork producers or professionals within the industry from all backgrounds and geographic locations to apply for the 2022 PLI class. Interested individuals should talk with their state pork associations.
There’s no question the food industry is growing. That’s why training and development opportunities such as PLI are critical to building the future leaders of the swine industry.
“I continue to be amazed at what we try to do as agriculturalists. It's still very eye-opening the amount of opportunity and education needed for a population that is disconnected,” Lackey adds. “Our role in agriculture is also to understand the demographic we feed. Learning how to fit into that, and learning the expectations of domestic consumers, of global consumers - it just feels bigger every time you dive into it.”
Heimer (second from left) joins colleagues in PLI to learn a few things about preparing pork. "We need to find a way to use opportunities like PLI to better understand each of our roles because at the end of the day, we all need each other," Heimer says.
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