The global pork industry will continue to face unprecedented changes and challenges in 2022. During the next Farm Country Update on Jan. 19, three industry experts will discuss the topics and issues they think pork producers will face in the year ahead. They’ll also weigh in on the opportunities the global pork industry must take advantage of in order to bring meaningful changes to impact the future of pork.
Confirmed panelists include:
Kent Bang, Compeer Financial
Bang serves as the Director of swine lending at Compeer Financial. He has more than 40 years of experience in the swine industry, with the last 25 years spent financing large commercial swine production and pork processing. Prior to that time, he consulted clients across the U.S. in production, finance, and nutrition for two leading feed companies. Bang graduated from the University of Nebraska with a bachelor’s degree in animal science and ag business. He has been active in the swine industry as a long-time member of the Pork Alliance and served two terms on the board of directors for the National Pork Producers Council. He also served two terms on the US Meat Export Federation board of directors. Bang is a columnist for Farm Journal’s PORK and will be speaking on “Effectively Controlling Risks in the Era of Price and Cost Volatility” at United Pork Americas.
Caleb Shull, The Maschhoffs
As director of research and innovation for The Maschhoffs, Shull oversees the research and development program to innovate new approaches for capturing value in swine production systems. The program conducts around 25 large commercial studies annually across the disciplines of genetics, nutrition, health, reproduction, and management he has contributed to over 40 peer reviewed publications. He studied at the University of Illinois for his undergrad and graduate programs. Shull partnered with The Maschhoffs starting in 2008 to do his masters and Ph.D. work in the area of modeling pig growth and space requirements. Shull is a columnist for Farm Journal’s PORK and will be speaking on “Strategies to Optimize the Growth Curve from Weaning to Harvest” at United Pork Americas.
Jimmy Tosh, Tosh Farms
Jimmy Tosh is the owner and CEO of Tosh Farms, Tosh Pork, LLC, and Bacon By Gosh, Inc. He is a lifelong resident of Henry County, Tenn. He developed an interest in agriculture at a young age, following in his father’s footsteps. After graduating from Henry High School, he attended the University of Tennessee at Martin and received his bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1972. After graduating, he returned home and took over the family business. Since that time, he has worked hard to expand the business from a farm of 316 acres with a small feeder pig finishing unit to one of the largest swine operations in the United States. Tosh has always been an innovator. He was the first to offer swine contracts in this area. He recognized the movement toward large pen gestation and installed one of the first such units in the United States in 2005. In 2019, he was named Farm Journal’s Top Producer of the Year.
United Pork Americas unites the global pork system stakeholders to investigate mega trends that have an impact on the way we produce food. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to collaborate with pork industry leaders on April 19-21 in Orlando, Florida. Click here for more information.
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