We’re recapping 2021’s most important issues though a look back at the covers of Farm Journal’s PORK magazine.
A Stockman Reveals His Trade Secrets
Stockmanship. The innate ability by visual appraisal and common sense to know what works and what doesn’t work in raising livestock, and most importantly, to see what needs to happen next in order to move forward.
That’s how Everett Forkner, the newest member of the esteemed Saddle and Sirloin Portrait Gallery, defines the fine art of stockmanship.
“It’s that innate ability you develop over time, with training and experience,” says Forkner, a pig farmer from Richards, Mo. “The best stockmanship comes from getting out there and being on the firing line.”
He believes that’s the part some people miss today – the experience of being in the barn making decisions in real time. Read the full story here.
“Etsy of Meat” Provides New Options for Consumers
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, a farmer and businessman from southeast Iowa came up with an idea that has now grown into an expanding online marketplace known as ChopLocal.
For turkey farmer Jared Achen of Wayland, Iowa, supply chain challenges kept him up at night so he began brainstorming ways farmers could survive these tumultuous times.
“At the same time that farmers had no markets for their livestock, consumers were struggling to get the meat they wanted from grocery stores. I knew there had to be a better system to connect the farmers who have meat with the consumers who want it,” Achen says. Read the full story here.
Teenager Overcomes a Year of Loss with Faith, Family and Pigs
There’s nothing like the love of an animal to get you through hard times. Miriam King, 16, learned this lesson over and over in the past year as her family battled not one, but two wars in the midst of a global pandemic.
For this teenager from Blairsville, Ga., showing pigs has been a part of her life for the past few years. When she began attending Union County High School, after being homeschooled, she found her way into the agriculture classroom where she uncovered a passion for showing pigs.
“I may not be the best pig showman who ever existed,” King says, “but I love the drive that it gives, the friendships I have made, the things I have learned and the leadership skills I now possess.”
Needless to say, she was excited to start out the 2020 show season after purchasing a promising pig prospect from Curtis Show Pigs in Thompson, Mo.
“I decided to keep him at my house in our pig trailer until our local agriscience center was ready to house the show pigs,” she recalls. “Later that night we smelled smoke coming from outside – the sides of the trailer were bursting with flames. We think the heat lamp somehow busted, and the fire quickly spread to the shavings.” Read the full story here.
Roy Poage: The Grandfather of Modern Swine Production
People might have complained about his genetics, but they always tried to poach his people because they were good, says Jan Archer, a North Carolina pig farmer.
“They were well trained, and they were smart. And they are still out there because of Roy Poage,” Archer says. “He inspired people. He made them see that the pork industry is a great place to have a career and it can lead you to amazing opportunities.”
The list of reasons why the U.S. pork industry honored Roy Poage as the 2021 recipient of the Pork Industry Distinguished Service Award is long. By all accounts, he’s had more influence on modern day pork production than anyone. From pioneering “all-in/all-out” pig flows and implementing biosecurity measures before they were a buzzword, to creating the slatted floor system and developing swine production training manuals that are still used today, there’s no question Poage is passionate about pigs.
But Archer says that’s not why she nominated him. Read the full story here.
Proposition 12 Pressures Aren’t Going Away
Whether you are tired of hearing about Proposition 12 or not, the pressures aren’t going away. Experts agree it’s a sign of many more challenges of this kind coming our way. California’s animal welfare regulation Proposition 12 (Prop 12), if enacted on Jan. 1, 2022, will force pork producers to change their practices, moving from science-based swine production to swine production driven by consumer perceptions.
During a recent Farm Journal’s PORK’s webinar, Hyatt Frobose of Gestal, Christine McCracken of Rabobank and William J. Friedman of EarthClaims LLC, weighed in on Prop 12 from an economic, production and compliance perspective. You can watch the webinar on demand here.
Why is Prop 12 So Important?
Forty million people call California home, representing 12% of the total U.S. population and a huge market for pork.
“Of that 12%, they average a higher level of pork intake per person than the rest of the country,” Frobose said.
Despite this large population, there are only 9,000 sows in California, representing 1% of the total U.S. sow herd. California must source pork from other states, which is why this issue extends far beyond the state in which it will be implemented. Read the full story here.
Close All the Windows to Keep ASF Out
When a storm is brewing on the horizon, you don’t wait until it strikes to close all the open windows. You figure out which windows are open and start closing them one by one until the house is secure.
So when the news hit on July 28 that African swine fever (ASF) had been confirmed in the Dominican Republic, it’s no surprise the U.S. pork industry began closing more windows to keep this deadly virus of pigs out of the U.S.
Although ASF is not a new virus, this is the first time ASF has been in the Western Hemisphere in more than 40 years.
“This is a big deal. I’m not going to minimize that having it closer to the United States is not something to be concerned about,” says Liz Wagstrom, DVM, chief veterinarian for the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). Read the full story here.
Modern Mythbuster: Eric Stonestreet Sets Out to Bust Pig Farming Myths
Who would you hire to tell pork’s story – a Kansas State farm boy who grew up raising and showing pigs or an Emmy-winning actor in Los Angeles?
Enter in Eric Stonestreet. He’s best known for his role as Cameron in Modern Family, but his childhood friends will always remember him as the pig farmer. For this beloved actor, raising and showing pigs in 4-H taught him at a young age there’s more to living than just taking care of yourself.
“Pig farming definitely shaped who I became as a person. No other friend of mine had chores to do before and after school. Nobody else was burning feed sacks on the weekend or fixing fence,” Stonestreet says. “As I grew up and gained perspective, I realized taking care of those animals and spending time on the farm with my dad were the things that helped me become the good man I hope I turned out to be.” Read the full story here.
Rising from the Rubble: 2022 Pork Outlook
The pork industry is still evolving out of the rubble of the coronavirus pandemic, says Lee Schulz, an economist at Iowa State University. But certainly, more optimism abounds in the U.S. pork outlook heading into 2022 than the industry experienced a year ago.
“With the world in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, no one knew how things were going to fall out a year ago,” says Joe Kerns, president of Partners for Production Agriculture. “Who could blame us?”
Although the U.S. is still feeling the impact of COVID-19, it is not surprising us any longer, Kerns adds.
“We are trying to understand the ramifications rather than having all kinds of questions in the air, specifically as it relates to the animal supply relative to shackle space,” Kerns says. Read the full story here.
