This past year has been a little like drinking out of a firehose...make that three firehoses at the same time, says David Newman, president of the National Pork Board. When people ask him to reflect on it, he jokingly asks, “Do I have to?”
In short, it’s been a challenging year that revealed some of the pork industry’s darkest days. Not only was the industry dealing with the impacts and results of a global human pandemic, but they were also trying to understand the threat of a global animal health pandemic in African swine fever (ASF).
“We were dealt some very unique circumstances in the event of COVID-19. Supply and demand made this strange intersection. We saw plant disruptions and processing disruptions intersect with ample supply of market-ready hogs and empty retail shelves in a challenged distribution system,” Newman says.
Although there weren’t many silver linings to 2020, Newman is proud that the National Pork Board was able to help aid the pork industry in a quick recovery. But admittedly, he says, no recovery is ever fast enough.
Build trust and add value
Perhaps 2020 made the National Pork Board’s goals to build trust and add value even more meaningful in an upside-down world looking for something to hang its hat on. In 2019, the National Pork Board set out on a new strategic planning process and those two fundamental goals were the result of that process, Newman explains.
“It really does come down to these core fundamental values,” he says. “We need to build trust with our consumers, and we need to add value for our producers. I’m proud of the work that we’re doing to make that happen.”
In 2020, the National Pork Board launched its new Real Pork initiative amidst a global pandemic. Originally intended to address alternative proteins that are coming to market, this past year revealed how much deeper those words go.
“Real Pork addresses things that are important to our consumers, the environment, the planet, the impact that that that livestock production has, the benefits that it has, and our product as well,” Newman says. “We know during COVID-19 that our sales strategies have changed. People are online buying more now than they ever have in history. We’re able to adapt our strategy at Pork Board to a variety of different methods that our producers and processors are using to distribute pork throughout the world.”
He’s excited to see pork demand at an all-time high. He believes the international marketing team has done a fantastic job of positioning pork strategically with industry allies, such as the U.S. Meat Export Federation, to put U.S. pork on more plates around the world.
From a foreign animal disease standpoint, ASF continues to debilitate the swine business globally. The global impact of this disease on other pork-producing nations has greatly impacted U.S. pork marketing strategies, especially after Germany became infected with ASF in late 2020. He’s grateful for the work being done on foreign animal disease prevention and preparedness.
A unique opportunity
It’s uncommon to have a president serve for two years at the National Pork Board. However, due to the challenges with COVID-19 and meeting restrictions, the board voted to keep the 2019/20 slate of officers the same for 2020/21.
Newman says he’s grateful to be a part of the team-oriented leadership group at the National Pork Board. He’s learned that being calm, strategic and focused has been critical to his ability to lead the organization through a challenging time.
“I cannot imagine what it would be like having rolled into the circumstances we never saw coming in 2020, without having those core fundamental values that we were going to use as our guiding principle,” he says. “The thing that I’m the most proud of is we were able to instantly deploy a plan.”
The National Pork Board worked with mental health experts to develop and deploy resources to help producers.
“We learned back in 1998 that this type of stress and pressure put on a producer during an event like this can be damaging to their personal health as well. I’m really proud of the work that we were able to do,” Newman says. “We were able to help our producers find the light at the end of the tunnel early on in 2020 to kind of turn this thing around.”
He says it’s been a privilege to serve the pork industry and he is looking forward to the final months in his two-year term as president.
“I truly live by the fundamental belief that the world is ran by those who show up,” he says. “What I’ve learned from my other board members and from what we do as an organization is something I’m going to be able to take and use in my own business and use in the teams that I work with in the future.”
He encourages more pork producers to get involved in a leadership role – whether it’s in the local school board or your state pork association.
“We need good people to step up and represent industry organizations and provide guidance to find the path and the avenue we’re going to use in the future,” Newman says.
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Roy Poage: The Grandfather of Modern Swine Production
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