Nearly $1.5 Million in Pork Checkoff Grants Distributed to States
More than 20 state associations have received Pork Checkoff funding for grassroots projects this year totaling $1.5 million. Some of the projects involve multi-state collaborations, and each project will include return on investment reports upon completion. This funding is in addition to return-to-state funding.
The grant program was planned by producer leaders during the annual planning process and allows state associations to leverage additional dollars to address hyper-local issues eroding pig farmers’ freedom to operate.
“As stewards of producers’ Checkoff dollars, we need to make every dollar count,” Cheryl Day, executive vice president of Ohio Pork Council and member of the grant review committee, said in a release. “State grants allow us to obtain additional funds to solve real challenges progressively. The supplementary funds allow us to exercise strategies with true collaboration, grounded in extensive research a state could never accomplish with a normal return to the state.”
APHIS Celebrates 50 Tears of Protecting American Agriculture
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is celebrating 50 years of serving the public as a Federal agency. USDA created APHIS on April 2, 1972 to consolidate animal health, plant health, and inspection duties under one roof, USDA said in a release. The new agency focused on protecting American agriculture and natural resources, along with ensuring the humane care of certain animals. While both APHIS and the world have changed a lot over the past 50 years, the agency’s key mission remains the same today.
“The keys to APHIS’ long-term success are our dedicated, skilled employees and the strong partnerships we develop with our many stakeholders,” APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea said in a release. “It takes many hands working together to protect the health of our nation’s animals, plants and natural resources.”
Some of APHIS’ key accomplishments over the past 50 years include:
• Eradicating serious animal diseases, including highly pathogenic avian influenza, virulent Newcastle disease, and pseudorabies, from the country’s herds and flocks, while reducing the prevalence of other animal diseases like bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis
• Improving care for laboratory animals, exhibited animals and other animals covered by the Animal Welfare Act and the Horse Protection Act
• Reducing the impact of wildlife damage on agriculture and natural resources, and developing new tools and techniques for non-lethal wildlife management
• Ensuring safe trade of agriculture commodities across the globe
North American Meat Institute Recognizes Environmental and Worker Safety Award Winners
The North American Meat Institute (Meat Institute) recognized hundreds of meat and poultry establishments for their positive environmental impact and worker safety achievements at the 2022 Environmental, Labor and Safety Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
“The Meat Institute congratulates these companies and their leadership to ensure the safety and health of workers and our environment,” Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts said in a release. “Their hard work and innovation will ensure the meat and poultry industry continues to employ the highest standards and latest technology to produce wholesome, safe, nutritious products that exceed customer expectations.”
The Environmental Recognition Awards were developed to honor a company’s dedication to continuous environmental improvement, as witnessed by the development and implementation of Environmental Management Systems. The Environmental Award Winners can be found here.
The Worker Safety Recognition Awards honor plants that have achieved a high level of safety performance as part of the continuing effort to reduce occupational injury and illness. The Worker Safety Award Winners can be found here.
Smithfield Foods Receives Manufacturing Leadership Awards for Sustainability Efforts
Smithfield Foods, Inc. has been awarded 2022 Manufacturing Leadership Awards by the Manufacturing Leadership Council, a division of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), for projects furthering sustainability across the company’s value chain and industry.
Smithfield won 2022 recognition in two categories:
• Sustainability and the Circular Economy for ambitious efforts the company has underway in its Smithfield Renewables program to accelerate progress toward its net-zero goals to become carbon negative in all U.S. company-owned operations and reduce GHG emissions 30% across its entire U.S. value chain by 2030.
“Smithfield has always set very ambitious sustainability goals in a number of different areas,” Kraig Westerbeek, vice president of Smithfield Renewables for Smithfield Foods, said in a release. “We’re immensely proud of our efforts to steward the environment through water and energy conservation and waste and carbon reduction projects designed to make our industry more sustainable.”
• Operational Excellence for a team innovation effort at the company’s Cudahy, Wisc. facility that significantly reduced the downtime and waste associated with a key retail bacon line. The project set a new engineering standard at the facility and is supporting the company’s zero-waste-to-landfill goals.
“Our team is extremely proud that our daily pursuit of operational excellence has had this significant of an impact,” Philip Rizzo, superintendent at Smithfield’s Cudahy facility said in a release. “We’re excited to be recognized by NAM for efforts that may seem small to us, but made a big impact for our company.”
More from Farm Journal’s PORK:
Mosquito-Borne Virus “Is a Nightmare” For Australian Pig Farmers
Impact of Increased Use of Non-GM Feed on Animal Feed Industry
