Although we can’t change the past, we can learn from it, says National Pork Board CEO David Newman.
“We are in a transformational time that we’ve never seen before,” he explained during the National Pork Industry Forum.
Leaders from the National Pork Board and the National Pork Producers Council gathered on stage to discuss some of the issues facing the U.S. pork industry. Here are some of the quotable moments from a conversation between Gordon Spronk, National Pork Board president; Chad Groves, National Pork Board vice president; Duane Stateler, National Pork Producers Council past president; and Rob Brenneman, National Pork Producers Council president.
Groves: “When I look at the dietary guidelines, it creates the perfect storm for our industry. The inversion of the pyramid will drive volume into schools, in the military and in government procurement. What’s happening with the focus on protein and the increased demand that will take place because of GLP-1 drugs, coupled with the launch of Taste What Pork Can Do, it is the perfect time for us to lean into the consumer.”
Stateler: “We got engaged with California and were able to get their legislation amended in their state that was going to keep us out of over a billion school lunch meals a year. Now we’re in there. We got to compromise. We didn’t quite get everything we want, but at least we have the opportunity to get dense protein into those schools. We’re going to have to work extra hard. When it comes to the state levels, we’re going to rely on you and the states, to get in front of your state politicians and help us fight this off.”
Groves: “The most important, and in my opinion, the most untapped space, is K-12 schools. When you get those consumers into the category early and get them in with great products, the stickiness is strong. If you grow up with pork, it’ll be a part of your life as you move forward. As we lean in, given what’s happened with the invasion of the pyramid, they’ve got to be fantastic products, too. We can’t just get pork on the menu. It’s got to be a wonderful experience every single day.”
Spronk: “It’s key that producers are seated in those seats to lead the National Swine Health Strategy effort to provide real from the farm the front lines of those that are truly experiencing the devastating effects of this pathogen, that they then can set the tone and direct the guiding principles of all in all organizations, because we have many stakeholders that you just know, from the state level up to the national level, there’s many national efforts that need a coordinator so that producer led Advisory Committee hopefully can give the guiding principles of how all those entities should work together. And it’s going to change over time. There’s going to be variations. What starts there, and it’s very critical next step.”
Brenneman: “We’re the ones out on the front line, and we see the things that are happening. We’re the ones that have the ability to communicate with our neighbor. When you know what’s going on, you can say something to your neighbor. Trust opens up communication.”
Spronk: “Trust has to be built between producers first, which then that foundational trust between producers at a local level, then scales up to the state and the national, all the organizations we need to build trust between producers and between all those entities.”
Brenneman: “We have to provide tools and help educate everyone involved. Not every grower understands PRRS or PEDV until they actually experience it. If we can continue to coach and lead this, then we stand a chance of not making it too complicated.”
Spronk: “If we want to go from PRRS active to a world without PRRS, we first have to believe we can actually do it.”
Groves: “In business, there’s a pretty simple equation that my mentor taught me: RP + RF= DO. The right people with the right focus will get the desired outcomes. The right focus is keeping more animal disease out, eliminating PRRS and PEDV and other diseases that are here domestically. The other side of that equation is the right people, and that’s where the 12 producer leaders that come into that equation are so important. My caution – don’t jump to the tactics. That producer-led group will get us there. We’ve got to fill in the equation if we’re going to get to the desired outcome.”
Stateler: “Everybody in this room is here because you’ve been elected to be a delegate for your state. You need to take this information and knowledge back home to the people that elected you, to producers that might not even be involved in your organization yet. This is the best thing you can do to get more involvement, get more people talking, and bring more information back to us, so we can make better decisions at a national level.”
