Unbreakable Bond Ties Pork Producers Together for Life
It’s a bond that’s hard to put into words. Contagious, perhaps, this bond is something you want to be part of and understand. Not only do these four young leaders in the pork industry share an unmistakable connection and a friendship that ties directly to purpose, but they have a way of selflessly putting each other first and pointing to each others’ success before their own.
And let me tell you, they have a lot to cheer about now.
The Pork Leadership Institute (PLI) class of 2022 impressed me from the first few minutes I spent with them during a media training event before the World Pork Expo. I’m drawn to positivity and have spent a lot of time over the years building teams and groups of people. I think that’s why I couldn’t help but look in a little closer and follow the careers of this group.
At every trade show I attend, I see this class. It reminds me of when you buy a car and you suddenly start to see that car everywhere you go.
When I ran into four of this PLI class’s graduates at Ohio Pork Congress, I asked them if we could sit down and chat about the impact of PLI and what’s been happening over the past 18 months. If I can be honest, I simply am in awe of how they’ve stretched and grown their influence in that short time.
(l to r) Jill Brokaw, Nick Seger, Morgan Wonderly and Phil Hord at the Ohio Pork Congress.
Jill Brokaw, an Illinois pig farmer, just accepted a new role as a sustainability coordinator at the National Pork Board. Morgan Wonderly, swine unit manager and lecturer at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, is now a member of the National Pork board of directors. Nick Seger, an Ohio pig farmer, is serving as president of the Ohio Pork Council. Phil Hord, an Ohio pig farmer, recently moved into the role of president of Hord Family Farms while his father Pat serves as CEO of Hord Family Farms.
Success? Yes, that defines them in so many ways. They are moving and changing things in the pork industry and working to make sure their generation’s voice is heard. But most importantly, they have built a friendship among them that has proven to sustain them through one of the toughest economic times in the history of the pork industry.
There’s no question that PLI’s academic rigor is strong, offering an in-depth educational training program that helps participants spread the pork industry’s story to all ends of the earth. Former graduates are quick to say, however, that it’s so much more than information and education. It’s about bringing together producers and allied industry to form a bond that empowers them to stretch themselves as leaders in the industry.
“I think it’s that connection of having people to grow alongside who are in a similar stage but aren't with you every day. We have different jobs, different responsibilities, different challenges, different opportunities, but there's a commonality about going through a program where you can become immersed in your industry and how it operates,” Hord explains. “What things are we working on to be better for the future? How can we help each other along the way?”
Seger points out that their group was extremely diverse. In fact, PLI organizers at the time, Janine Van Vark and Dinah Peebles, said the group was full of polar opposites.
“When we all left, the group was extremely closeknit and intertwined. Everyone meshed well, we were all included. Leadership-wise that helps give you a control example of how leadership rules can work – taking different ideas and viewpoints together and getting something done,” Seger adds.
For Wonderly, PLI equipped her with confidence to run for the National Pork Board even though she considers herself a non-typical pork producer.
“PLI gave me a network to lean on,” Wonderly says. “Being from a smaller pig state, it also helped build my confidence to speak up and tell my story even though I’m from California, a less-populated pig state.”
PLI changed a lot of minds about how people could fit into the bigger picture of U.S. pork leadership.
“It allowed us to collaborate with people from all over the industry and across the country to see how we intersect and resonate with each other,” Brokaw says. “We still talk often with our group of PLI folks. I don’t know if that’s typical or not. I could be anywhere in the U.S., and if I had a flat tire, I know there’s a PLI person not too far away who would come and help me change my tire.”
That’s a bond that is irreplaceable, she adds.
Brokaw’s PLI connections were perfectly timed as she’s recently experienced succession on the family farm. As she encountered big changes in her life and how her operation runs, she was able to connect to a new opportunity working with the National Pork Board to help other producers build sustainability reports and climate-smart programs in Illinois and Missouri.
“I’m in my home area and it’s a pleasure to have a way to bring an economic impact to farmers I know and who are my friends, especially in times where every dollar counts,” Brokaw says.
Seger was already on track to become president of Ohio Pork Council, but PLI pushed him along as a leader and equipped him to take a bigger role for his state.
“I always knew it was something I should do, but responsibilities at home made it easy for me to push it off to another year. Once I got on the executive track at Ohio Pork, I had to emphasize PLI,” he says. “I’m so glad I did. I gained a wider perspective that has helped me lead my state better.”
When PLI went to DC and participants saw the breadth of the pork industry and what was taking place to support U.S. pork producers miles from the farm, Seger said it was eye-opening.
“My family has been in pork production for as long as I can remember. I have gone to a lot of shows, but you get tunnel vision of how things work in your own state,” Seger explains. “It’s also hard to tell your story when it’s so common to you – you don’t want to talk down to someone. PLI helped me realize what’s common knowledge to me is not common knowledge to most people.”
Being able to take those realizations back to their states is a key reason why PLI was started. As vice president of the California Pork Producers Association, Wonderly says she’s grateful for the opportunity to take what she learns on the national board to help educate her own state and be a conduit to them of what Pork Checkoff does and how it helps producers.
“I think it’s important to note our industry is supporting itself and helping the industry grow and be better by cultivating leaders. We need that, especially in times like this,” Brokaw points out. “It won’t be easier moving forward. There will always be the next thing and we always need leaders to help us move through that.”
When you take a bunch of strangers and throw them together, it’s incredible what can happen, Seger says. It spurs leadership. It grows confidence. It fast-tracks success.
“I am so thankful for that time of meeting some of those amazing people who are becoming more influential in our industry through their various roles and positions,” Hord says.
The opportunities will only continue to grow for Hord, Wonderly, Seger and Brokaw. They, along with so many other PLI graduates like them, have gained a unique perspective through this life-changing program. But if we are being fair, they took the bull by the horns. They put they time in.
I give them a lot of the credit for choosing to share their newfound perspective and knowledge with others. We are part of an industry that is constantly learning and growing and equipping people. But it’s what we do with that information that sets our industry apart from others.
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