“It’s going to get better.”
Those five words were just what I needed to hear the other day. Life has felt a little heavy lately, and sometimes it’s hard to even put my finger on why. One thing I’ve learned about being an ag journalist is that you do it because you are passionate about the people you write for and about. So, when the people you write for and about are struggling, you struggle, too.
When a pork producer sent me that simple text, I admit it got to me. Putting together the outlook stories for 2024 hasn’t been easy. There is no sugarcoating that 2023 was plain awful and 2024 doesn’t look a whole lot better.
Sometimes we have no choice but to sit in the hard for a while. Good things will come out of the wait for some, but others won’t be so lucky. That is a difficult thing to wrestle with. I’m still convinced by the theme I see woven throughout the stories on PorkBusiness.com, that we have good reason to play the long game and have hope.
Our industry is filled with innovative, tireless, hardworking people who are advocating up for the pork industry and trying to deliver certainty in uncertain times by opening up new avenues for trade and protecting producers’ freedom to operate, to name a few.
Researchers continue to open new doors in science, finding answers to some of the toughest questions in swine health and nutrition. Did you catch the exciting breakthrough in feed biosecurity last fall when Scott Dee, DVM, discovered porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus can survive and be transmitted through feed?
Foreign animal disease continues to be one of the biggest threats to our industry. National Pork Board chief veterinarian Dusty Oedekoven says, “If you have limited time and resources, you may not feel the urgency to prepare for a disease the U.S. doesn’t have. But that’s like waiting to replace the batteries in your smoke detector until the fire is already blazing.” Take a deep dive into traceability and learn how it can help the industry have a legitimate chance to stop the spread of a foreign animal disease.
But one story I just finished up reminds me of why this industry is worth the inevitable heartache of turbulent markets and attacks from people trying to destroy animal agriculture.
If you, too, need a little reminder about the good, go read about Paul Sundberg. There are so many people who have come along beside me in my role with Farm Journal’s PORK and helped me wade through a lot of hard topics.
Enter in Paul. He has been so kind and patient with my questions since day one. He’s one of the few people that I know I can openly ask questions to without judgment. He always made time for me, even when he was working long hours and putting out tons of fires all around him. When he would see me in a crowded room at a conference, he always managed to say hello and make me feel seen. I know I’m pushing my limits on embarrassing Paul, but kindness goes a long way and inspires me to be better.
Writing about this humble leader who moved the needle in swine health and built the Swine Health Information Center into a powerful and effective tool for the pork industry was just what I needed. It reminded me that despite the hard now, there is so much to be thankful for. The people are what make this industry so great.
We need each other more than ever. Check in on your friends, look out for others in crowded rooms, and appreciate the good ones who faithfully devote their life to helping others. If the experts are right, there’s a turning point ahead for the U.S. pork industry.
Read More:
Good News for the U.S. Pork Industry: It Can’t Be Worse in 2024
Traceability is the Missing Link, Pork Producer Says
PRRS Breakthrough: Virus Can Survive and Be Transmitted Through Feed
