The Truth Behind the Closed Doors

My name is Lori Thomas and I was born and raised in the suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri. In 2013 I graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia and accepted a job as a farrowing manager at a sow farm in Thompson, Missouri. I learned more in one year of production than anything I ever read in a text book. To a city kid from St. Louis, this experience has changed my life forever.

My father grew up on a small farm in southern Illinois, which has since turned into rented farm land and a place for the cousins to ride dirt bikes and race go carts. My older brother followed in my dad’s steps and is now a successful engineer and I…. I just love pigs. I was pre-vet (small animal) until my junior year in college when I was offered a job working with pigs. For eight months, I helped a graduate student with data collection and daily chores of eight boars (male pigs). Upon graduation, I was still considering vet school but thought a year in production would be very beneficial. Little did I know, 365 days later, vet school was no longer what I needed to be happy, pigs were.

I am very passionate about the swine industry and because of that, I am passionate about agriculture. I want to share my knowledge about swine production and my story of what I have experienced behind the closed doors of the sow farm. I think consumers struggle to understand why we raise animals in the environments that we do and they fear the welfare of the animals. Coming from a background without agriculture, I can see these struggles and fears. I get it, but hear my story.

I spent exactly one year employed at a sow farm with roughly 10,000 sows and I was tasked with managing farrowing. To my city friends, I explained this as being a nurse to a sow and helping her deliver babies and then caring for these animals until they are weaned. What could honestly be better than playing with piglets all day? Unfortunately, it wasn’t all glamorous. There was power washing, fixing feed lines, treating sick animals, and a list that goes on forever (seriously). A normal day was a 12-13 hour shift, starting at 5:30 am. Farrowing had 15 workers plus management and we worked 12 days on, two days off. Inside the closed doors of this barn, was a family.

I learned a lot in that year that will stick with me forever. I was fresh out of college and was faced with management of people and pigs. It didn’t take me long to learn and practice patience, respect and commitment, to the people and the pigs.

Patience. It takes patience to work with animals. I am 125 lbs and trying to move a 400 lb sow into a farrowing crate (when she has ideas of her own), can be very challenging. Or the constant communication barrier I faced with most of my employees. Trying to teach a job to someone who speaks a different language than you, certainly takes patience. 

Respect. There were certainly times when your patience would spread thin. However; we never lost sight of respecting each other and the animals we cared for. For most people, this is a hot topic. What was the welfare of these animals locked inside of this barn? How was their quality of life? For the 365 days of which I was there, I think it was pretty darn good. My friends from home would ask why these pigs weren’t being raised outside, free range, instead of in a crate of any kind. I can see some of these thoughts, as I used to have them myself but at least for me, now it all makes sense. Recall, I was managing farrowing and when these sows farrowed, they were inside, in a crate. Why? With the genetics these pigs have today, they are capable of having several babies (12+, 25 in some cases). However; having this many babies without any assistance, can be challenging. By having them in crates, I am able to monitor the sow as well as her babies. We had 24 hour farrowing care, someone was always there. Not only assisting with delivering the babies (sleeving the sow, drying the babies, getting them up to mom to nurse) but also monitoring them in the days that followed. Are the piglets nursing? Is mom eating and drinking? Are the piglets warm enough? Is mom too hot? These ladies (sows) and their babies were cared for everyday in ways that wouldn’t be possible outside. Maybe having them indoors in a farrowing crate, isn’t so bad? She doesn’t seem to mind.

Maintaining respect of the animals was something we took very seriously. I always think about weaning. We had 60 farrowing crates per room and we would wean first thing in the morning. I would stand at the end of the aisle and count the piglets as the crew would remove them from the crate and into the aisle. I would get to 50 or so pigs and then we would run them out into the hallway. I remember a day when I was attempting to run them into the hall and these weaned pigs were not moving. No matter what method I tried, they were hardly fazed. It was extremely frustrating and apparently it showed. One of the guys, Auggie, stepped in and said he would try and he was instantly successful (he always claimed the pigs spoke Spanish and they weren’t moving because they couldn’t understand me). My point is we were watching out for each other. We didn’t want the others frustrations to get the best of them. We truly cared about the animals we worked with. Believe me, we spent a lot of time with them, they were part of the family.

Commitment. This was my life for a year. Remember, we are working with live animals. They don’t take holidays off. That’s right, we are open on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. These are easily still eight hour days. We would try to rotate so everyone had a holiday off but it was most certainly a challenge. Not to mention my favorite commitment of all, alarm calls. The technology that we have today is truly amazing and I wouldn’t have it any other way, but those darn alarm calls. I swear, it would always happen the second I got home for the night or the second I went to bed. Every farrowing room had a box which controlled the temperature, ventilation, water usage, heat lamps, lights, everything. If something went out of range, it would alarm. Another perk of having these animals inside. The environment was controlled and controlled to benefit them.  Most of the time, the alarms were all minor issues. However; a few were a bit more threatening. I was always on pig time. I may have clocked out, but I most definitely was always able to be reached.

My life was put on hold for this job (and I wasn’t the only one). Granted, this was a fairly large barn, and it was a new farm. We had our work cut out for us. But we did it and I don’t think I would have it any other way, with any other crew.

I would have taken anyone into our farm. I wasn’t hiding a thing. It is not all glamorous, but what job is? Agriculture is filled with many other professions outside of the pig farm, but I think the same principles exist: patience, respect and commitment. We are real people, with real emotions, who are passionate about what we do. I encourage you to ask any questions you may have about what we do, come and visit with us, hear our story.

Thank you for reading,
Lori

Life on a French Swine Farm

This past July I had the opportunity to intern on a swine farm near Auvers-le-Hamon, France. During the month, I lived alongside the Huet family who was the most welcoming and generous family. The family included Alexis, the father, Domonique, the mother, their daughter Anais as well as their sons Esteban, Arthur and Antoine. Needless to say, this experience was one of the biggest learning experiences I have ever had. I was able to learn about French agriculture and observe the similarities/differences to American agriculture.


The house that I lived in with Esteban and Arthur in France

While on the farm, I worked mainly with the sows and their litters. My duties included assisting with farrowing, weaning of piglets, insemination, giving shots and vaccinations as needed, and maintaining the animal stalls among other tasks. The Huet’s operation was truly a family effort with family members working directly on the farm and others working to regionally market their product. The Huet’s utilized the Label Rouge, or red label, program when marketing their product.

 Products with the above seal on them are certified under the Label Rouge. This program guarantees that its products have met a specific set of characteristics establishing that is of higher quality to similar products. Food products and non-food agricultural products such as flowers are eligible for certification under this program. In all that translates to about 500 products being certified under this program in France. For pork, some of the criteria deal with feeding, breeding conditions and age at the time of slaughter.

The most challenging and rewarding part of the internship was working alongside people who spoke almost entirely no English while I spoke very poor French. At the start communication was a big obstacle to overcome when trying to accomplish basic farm tasks. After a few days, we were able to establish a routine and communicate effectively through body language and the few words of French and English that both parties knew. Even though I was not able to have a conversation with the workers, I could tell that they truly cared about their profession and raising their hogs in a healthy environment was their top priority. This showed me that no matter where you may find yourself that producers in both the U.S. and abroad care about the quality of products that they provide to consumers and make agriculture a unique industry due to that characteristic.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns send them my way. I would love to hear them!

Signing off,
Wyatt Pracht

At the End of the Day, It's All About the People

This past weekend I took a vacation from school. Not to some exotic location with warm sandy beaches but to a place I can call home in Southwest Iowa, 4K Farms. Being an Oregon native, going to school in Kansas can be difficult at times since I don’t get to go home as often as I’d like.  However, the generosity and hospitality of the Swanson family has become one of the things that keeps me in the Midwest. That and the pigs. This Saturday was filled with pigs, puppies, and time spent with lots of good people. 


Max feeding a boar a Gatorade

When I hopped in the farm truck on Saturday morning, I knew it would be a long day of work. As Drake, the neighbor farm help, and I started in the farrowing house (where the sows and piglets are), we fed the sows and checked on the babies while carrying on a conversation on how his high school football season went. We continued from barn to barn, to the Double L nursery where we found a sick pig that would need treated. Part of being an excellent caretaker of livestock involves spotting out the animals that aren’t acting “normal” and nursing them back to good health.

I then got to climb from pen to pen with Kirk (my Iowa dad), his friend from Missouri, Jesse, and Jesse’s five-year old son, Max. We spent this time looking at the young pigs, sorting through gilts and sows, and discussing pedigrees with genetic lines that go back to the early nineties. While many people would think that sounds crazy, standing there listening to the conversations taking place, I got to see two individuals talk with passion in their eyes about the swine industry and ways to help it progress. Even little Max was in on it. He came walking over to us after looking at the pens and pens of boars to say “Kirk, you have some very impressive boars.” I just smiled and laughed, thinking that the ordinary 5-year old probably doesn’t talk about boars everyday. 

It takes many moving parts to get the best picture

The main task of the day was to take pictures of some of the elite breeding stock on the farm.  We would wash the pigs and then take them to a big grassy area to capture the perfect shot. It takes a lot of patience, creativity and perfect timing to get those photos, but the end result is highly satisfying. Several hours and over 400 photos later, it was time to call it a day for the pig photo shoot.

As the sun began to set on Saturday evening, Jerra (my Iowa mom) and I worked on feeding the pigs their second meal of the day while the boys snuck in one last picture of a boar before the sun was all the way gone.  After finishing up the evening chores, we gathered in the kitchen where Jerra had whipped up my favorite lasagna and cherry pie. Exhausted from a long day at the farm, and full from supper, we all talked late into the night about hogs, dogs and the livestock industry. One quote that resonated with me came from a conversation Kirk had had a few years back with another swine enthusiast. He said “When leaders begin to follow, the breed will fail to progress.” I think that line is one that could be taken and applied to many different aspects of life.



Kirk feeding sows at the bunk

Sunday I rode around in the farm truck with Kirk to work on morning chores before I headed back to Manhattan. The life conversations in between bedding down pens and vaccinating piglets are when some of the most valuable advice is given.

As I sit on here on Monday back at school and reflecting on the weekend, I can’t help but realize I have been blessed to have the weekend I did. It’s not very often that you find a warm sunny Iowa day in mid November, with views of harvested corn fields, all while being surrounded by people that share the same passion as you. A wise person once told me “Don’t let school get in the way of your education.” I didn’t know what that meant at the time it was said to me, but after this weekend I finally do. The classroom is a valuable place to pick up facts, but it’s the unscripted days that I have spent in Iowa outside the walls of a classroom that I have learned the most.  At the end of the day, agriculture is a way of life, and it’s the people that make it worthwhile.

Until next time,
Kiah

 

 

           

Farming, GMOs and Food Choices on the Docket at K-State

 

Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are a polarizing topic among many food minds. There are passionate arguments and advocates on both sides of the issue and all parties agree they only want what is best for their families. The volatile nature of the GMO debate has led to a plethora of resources, fact sheets and resources all developed with consumer education in mind.

In order to provide engaging discussion and clarification to a popular topic, two consumer advocacy groups, the Kansas Farm Food Connection and Food For Thought, are partnering to provide interested consumers with the opportunity to discuss GMOs with a panel of experts.

Additionally, the film Farmland will be shown in advance of the panel to provide the audience with a firsthand look at various methods of raising food ranging from organic to conventional and everything in between. Farmland is directed by Academy Award-winning director James Moll and follows five farmers and ranchers through their production cycles as they raise vegetables, pigs, cattle and fruit.

The film will screen Nov. 12 at 6:30 pm in Justin Hall room 109 on the Kansas State University campus. The film will be followed by a GMO panel featuring Dr. Kevin Folta, professor and chairman of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida. Dr. Folta is a renowned expert on GMOs and from 2007 to 2010 he helped lead the project to sequence the strawberry genome.
Also featured on the panel will be two farmers – one who grows GMO crops and another who uses non-GMO seeds to grow crops. The panel will strive to answer audience questions about food production, science, technology and global hunger.

Free bacon samples will be provided to attendees courtesy of the Kansas Pork Association.
This event promises lively discussion from various viewpoints and is not one to be missed! For more information about the event, please contact Meagan Cramer, Kansas Farm Bureau, cramerm@kfb.org or call 785-587-6821.

Answering Tough Questions

You are a new graduate in a mixed large animal practice in rural America. In becoming integrated into the community, you take the opportunity to engage with young professionals from diverse backgrounds. Many of these young professionals question your involvement with modern agriculture and "factory farms," where the care of animals and food safety is secondary to production and profit (their view). How do you respond to these inquiries?

Cattle in a feedyard - notice they have plenty of room to
move around, lie down and are very calm.

In these modern times, very little is as it was, especially the way we raise our food.   The world population has grown to a point beyond what our forbearers would have thought possible. In the struggle to feed people, agriculture has had to adapt along with the rest of the world.  Meeting the protein needs of a growing world is where animal agriculture must rise to the challenge. 

Animal agriculture has gotten much larger, and much smaller, all at once.  Farms and ranches have gotten bigger, but the number of people in farming and ranching has declined drastically.  Those still in the fight must meet higher standards and produce more, much of the time with less land and other resources. 

One production method modern animal agriculturalists utilize to meet the needs of a protein hungry world is the raising of animals in confined areas.  Pigs, poultry, dairy cows, and finishing beef animals can successfully be raised in smaller geographical area, helping to assuage the ever shrinking amount of land available.  Every building that goes up and every square foot of concrete or asphalt that is laid down is one less square foot available to feed people with.  Properly done, these animals are comfortable and have their needs met daily in our care. 

Confinement animal agriculture is often mislabeled as “factory farm” or other demeaning terms.  They are thought of as institutions where animal welfare is secondary to profit.  This is not true.  Profit is important, but only in that it allows the business to keep functioning. Profit must follow animal welfare.  If animals aren’t well cared for, they won’t perform.  No performance, no profit. 

Doing what’s best for animals is doing what’s best for an animal agriculture business.  It’s also doing what’s best for a food animal veterinarian.  Most importantly, it’s doing what’s best for ever hungry population of the world.

Thanks for reading,

John Dwyer

ULS Secretary Rodman - Success!

Well, Secretary Rodman spoke about Kansas Agriculture in the year 2025 on Monday night and we are thrilled with the turnout - almost 250 people showed up to learn more about our state's most important industry. Thanks to all who attended and we hope you gained a better perspective of Kansas' role in global agriculture.

As previously announced, the hashtag #ULSRodman was the handle to follow and there were some great tweets by the audience. We've also included some pictures from the evening.

A great turnout for our guest, Secretary Rodman

Secertary Rodman addressed many important issues including water conservation, population and food interactions, future opportunities for young people in agriculture and the desire and capability for Kansas agriculture to expand and meet global food demand.

Thanks again for all who attended - we appreciate your support of agriculture, Food For Thought and bridging the gap!

Until next time,

~ Buzzard ~

The Great Bacon Barter Campaign

So I just heard about one of the coolest freaking things EVER.

Oscar Meyer, in an brilliantly genius marketing strategy, has decided to employ comedian Josh Sankey as a spokesperson for their new 'thick-cut' bacon product. No big deal, right?

I could even argue that no spokesperson is needed to move bacon off the shelves. It has even been called "The Gateway Meat" by many for its power in swaying former vegetarians back into the realm of meat-eating.

But this marketing campaign is truly innovative. Oscar Meyer is sending Josh on a cross-country campaign to promote the product, even giving him a truck and refridgerated trailer for his journey.

However, the only thing he will be taking with him is 3,000 lbs of their new bacon. He will have to make it across the country by bartering with bacon in exchange for food, gas and even a place to sleep.

He will be available by social media such as Twitter and Facebook and has even claimed that if you make him an offer, he may swing through your neighborhood on his trek!


Check out this Youtube video which should tell you more!

 



 

I'm heading home now to cook up some bacon myself, writing this post has me drooling.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Hyatt Frobose

Rain makes corn.... and is a good thing!

I've started off a rather somber post with a song - I hope you enjoy having it stuck in your head for the rest of the day - also, I LOVE the intro to this song. These farmers are really adamant about the critical role rain plays in food production.

Corn makes lots of other things besides whiskey by the way; cereals, baking powder, vegetable oil. You get the point.

As you've probably noticed, there hasn't been much rain in the midwest this year - or in general, actually. In fact, a report from the USDA as of August 1 highlighted pointed out the following sad facts:

- 65% of U.S. farms are in areas experiencing drought
- Severe or greater drought is impacting 65 pecent of cattle production, and about 75 percent of corn and soybean production.
- As of August 1, more than half of U.S. counties had been designated as disaster areas by USDA in 2012, mainly due to drought.

I live in God's country (Kansas) and we've needed rain badly for the past 2-3 months. In fact, the state of Kansas has placed all 105 counties into a drought emergency status and all but 3 Kansas counties have been declared a disaster. The good news is that it's supposed to rain tonight; the bad news is that when we really needed the rain, it was nowhere to be found.

In May, which is a very crucial time on the corn growing timeline (most corn is planted in late April), Kansas received a statewide average of 1.10 inches of rain. That's not very much to get good seedling growth started. June and July didn't treat us much better which has really had a negative effect on both corn and soybean growth.

For visual explanation let's look at this ear of corn

that came from this field near my hometown in Anderson County, Kansas. That's my husband's hand and that ear of corn is only about 4.5 inches long. This is a sad, sad sight for farmers.

Folks, it's August 8. Corn fields aren't supposed to look like this for another six weeks or so. There are just a few tiny specks of green in that field, some fields don't have any green in them and the corn stalks are half the height of this field.

Then compare to this ear of corn from Wood County, Ohio, where they've gotten  more rain this year than we Kansans- about 2.6 inches in May. That number is still a decrease from their normal precipitation but if you look at the difference that an inch of rain can have on a corn crop, that's a pretty important inch!

Here they are side by side - again, the corn from Ohio is on the left and although it's not near the size that farmers would like, it is better than our poor little Kansas ears.

            

So what does all of this rain and crop talk mean for you, the consumer? Unfortunately, food prices will likely increase in the long run and let me explain how.

Livestock producers (beef, pork) are having to cull their herds to avoid spending so much money on feeds. This could lead to a short-term increase in the meat supply which will lower costs. However, in the long run, once the shortage of corn and soybeans reaches the retail end (cornmeal, flour, cereal) we'll likely see an increase in grocery prices.

Furthermore, if producers are selling off parts of the herd now, they will have less to sell in 10-12 months which will probably lead to a long-term increase in meat prices.

So, if in the next 6 months you notice meat prices decrease only to increase again, please don't be upset with the farmer or grocery store. Farmers, especially livestock producers, are getting hit very hard this year. Many crop producers have insurance but that type of reassurance isn't available for beef, pork and poultry producers. They must feed their livestock regardless of feed prices because they're committed to utmost care for their animals. To read more about the strain on livestock producers and the perilous conditions that Mother Nature has created, you can read this blog post by pork producer, Chris Chinn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and concerns about the drought or your situation. Leave us some comment love!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Fourth of July Safety

This post has a double meaning: food safety and fire safety.

 While we all know that July is in the heat (literally) of the summer and is the perfect time for grilling and fireworks, we need to be mindful of two points.

1. Remember to use a food thermometer when you're grilling. Sure, it's hot and you want to get the meat off the grill and onto your plate. But you could be in another kind of rush later on if  you don't make sure that your foods have been cooked to proper temperatures to kill any bacteria that may exist. Here are the proper cooking temps for your 4th of July activities:

      Ground beef/pork/lamb - safe and savory at 160 °F
      Ground turkey/chicken -  165 °F

      Steak - Medium - Rare 145 °F
                  Medium - 155 °F
                  Medium - Well 165 °F
                  Well Done 170 °F - I included this for reference sake, but it hurts to do so!

       Poultry - Chicken & Turkey, Whole 180 °F
                  Breast Meat 170 °F
                  Thighs, Wings & Legs 180 °F
                   **Salmonella is killed at 165 °F

       Pork - roasts, tenderloins and chops - 145 °F  (no higher; nobody likes dry pork)! 

2. Fireworks are awesome. I'm actually a pyromaniac and am one of the first people to buy fireworks on the day the stands open. But we're in a drought now and we all know that fire + dry pastures/hay fields = horrible fast-spreading disaster. If you are in a county with a burn ban in place, consider driving to a neighboring county and watching a sponsored fireworks show. I'm likely going to the Wamego, KS show (it's one of the best in the state). One night of fun shooting off bottle rockets and roman candles isn't worth the devastation of charred fields.

With these safety steps in mind - have a great holiday! And as always, remember the true reason for the season. We are a free country thanks to those who have gone before us and those who continue to fight for our freedoms.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Will You Eat Beef in 2012?

I hope so. I know I will - I'm addicted and I know I'm not the only one. I live in a town with a very heavy population of farmers, farm kids and rural dwellers who are all very proud promoters of beef. Don't forget about the countless burger joints in Manhattan that are frequented by a hungry college town. However, with all the love we give beef, consumption is predicted to fall this year. Why? Instead of telling you, I'll just let you read this article.
Is Beef Still on the Table?

Within it you'll find scientific data to show that beef producers have become much more efficient with their natural resources. You'll also find out why beef consumption could decline, while pork and poultry are holding steady.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Chipotle - Back to the Start

Farmers take care of all of us. See how pigs are raised on MOST of the hog farms in America. This video sure gets it right!

New Technology Brings Pigs and People Together

    Would you be interested in a video game that is played between real people and their counterparts in the pig world? How could this work, you might wonder? Well, thanks to collaborative research between the Utrecht School of the Arts and animal scientists at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, the  Playing with Pigs  project has become a reality in the form of a video game called PigChase.

PigChase is designed as a way to bring humans and pigs closer together, as it involves a human playing on an iPad or iPhone video tablet interacting with live pigs in their home environment. It will be much easier to understand if you check out the video.

Researchers have set up a large touch-screen system inside a pen where young pigs are housed. Research has shown that pigs are attracted by moving light and based on this principle, a game was created where humans use their fingers to drag a ball of light with their finger and try to match it up with the pigs' snouts on the other side of the screen.

This is an exciting idea that I must say needs to be applauded for it creativity. In animal science we often discuss the need to bring food animals and consumers closer together, and what better way to do so than by keeping both pigs and people entertained at the same time?

For those of you interested in getting the game PigChase, keep your eyes peeled for its release!

Enjoy,

This littly piggy went to market...

A friend of mine sent me this picture and I thought it was a wonderful representation of all the products animals provide for us. It also reinforces my belief that it is very difficult to live a truly vegan lifestyle. I didn't know a couple of these on the list!

My best,

Tera

Woo Pig Sooie: City Girl turned Pig Vet

A professor of mine at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine passed this video along to me and I wanted to share it with you.

Check out this video to find out why this city girl enjoys practicing production medicine in swine farms that produce our pork. She is passionate about her job and her clients' role in producing safe and wholesome food in a humane manner for consumers.

http://www.youtube.com/user/veterinariansoncall

Enjoy!

Tera Rooney

Want to boost your brainpower? Eat meat!

Or more specifically, beef.  Dr. Mike Moreno, author of The 17-Day Diet: A Doctor's Plan Redesigned for Rapid Results, created a list of must-have brain enhancing foods.  You can read the whole list and article online here.

Number one on the list was BEEF. Beef is high in iron, which improves memory, alertness and attention span. It's also a good source of zinc and protein. For more nutritional facts about beef and how to make it part of a healthy lifestyle check this out.

Other awesome proteins that made the Top 17 were:
#6 - Chicken - High in tyrosine - an amino acid essential for production of the substances epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine which are responsible for alertness.

#9 - Eggs - Boost memory through rich supplies of the B vitamin choline.

#10 - Egg whites - High in protein - help improve alertness and produce norepinephrine.

#13 - Pork - Be inspired by pork's wealth of Vitamin B1 that helps facilitate communication among nerve cells.

#16 - Tuna -  Full of omega-3 fatty acids, which help build and maintain myelin that aid in communication among nerve cells.

I've got some more work to do on my thesis, so I think I'm going to load up a plate with beef, pork and chicken and settle in for a night of brainstorming.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Cooking Pork is Cooler Than Before....

After ordering the pork chop dinner at your favorite restaurant, the waiter asks, "How would you like that cooked?"

Sounds out of place, huh?

Well, not anymore, as pork producers across the US are welcoming the news that the USDA has officially lowered the recommended cooking temperature for pork to 145 degrees Fahrenheit. This means pork will now be held to the same standard as the other red meats: beef, veal and lamb.

Why is this so important to people within the pork industry? I can attest that as a person who would definitely order pork from a menu whenever possible, I can't count the times I've been disappointed by pork that has been dried out and overcooked, making for a pretty disappointing meal. However, when I cooked pork at home, I knew that I could leave it a little pink in the middle and enjoy a juicy, tender piece of meat that would rival a well-cooked steak or lamb chop.
Although the recommended temperature has been lowered by USDA, it may take a long time to get everyday consumers to leave a touch of pink in their pork on the backyard BBQ.

"People have been taught this for generations and it's going to take a long time to get this removed," said Rob Weland, a chef at Poste Moderne Brasserie, an upscale restaurant in Washington."It will be good for the next generation not to be so fearful so they can enjoy pork in a way they may not have been able to in the past."

The USDA decided to make the change after years of research and discussions with food safety experts. Pork producers had proposed the change in 2008, where they cited improved feed quality and cleaner, safer indoor environments as improvements that have reduced the risk of pathogens in pork.

Although producers and consumers alike should be excited that all red meat can now be cooked to a standard temperature, 145 degrees F, those of us within the industry understand that traditions don't change overnight and this event marks the beginning of a long campaign to better educate pork consumers nationwide.

I gotta admit, so far this year, Pork's doing a good job at inspiring me!

Cheers,

Hyatt

Busting the Meat Myths

The American Meat Institute has recently announced the development of a new site called Meat MythCrushers.  The sites's goal is to "crush the myths and provide you with referenced facts so you can make informed choices that are right for you." The AMI has equipped the site with several short videos to crush and clarify myths that have been formed about the animal agriculture and meat industry.  The mythcrusher videos address topics such as animal well-being, antibiotic use and grass fed vs. grain fed beef.

The site also provides a new resource for consumers; a long list of meat and animal science professionals and experts with extensive knowledge in food production, safety and distribution. Additionally, consumer brochures are available for downloading.

I consider myself a pretty well informed consumer and even I learned a heap after I spent a good twenty minutes perusing the website. I think it's important that we all understand the values, principles and science that go into producing the nation's meat supply.  Head on over to Meat Mythcrushers and give it a looksy. You won't regret it!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Pfizer IMPROVES Pork Production

Recently announced by Pfizer, an animal health and pharmaceutical company, Improvest has been approved for use by the FDA. Anytime a new pharmaceutical product comes to the market, it has to be approved through the rigorous standards of the FDA.

Castration in the pork industry is common practice to eliminate an off odor that is referred to as boar taint. An intact male pig (boar) will produce this odor in the meat and make the pork very unappetizing for consumers.

Improvest is a gonadotropin releasing factor, diphtheria toxoid conjugate that will be utilized in the pork industry as an alternative to physically castrating male pigs. Those are some long words, but what you need to know is that it is NOT A HORMONE, rather an immunological product that uses the pigs natural immune system to reduce boar taint substances.

There is nothing in Improvest that stays in the meat of boars that will affect human health in anyway. What is great about this product is that it allows producers to take advantage of the natural efficiency of a boar while not compromising consumer taste demand for pork. Intact male pigs will convert feed to muscle more efficiently so that producers are using less feed, pigs are producing less manure and further reducing the overall carbon footprint of pork production.

Improvest is approved for use in 58 countries. Consumer education and acceptance of such a useful technology is important for pork producers. They want consumers to understand the change and have confidence that pork is still being produced in a safe and environmentally conscious manner and with an even higher regard to animal well-being.

Do you want more information?

https://animalhealth.pfizer.com/sites/pahweb/US/EN/Products/Assets/Improvest/index.html#15

http://www.bioportfolio.com/news/article/634716/Fda-Approves-New-Pig-Castration-Option.html

Hats off to the pork industry,

Tera Rooney

Kill it, Cook it, Eat it

Sounds pretty gruesome doesn't it? Actually, I'm quite a fan of this show featured on BBC that started in 2007. This show takes a group of 6 participants through the process of how livestock are raised in the UK, slaughtering and processing the carcass and eventually eating the resulting product. Designed similar to a reality show format, this show is not simply a tutorial of how to butcher animals, but brings together participants from a wide array of backgrounds and everybody gets their hands dirty. Participants are shown everything from how to castrate baby pigs and deliver vaccines to properly stunning and exsanguinating the animal to maintain the integrity of the meat. After slaughter, trained butchers take participants through the process of how the carcass is utilized for a variety of meat products.

In the 2011 season, the cast includes both vegetarians and meat-eaters, including those who were raised on the farm and urban socialites. Throughout each episode, there is dialogue between the participants about how animals are housed, slaughtered and consumed and their personal opinions about each step in the process.

Designed to show viewers the real process from pasture to plate, Kill it, Cook it, Eat it does a masterful job of providing an unbiased view of livestock production and the slaughter and butchering process. Whether you are an avid meat-eater, cautious skeptic, or a life-long vegetarian, this show has appeal for everyone so be sure to check it out!

Down on Main Street

Food For Thought members at Operation Main Street training

Thank you Bob Seger, for the introduction. Last Thursday and Friday, 10 Food For Thought members participated in Operation Main Street (OMS). OMS is a pork industry media training program sponsored by The National Pork Board. The goal of Operation Main Street is to educate trainees on pork production, current issues in the pork industry and how to communicate with the public and media about the pork industry.

During the two day event, FFT members learned how to prepare and conduct a telephone interview, deliver an informative speech and how to field tough questions about pork production. Chelsea Good was a participant in the telephone interview exercise. After her interview, she was able to hear what the reporter would have aired on a news program. All OMS participants agreed that having a live example was extremely valuable in learning the proper way to conduct an interview.

Participants took their first-hand knowledge of pork production, combined with the speaking skills learned from the program, and developed a 5 minute speech about the pork industry. After delivering the speech, each participant fielded tough questions from OMS peers and pork industry leaders. Some of the tough questions asked of OMS participants included:

- How do today’s pork producers control odor on modern pork farms?
- Why do you enjoy raising pork?
- Isn’t it true that today’s pork farms employ a large number of illegal immigrants?

Other questions dealt with common misperceptions in animal agriculture such as antibiotic use, euthanasia and undercover videos.

Additionally, the program provided FFT members with valuable current information on the economics of pork production, current government policy that affects pork producers, animal well-being and environmental issues.

OMS was a valuable experience that provided participants with the information needed convey to the truths, and bust the myths, about U.S. pork production.

If you would like to host an OMS speaker, you can visit the Operation Main Street website or contact a FFT member directly.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~