September 2011 - Iowa Pork Producers Association
September 2011 - Iowa Pork Producers Association
September 2011 - Iowa Pork Producers Association
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IOWA<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> Producer<br />
www.iowapork.org<br />
The official publication of the <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong><br />
Vol. 48 NO. 8-9 <strong>September</strong> <strong>2011</strong><br />
Tama County<br />
wind damage<br />
Also in this issue:<br />
<strong>2011</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> Legislative summary<br />
IPPA at the <strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
1
2 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
Full page ad
<strong>September</strong> Highlights<br />
04 2012 IPPA Annual Meeting Notice<br />
08 <strong>2011</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> Legislative Summary – New <strong>Iowa</strong> laws to benefit pork<br />
producers<br />
12 <strong>Iowa</strong> and Texas join forces for <strong>Pork</strong> Youth Leadership Camp<br />
14 <strong>Iowa</strong>n takes top honors at Quad Cities Taste of Elegance<br />
15 RAGBRAI riders get taste of <strong>Iowa</strong> agriculture in <strong>Iowa</strong> FFU promotion<br />
16 Caitlin goes to Washington<br />
17 <strong>Iowa</strong>ns join together to celebrate farming, help the hungry<br />
18 Cover Story: Rare derecho ravages Tama County pork operations<br />
19 <strong>Iowa</strong> Select Farms enhances animal well-being initiatives<br />
ABOUT THE COVER<br />
A powerful, long-lasting, straight-line windstorm<br />
known as a derecho struck <strong>Iowa</strong> early July 11<br />
causing widespread destruction to hog farms<br />
in Tama and surrounding counties. Read the<br />
story on page 18. Cover photo used with<br />
permission. ©Kip Ladage.<br />
Programs are made available to pork<br />
producers without regard to race, color,<br />
sex, religion or national origin. The <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
<strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> is an equal<br />
opportunity employer.<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> Producer is the official<br />
publication of the <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
<strong>Association</strong> and sent standard mail from<br />
Des Moines, <strong>Iowa</strong>, to <strong>Iowa</strong> pork producers<br />
by the first week of the month of issue. The<br />
publisher cannot guarantee the correctness<br />
of all information or the absence of errors<br />
and omissions, nor be liable for content of<br />
advertisements.<br />
All <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> Producer inquiries should be<br />
directed to the Editor at:<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong><br />
P.O. Box 71009<br />
Clive, IA 50325-0009<br />
20 Floor space and journey time research increases profits for swine<br />
producers<br />
23 Food and farming celebration features unique state fair exhibit<br />
24 ISF Summary – <strong>Pork</strong> Tent enjoys steady state fair business<br />
25 ISF Summary – IPPA broadens scope at Animal Learning Center<br />
26 ISF Summary - <strong>Pork</strong> cooking temperature featured in Ag building<br />
27 ISF Summary – Swine barn features new educational exhibits<br />
28 ISF Summary – The volunteers who make it happen<br />
30 ‘It’s too damned hot for man or beast!’<br />
32 National <strong>Pork</strong> Month – Great ideas to promote and celebrate!<br />
In Every Issue<br />
06 <strong>Pork</strong> Industry News and Updates<br />
34 All Around <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
36 National <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> Council News<br />
38 National <strong>Pork</strong> Board News<br />
40 Coalition to Support <strong>Iowa</strong>’s Farmers News<br />
41 <strong>Pork</strong> Recipes<br />
42 <strong>Producers</strong>’ Market<br />
Phone: (515) 225-7675<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> Toll-free: (800) 372-7675<br />
FAX: (515) 225-0563<br />
e-mail: info@iowapork.org<br />
MISSION STATEMENT<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> is an industry inclusive organization whose<br />
mission is to provide a unified voice to promote and educate for a sustainable,<br />
socially responsible, profitable and globally competitive pork industry.<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong> 3
Notice of Annual Meeting<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> Annual Meeting will be held at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 24,<br />
2012, at the Des Moines Marriott Hotel at 700 Grand Avenue. The meeting is open to all pork<br />
producers! Registration will be held from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.<br />
IPPA is a grassroots organization with policy developed by the membership of the association.<br />
Delegates to the Annual Meeting in past years have requested submitted resolutions be<br />
distributed and mailed for consideration and review by local county organizations.<br />
The following is the process outlined by the delegates to the Annual Meeting. The resolution<br />
deadlines for the Annual Meeting are indicated below:<br />
Annual Meeting<br />
Resolutions:<br />
Any affiliated local<br />
organization, district meeting<br />
or member may submit a<br />
resolution for consideration at<br />
an Annual Meeting.<br />
Resolution type - 45-day<br />
Due December 10, <strong>2011</strong><br />
Resolutions that are<br />
submitted to the<br />
<strong>Association</strong> at least 45<br />
days before the Annual<br />
Meeting will be distributed<br />
to the delegates, along<br />
with the notice of the<br />
Annual Meeting. A 45-day<br />
resolution will become a<br />
statement of the delegate<br />
body if it receives a majority<br />
of the votes cast on the<br />
resolution at the Annual<br />
Meeting.<br />
Resolution type - 7-day<br />
Due January 17, 2012<br />
Resolutions submitted to the<br />
<strong>Association</strong> at least 7 days<br />
before the Annual Meeting<br />
will be distributed to the<br />
delegates at the beginning<br />
of the Annual Meeting.<br />
When a 7-day resolution<br />
comes up before the<br />
agenda, a spokesperson<br />
for the resolution will make<br />
a one-minute statement for<br />
the reason for the resolution;<br />
then the delegates will vote<br />
on whether to consider the<br />
resolution.<br />
The resolution will be<br />
considered only if it<br />
receives 75% of the votes<br />
cast on the motion to<br />
consider. A 7-day resolution<br />
that is considered by the<br />
delegate body will become<br />
a statement of the delegate<br />
body if it receives a majority<br />
of the votes cast on the<br />
resolution at the Annual<br />
Meeting.<br />
No other resolutions<br />
Delegates at the Annual<br />
Meeting cannot consider<br />
resolutions received by<br />
the <strong>Association</strong> less than<br />
7 days before the Annual<br />
Meeting.<br />
Advertisers<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong><br />
would like to thank our advertisers<br />
for supporting us. Be sure to keep<br />
them in mind as you plan your<br />
purchases throughout the year!<br />
Boyce Livestock Co. LLC......................42<br />
Chore-Time............................................33<br />
Compart’s Boar Store............................42<br />
Dow Agrosciences...................................2<br />
Farmers National Company...................43<br />
Hog House Alarms................................42<br />
International Boar Semen......................42<br />
Katolight...................................................7<br />
Kerns Farms...........................................43<br />
Land O’Lakes.........................................11<br />
LSG Health Systems..............................43<br />
Marvin Wuebker.....................................42<br />
Merck.....................................................22<br />
Pfizer........................................................5<br />
Pit Charger.............................................13<br />
<strong>Producers</strong> Livestock..............................43<br />
Stutsman................................................31<br />
Truline Genetics.....................................43<br />
Uddertech..............................................19<br />
Waldo Farms, Inc...................................43<br />
Whiteshire Hamroc................................42<br />
ZFI Swine Semen Services....................21<br />
<strong>2011</strong> Board of Directors IPPA Staff<br />
Executive Committee<br />
President,<br />
Leon Sheets, Ionia<br />
President-elect,<br />
Bill Tentinger, Le Mars<br />
Vice President of<br />
Operations<br />
Greg Lear, Spencer<br />
Vice President of<br />
Resources<br />
Jamie Schmidt, Garner<br />
Vice President of Market<br />
Development<br />
Mark Meirick, Protivin<br />
Vice President of<br />
Producer Services<br />
Mark Johnson, Leland<br />
Past President,<br />
John Weber, Dysart<br />
NPPC<br />
Sam Carney, Adair<br />
Howard Hill, <strong>Iowa</strong> Falls<br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> Board<br />
Conley Nelson, Algona<br />
Derrick Sleezer, Cherokee<br />
Directors<br />
District 4 Don Toale, Independence<br />
District 5 Curtis Meier, Clarinda<br />
District 6 Gene Moody, Maxwell<br />
District 7 David Calderwood, Traer<br />
District 8 Mike Deahr, Muscatine<br />
NW Region Marv Rietema, Sioux<br />
Center<br />
SW Region David Struthers, Collins<br />
SE Region Joel Huber, Wellman<br />
NE Region Brenda Schmitt, Rudd<br />
Allied Ryan Bailey, State Center<br />
Ex-officio Directors<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> Secretary of Agriculture<br />
The Honorable Bill Northey<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> Department of Agriculture<br />
and Land Stewardship<br />
Harold Hommes<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> Industry Center<br />
Dr. John Mabry, Executive Director<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> State University<br />
Dr. Maynard Hogberg<br />
Dr. Lisa Nolan<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> Youth Team<br />
Queen, Cheyenne McNichols,<br />
Rippey<br />
Princess, Chelsey Branderhorst,<br />
Prairie City<br />
Ambassador, Derek Brown,<br />
New Providence<br />
Directors<br />
Rich Degner, Executive<br />
Tyler Bettin, Producer Education<br />
Ron Birkenholz, Communications<br />
Doug Fricke, Trade Show<br />
Marketing<br />
Joyce Hoppes, Consumer<br />
Information<br />
Bob Huckleberry, Accounting<br />
Cody McKinley, Public Policy<br />
Kelly Sheets, Producer Outreach<br />
Alison Swanson, Marketing/<br />
Programs<br />
Assistants<br />
Sheryl Christensen, Administrative<br />
Lea Clemenson, Programs<br />
Mary Lea Hampton, Promotions<br />
Andrea Wright, Technical<br />
Magazine design and layout by<br />
Mindz Eye Design<br />
4<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
5
<strong>Pork</strong> Industry News and Updates<br />
Derecho impacts eastern <strong>Iowa</strong> grain<br />
storage<br />
About the only thing hit harder than hog barns in<br />
the derecho that blasted through <strong>Iowa</strong> early July 11<br />
was grain storage and it’s created a lot of concern<br />
with harvest season upon us.<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> producers show community support<br />
in wake of derecho<br />
The pork industry came to the aid of several towns that<br />
suffered severe damage in the devastating derecho that<br />
struck central and eastern <strong>Iowa</strong> the morning of July 11.<br />
The Tama County<br />
communities of Clutier,<br />
Garwin and Dysart were<br />
among the hardest hit towns.<br />
Homes were damaged, trees were downed and the<br />
towns were without electricity.<br />
Story, Marshall, Tama and Benton counties suffered<br />
the greatest amount of damage in the storm that<br />
produced winds of 100 mph, but Tama and Benton<br />
counties lost a good share of its grain storage<br />
capacity.<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> received a call<br />
from the Tama County Sheriff ’s office the following<br />
morning, asking if the local pork producers could<br />
provide a meal that night for Garwin residents at<br />
the community center, which was powered by an<br />
emergency generator and serving as a Red Cross shelter<br />
and emergency command post.<br />
John Weber, a pork producer from Dysart and past<br />
president of the <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong>,<br />
says a lot of farmers lost their on-farm storage.<br />
“Crop storage is going to be a huge issue for a lot of<br />
people,” said Weber. “The three area cooperatives all<br />
lost their steel storage structures.”<br />
Weber lost 10 separate grain bins himself and many<br />
others around Tama County were heavily damaged<br />
or completely destroyed in the storm.<br />
A nearby Benton County co-op was hoping to have<br />
a new one million bushel capacity grain bin built in<br />
time for the fall harvest.<br />
6<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
IPPA contacted the Tama County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
about providing the free pork meal in Garwin. They<br />
had already agreed to grill and serve a pork dinner<br />
for Clutier residents and emergency personnel that<br />
evening even though many of the producers had<br />
their own storm-related problems. When the Garwin<br />
request came in, Tama County put a second grilling<br />
team together.<br />
With the help of IPPA, nearly 700 Clutier and<br />
Garwin residents and emergency workers received<br />
free grilled pork loin sandwiches, baked beans,<br />
assorted chips and bottled water. Hot and tired<br />
from two days of storm cleanup, those attending<br />
were happy to receive a hot meal. Several personally<br />
thanked the pork producers.<br />
IPPA donation to help fund Wisconsin<br />
PRRS project<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> Board of<br />
Directors formally approved a $10,000 donation<br />
to the Wisconsin <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Association</strong> July 27 to help<br />
launch a PRRS control project.<br />
The association hopes to have its PRRS control<br />
project operational by late fall or early winter.<br />
Weaning time takes good management<br />
Weaning time is a potentially stressful event for both<br />
the sow and the piglets.<br />
Tips for managing the weaned pig include assisting<br />
and teaching good feeding behavior. Within 36<br />
hours after placement in the nursery, most pigs will<br />
have found water and started to exhibit feeding<br />
behavior. This is a critical time to identify pigs that<br />
lack such behavior or are becoming dehydrated,<br />
so it’s important to maintain appropriate levels of<br />
management and supervision of pigs.<br />
For those piglets having difficulty, this may involve<br />
hand feeding pellets or using a gruel until the desired<br />
actions are evident and part of daily activity.<br />
“The IPPA donation will help us hire a project<br />
coordinator and provide education and outreach<br />
to our producers,” said Tammy Vaassen, director of<br />
operations for the Wisconsin producers.<br />
The Wisconsin <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Association</strong> has formed a task<br />
force and identified a 13-county region of the state<br />
for the project. The task force is currently locating<br />
swine herds and mapping them in the project area.<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong> 7
New <strong>Iowa</strong> laws to benefit pork producers<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> pork producers fared well in the <strong>2011</strong> session<br />
of the 84th <strong>Iowa</strong> General Assembly with five bills<br />
of interest passed and signed into law. Here is a<br />
summary of the key legislation.<br />
Pseudorabies Bill, H.F. 557<br />
H.F. 557 has been signed into law. This bill deletes<br />
a current <strong>Iowa</strong> Code section that requires that<br />
swine returning from an exhibition to its home<br />
or moved to a purchaser’s herd following an<br />
exhibition or consignment sale must be isolated<br />
and retested negative for the disease between 30<br />
and 60 days after reaching the destination. Current<br />
code prohibiting swine with pseudorabies or from<br />
a pseudorabies-infected herd to be shown or<br />
displayed at an exhibition did not change. <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship<br />
rulemaking authority for exhibition movement<br />
requirements also remain in the law. Following<br />
an amendment by the House Ag Committee, the<br />
bill replaces the deleted code section with the<br />
following:<br />
• Pseudorabies is included in the code<br />
definition of infectious or contagious diseases<br />
under IDALS regulation.<br />
• The sponsor of an exhibition (defined as an<br />
event on the <strong>Iowa</strong> State Fairgrounds under the<br />
State Fair Authority’s control, an event under<br />
the control of a county or district fair, or any<br />
event classified as an exhibition by IDALS<br />
rules must retain a veterinarian to supervise<br />
the health of swine at the exhibition.<br />
• IDALS is to adopt a form and procedures<br />
for the sponsor of the exhibition to submit a<br />
report with information required by IDALS,<br />
including the address of where the swine at<br />
the exhibition came from and where the swine<br />
will return to after the exhibition.<br />
• The bill would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2012.<br />
Family Farm LLC Bill, S.F. 530<br />
S.F. 530 allowing a property tax credit for family<br />
farm limited liability companies (LLCs) has<br />
been signed into law. Under the new law,<br />
family farm LLCs can claim a property tax<br />
credit in the same way that other farms<br />
(such as sole proprietorships or family farm<br />
corporations) can claim the credit.<br />
Water Quality Incentives to<br />
IDALS<br />
In the final ag and natural resources<br />
appropriations bill, which<br />
has been signed into<br />
law, additional<br />
8 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
funding was provided for voluntary conservation<br />
programs. These new resources will provide IDALS<br />
with much needed funds to assist in nitrogen<br />
and wetland on-the-ground projects. In addition,<br />
legislators pulled livestock and other fines<br />
administered by the <strong>Iowa</strong> Deptment of Natural<br />
Resources from the IDNR budget and placed those<br />
dollars into the <strong>Iowa</strong> Watershed Improvement<br />
Board (WIRB), administered by IDALS to further<br />
its voluntary on-the-ground water quality projects.<br />
Livestock Feeding Bill, S.F. 478<br />
This bill has been signed into law. It creates a state<br />
funding mechanism to deal with circumstances<br />
in which owners of livestock become financially<br />
unable to provide immediate sustenance (feed,<br />
water, adequate shelter) to their farm animals. The<br />
new law renames the manure storage indemnity<br />
fund to the “livestock remediation fund.” In<br />
addition, it allows IDALS to petition the courts for<br />
a superior lien on livestock fed under this program<br />
to recoup state-paid expenditures.<br />
Water Resources Council and Federal<br />
319 Funds, S.F. 535<br />
S.F. 535 has been signed into law. This legislation<br />
transfers the Water Resources Council from the<br />
office of the governor to the secretary of agriculture.<br />
In this bill’s original form, it also provided for the<br />
transfer of powers and duties for the administration<br />
of Section 319 of the federal Clean Water Act from<br />
IDNR to IDALS. However, late in the session, this<br />
bill was amended to remove all language pertaining<br />
to the transfer of the 319 funds administration.<br />
The final bill only transferred the Water Resources<br />
Council to IDALS.<br />
Ag Protection Act (Video and False<br />
Pretenses Bill), H.F. 589<br />
This bill passed the House but did not pass the<br />
Senate and therefore was not enacted into law.<br />
The bill would have prohibited tampering with<br />
property associated with an animal facility or crop<br />
operation and would have prohibited the production<br />
and possession of an audio or visual recording<br />
without the owner’s consent. The bill would also<br />
have prohibited anyone from gaining access to an<br />
animal facility or crop operation under false pretenses.<br />
Finally, the bill would have prohibited making a<br />
false statement as part of an employment application<br />
with the intent to commit an unauthorized act.<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> attorney general’s office considered the<br />
bill, as passed by the House, to be unconstitutional<br />
under First Amendment rights to free speech if it<br />
was enforced against those who had possession of<br />
a prohibited video, but did not participate in the<br />
production of the video.<br />
Subsequently, amendments to the bill were considered<br />
in the Senate to address these constitutional concerns.<br />
One amendment would have essentially eliminated<br />
the prohibition on production and possession of a<br />
video, but it retained the prohibitions on gaining<br />
access to an animal facility or crop operation under<br />
false pretenses and making a false statement as part of<br />
an employment application with the intent to commit<br />
an unauthorized act. The amendment would also<br />
have added prohibitions on conspiracy and aiding<br />
and abetting in committing the prohibited actions.<br />
None of these amendments passed and the Legislature<br />
adjourned without passing any version of the bill,<br />
although the measure remains alive for action in 2012.<br />
Electrical Licensing Requirements,<br />
H.F. 618<br />
This bill provided agriculture with a complete<br />
exemption from the current electrical licensing and<br />
inspection requirements. It passed the House, but<br />
was considered dead in the Senate. To move the issue<br />
forward, Sen. Steve Sodders and others developed<br />
a compromise, which IPPA supported, that would<br />
give farmers a seat on the electrical board that adopts<br />
rules on electrical issues, provide an exemption for<br />
small projects (100 amp or less), include a general<br />
maintenance provision, and an emergency provision<br />
in the case of major failure that might impact<br />
operational flow (power outage to hog facilities or<br />
drier failure in the middle of harvest). Although<br />
IPPA supported the full exemption, the association<br />
also sought the compromise to give members some<br />
relief from the current system. The Legislature<br />
adjourned without taking any action.<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
9
10 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
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SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
11
<strong>Iowa</strong> and Texas join forces for<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> Youth Leadership Camp<br />
Camp<br />
<strong>2011</strong> marked the first year of<br />
collaboration between the Texas<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong><br />
(TPPA) and the <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong><br />
<strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> (IPPA)<br />
for the <strong>Iowa</strong>/Texas <strong>Pork</strong> Youth<br />
Leadership Camp. The camp was<br />
held in both states June 4-10 and<br />
was open to all FFA and 4-H<br />
students ages 16 to 18.<br />
The Youth Leadership Camp<br />
was developed in Texas to<br />
identify young leaders in the<br />
pork industry and continue<br />
their leadership development so<br />
that these students will remain<br />
valuable resources into the<br />
future.<br />
Nine <strong>Iowa</strong> students were<br />
selected to participate in the<br />
Youth Leadership Camp. Those<br />
students were Allison Dittmer,<br />
Columbia; Brady Marienau, Le<br />
Mars; Bryan Schroeder, Remsen;<br />
Darren Struthers, Collins; Kyle<br />
Larsen, Clare; Melanie Weber,<br />
Winthrop; Nichole Licht,<br />
Humboldt; and Zach Lear,<br />
Spencer.<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> group left Des Moines<br />
on Saturday, June 4 and flew<br />
to Amarillo, TX. After a day’s<br />
worth of sightseeing in the<br />
Texas panhandle, the <strong>Iowa</strong>ns<br />
met up with the rest of the<br />
Texas students in Amarillo. The<br />
students spent the first part of<br />
their camp learning more about<br />
the U.S. pork industry and going<br />
through extensive media training.<br />
The first stop on the tour was the<br />
Kyle Stephens Farm just outside<br />
of Amarillo. The Stephens farm is<br />
known for breeding champion show<br />
pigs and is considered one of the<br />
largest farms of its kind in Texas.<br />
The next day, the group toured the<br />
Texas A&M Veterinary Diagnostic<br />
Lab in Amarillo and drove by<br />
charter bus to Pampa, TX, to tour<br />
the Smithfield Premium Genetics<br />
Farm. Later that afternoon, the<br />
group arrived at Perryton, TX to<br />
meet with representatives from Texas<br />
Farm. After a tour of the Texas Farm<br />
facilities, the group had a discussion<br />
dinner at its corporate headquarters.<br />
The students then drove from Texas<br />
and started their trip north to <strong>Iowa</strong>.<br />
The first stop in <strong>Iowa</strong> was at the<br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> Board to continue on<br />
with media training and tour the<br />
office. The next day, the students were<br />
divided into three groups to tour<br />
different farrowing facilities. Later on,<br />
the group reunited at the Ellsworth<br />
Equestrian Center and listened to<br />
presentations from representatives<br />
from <strong>Iowa</strong> Select Farms and Pinnacle<br />
of <strong>Iowa</strong> on manure management.<br />
That evening, the group toured<br />
the <strong>Iowa</strong> State University Meat<br />
Laboratory and participated in<br />
workshops about pork cuts and<br />
various pork products.<br />
On the fifth day, the students toured<br />
Osceola Foods, a Hormel plant in<br />
Osceola, IA. After the tour, the group<br />
stopped at a Hy-Vee store in West<br />
Des Moines to visit the meat case<br />
and participate in a store scavenger<br />
hunt for pork products. After a brief<br />
stop at the World <strong>Pork</strong> Expo for<br />
a livestock judging workshop, the<br />
students met up again with a Texas<br />
Farm representative at the <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
Machine Shed restaurant to continue<br />
discussion about markets.<br />
The last day of the camp was held<br />
at the World <strong>Pork</strong> Expo, where the<br />
students were given time to view the<br />
show and participate in a scavenger<br />
hunt that focused on new products<br />
showcased by exhibitors. In the<br />
afternoon, the group headed back<br />
to the National <strong>Pork</strong> Board’s offices<br />
to finish its media training and<br />
participate in a live interview with a<br />
TV reporter.<br />
Throughout the week, the students<br />
were given assignments and were<br />
required to turn in their work. These<br />
assignments included coming up<br />
with a discussion question from each<br />
tour stop to discuss with the rest of<br />
the group, identifying three out of<br />
the six “We Care” principles from<br />
each stop, and work as teams on their<br />
media scenarios.<br />
Four students were awarded with Top<br />
Camper Scholarships from TPPA and<br />
IPPA. The Top Campers were Allison<br />
Dittmer and Nichole Licht from <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
and Jack Clark and Ian Schaefer from<br />
Texas. Each student received a $500<br />
scholarship.<br />
12 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
The <strong>Iowa</strong>/Texas <strong>Pork</strong> Youth Leadership Camp group attended the World <strong>Pork</strong> Expo in Des Moines in June.<br />
Camp chaperones were Ken<br />
Horton, Tanner Luckmeyer,<br />
Cassidy Smith and Stanley Young<br />
from TPPA; Dr. Jodi Sterle of<br />
Texas A&M University; and<br />
Jessica Droppert, Cody McKinley<br />
and Alison Swanson of IPPA.<br />
The camp was an overall great<br />
success and the partnership<br />
between TPPA and IPPA made<br />
the event a one-of-a-kind<br />
experience for the students. Both<br />
organizations hope to continue<br />
the collaboration for leadership<br />
camps with Texas and <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
students in the future.<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
13
<strong>Iowa</strong>n takes top honors at Quad Cities<br />
Taste of Elegance<br />
By Caitlin Lawrence<br />
In 1985, the Illinois <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong><br />
created the Taste of Elegance competition to help<br />
encourage white tablecloth restaurants to add<br />
pork entrees to their menus. In <strong>2011</strong>, chefs are still<br />
competing to prepare the most unique and elegant<br />
entrees and earn the titles of Chef Par Excellence,<br />
Superior Chef, Premier Chef, and People’s Choice.<br />
This year’s Taste of Elegance was held at the Isle<br />
of Capri Convention Center in Bettendorf July 11<br />
and featured 10 Quad Cities area chefs. The Isle of<br />
Capri’s Chef Shawn Timmerman was the night’s<br />
Chef Par Excellence. His dish, titled Bloody Mary<br />
Braised <strong>Pork</strong> Belly with Micro Celery Salad, White<br />
Cheddar Grits, Praline Bacon, Sweet Corn Ice Cream<br />
and Uncommon Reduction, garnered rave reviews<br />
from the judges as well as $1,000 in prize money.<br />
Timmerman also will get the chance to represent the<br />
Quad Cities at <strong>Pork</strong> Summit 2012, a national Taste of<br />
Elegance event in the spring of 2012.<br />
The Superior Chef was Jerimy Henson of The Outing<br />
Club in Davenport. His Bourbon Vanilla Sous Vide<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> Heart, Prosciutto Arancini, Golden Beets,<br />
Caramelized Coco Nibs and Pineapple Jalapeno<br />
Caviar won second place and $700. And yes, you<br />
read that correctly, pork heart, a first for any Taste of<br />
Elegance competition in <strong>Iowa</strong>. “I just wanted to do<br />
something completely off the charts with pork this<br />
year and thought, why not?” Henson explained.<br />
Double Cooked Southern Inspired Cheek, Aged<br />
White Cheddar Polenta Cake, Wilted Greens,<br />
Chef Par Excellence Shawn Timmerman with<br />
Scott County <strong>Pork</strong> Queen Lynsey Chapman.<br />
Bacon Jus, and Cornbread Tuile came in third<br />
place. It was created by Chef Doug Lear of Bass<br />
Street Chop House in Moline, Ill., and earned him<br />
the title of Premier Chef as well as $300 in prize<br />
money. Lear also was the winner of the People’s<br />
Choice Award and an additional $250.<br />
Donations from the reception tickets were given<br />
to the Chef De Cuisine Junior Chef program from<br />
Scott Community College. The money is used to<br />
help pay for tuition, books, and tools. Proceeds<br />
also help pay for students to participate in various<br />
culinary competitions.<br />
This year’s contest featured six <strong>Iowa</strong> chefs and four<br />
from Illinois.<br />
Sponsors for the evening were the <strong>Iowa</strong> and Illinois<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> associations, Cargill Meat Solutions,<br />
Martin Brothers Distributing Corporation,<br />
Scott County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong>, Chef De Cuisine<br />
<strong>Association</strong>, Milan Florist, Scott Community College<br />
and the Isle of Capri Hotel & Casino.<br />
14 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
RAGBRAI riders get taste of <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
agriculture in <strong>Iowa</strong> FFU promotion<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong>’s major agriculture groups<br />
had a significant presence during<br />
the <strong>2011</strong> edition of the Registers<br />
Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> (RAGBRAI) July 24-30.<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
<strong>Association</strong>, <strong>Iowa</strong> Farm Bureau<br />
and the beef, corn, dairy,<br />
soybean and turkey groups<br />
promoted agriculture and their<br />
products during the first five<br />
days of the week-long event as<br />
part of the <strong>Iowa</strong> Farmers Feed<br />
Us (FFU) program.<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> beef, corn and soybeans,<br />
dairy and pork were featured<br />
at individual stops along the<br />
RAGBRAI route Sunday<br />
through Thursday. The FFU<br />
pork promotion was July 27 and<br />
IPPA served free pork samples<br />
outside of Elkhart.<br />
IPPA and National <strong>Pork</strong> Board<br />
staff, interns, pork royalty and their<br />
relatives grilled and served around<br />
3,000 grilled pork loin samples at<br />
the White Oak Winery near Elkhart<br />
from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The pork<br />
industry’s We Care trailer was on<br />
hand and those helping with the<br />
promotion answered questions and<br />
discussed agriculture and the pork<br />
industry with interested bicyclists.<br />
“It was a great event not only for<br />
pork, but for all of the commodity<br />
groups and we talked to many<br />
of the 10,000 riders,” said IPPA<br />
Communications Director Ron<br />
Birkenholz. “Most of those who<br />
sampled the pork commented<br />
about how juicy and flavorful it<br />
was and many asked us how it<br />
should be cooked. Some asked what<br />
temperature we cooked the pork to<br />
and we proudly told them 145º F.”<br />
Specially designed FFU bicycle<br />
spoke cards also were handed out.<br />
A set of four different commodity<br />
cards were created, each featuring<br />
an illustration by noted editorial<br />
cartoonist Brian Duffy on the front<br />
and a factoid about the commodity<br />
on the back as well as instructions<br />
on how to register to win an Apple<br />
I-pad 2 . One of the illustrations<br />
featured pork.<br />
The FFU pork spoke card.<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> FFU showcases the character<br />
of rural <strong>Iowa</strong>’s farming communities<br />
and the farm groups were happy to<br />
work together to show RAGBRAI<br />
riders and supporters how today’s<br />
family farmers provide a variety of<br />
safe, nutritious and affordable food.<br />
RAGBRAI XXXIX attracted bicycle<br />
enthusiasts from all 50 states, the<br />
District of Columbia and 13 foreign<br />
countries. Only about 40 percent of<br />
the riders were from <strong>Iowa</strong>.<br />
RAGBRAI riders enjoyed free pork loin samples.<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
15
Caitlin goes<br />
to Washington<br />
Caitlin Lawrence got a first-hand look at the nation’s<br />
political process this summer and she feels the experience<br />
will help her decide her future career path.<br />
The University of <strong>Iowa</strong> junior served as the legislative<br />
intern at the <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> and spent<br />
her first six weeks of the summer working in the office of<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> Sen. Tom Harkin in Washington, D.C.<br />
A political science and history major, Lawrence had an<br />
assortment of duties in Washington, from serving as a<br />
Capitol tour guide to reserving softball fields.<br />
She primarily worked with Harkin’s agriculture staff<br />
and legislative assistants on research and legislative<br />
correspondence.<br />
“I looked into what the animal welfare community was doing<br />
and if it had any big proposition two-like issues coming up<br />
and what ag was doing and if it had any upcoming initiatives<br />
that the senator should be aware of,” Lawrence said. “I was<br />
basically keeping the senator informed.”<br />
“It was wonderful to be surrounded by people who<br />
are so passionate about what they are doing,” she said.<br />
While she learned a lot, Lawrence says she now has<br />
greater respect for America’s political<br />
process.<br />
“When you get frustrated with the<br />
government because you feel like it’s not<br />
working, it is. It has to work a lot to get<br />
something done. I knew government<br />
took a long time, but watching them<br />
go through the details, it makes sense<br />
why things are so slow. So you can get<br />
frustrated, but I feel more confident in<br />
a piece of legislation now knowing that<br />
it’s been in hands that are caring for it<br />
each step of the way.”<br />
One of the highlights of her time in Washington was getting<br />
to watch Harkin speak on the floor of the Senate during the<br />
debate on ethanol subsidies, which were voted down.<br />
“It was really cool to watch the office go ‘Okay, we were for<br />
this, but it lost. What do we do now?’” she said.<br />
The Ames native believes it was a valuable experience<br />
because she was able to test her political science and history<br />
knowledge and how much she knew and didn’t know.<br />
“Legislation is one area I’m really interested in,” she said.<br />
“Getting to give Capitol tours, I thought the history of<br />
the politics was really interesting. Ideally, I’d like to work<br />
in Washington, but I’m not entirely sure I’m ready to say<br />
Sen. Caitlin Lawrence because [elected officials] have to<br />
do a lot of work.”<br />
Lawrence says she was impressed by how much Harkin’s<br />
staff cares about working for the people of <strong>Iowa</strong> and their<br />
issues and getting it right.<br />
16 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
<strong>Iowa</strong>ns join together to celebrate<br />
farming, help the hungry<br />
Nearly 2,000 <strong>Iowa</strong>ns gathered in Ames in July for a<br />
“Together We CAN!” cookout to learn more about<br />
farming, visit with farmers and help those who don’t<br />
have enough to eat.<br />
The event, hosted by the <strong>Iowa</strong> Food & Family Project<br />
in partnership with the <strong>Iowa</strong> Sports Foundation, was<br />
held in conjunction with Finals Fest and the opening<br />
ceremonies of the Summer <strong>Iowa</strong> Games. More than<br />
1,700 people enjoyed a pork and beef burger dinner,<br />
donated $1,950 to the <strong>Iowa</strong> Food Bank <strong>Association</strong><br />
(IFBA), visited with farmers and engaged in a variety of<br />
activities showcasing the commitment of farm families<br />
to providing healthy and wholesome food for everyone.<br />
Jordan Vernoy, IFBA executive director, estimates that<br />
for every $1 donated, food banks in <strong>Iowa</strong> can distribute<br />
up to $15 worth of food to hungry <strong>Iowa</strong>ns.<br />
“It’s inspiring when <strong>Iowa</strong>ns come together and rally<br />
around the table in support of farming and people who<br />
are food insecure,” he says. “The resources generated<br />
by the cookout will make a tremendous and positive<br />
impact in the lives of those who struggle with hunger.”<br />
“loyalty,” “hogs, pigs and turkeys,” “determination,”<br />
“stewardship” “responsible” and “hard working.”<br />
When encouraged to tell a farmer one thing, Patty<br />
from Boone wrote, “Keep up the good job feeding<br />
the nation,” while Dawn from Ames said, “Your hard<br />
work is admirable and appreciated!”<br />
“Together We CAN!” Cookout sponsors included<br />
the <strong>Iowa</strong> Beef Industry Council, <strong>Iowa</strong> Egg Council,<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong>, <strong>Iowa</strong> Soybean<br />
<strong>Association</strong>, <strong>Iowa</strong> Turkey Federation, Midwest Dairy<br />
<strong>Association</strong>, US Bank, United Soybean Board and<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> Food Bank <strong>Association</strong>.<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> Food & Family Project is a purposedriven<br />
initiative dedicated to nurturing positive<br />
and enduring relationships between farmers and<br />
consumers. It serves as presenting sponsor of the<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> Games and involves more than 20 farm, retail<br />
and food relief organizations.<br />
An analysis by Feeding America estimates that 380,000<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong>ns, or nearly 13 percent of the state’s population,<br />
are food insecure or struggle against hunger. Food<br />
insecure <strong>Iowa</strong>ns miss the equivalent of 167 meals each<br />
year or nearly 56 days with no breakfast, lunch or<br />
dinner.<br />
Nearly 600 “Together We CAN!” cookout attendees<br />
completed registration cards for the chance to win<br />
a variety of prizes. The cards encouraged people of<br />
all ages to ask farmers questions and to share their<br />
thoughts about farming.<br />
The questions cookout attendees posed to farmers<br />
were both insightful and entertaining. When asked<br />
what comes to mind when one thinks of an <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
farmer, their responses included “corn and soybeans,”<br />
The pork table at the <strong>Iowa</strong> FFP “<br />
Together We CAN!” cookout.<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
17
Rare derecho ravages Tama County pork<br />
operations<br />
A powerful straight-line windstorm known as a derecho<br />
blew through central and eastern <strong>Iowa</strong> early July 11 and<br />
left a wide path of destruction over a four-county area,<br />
especially Tama County.<br />
day and had all of them transferred on Thursday. “We<br />
were pretty lucky!”<br />
The damage ranged from minor to total devastation.<br />
Debris from damaged or destroyed hog barns, grain<br />
bins, machine sheds and other property was strewn<br />
everywhere.<br />
Ross Monroe, who has a feeder-to-finish business near<br />
Clutier, lost his entire 2,400-head finishing barn in the<br />
derecho that packed winds in excess of 100 mph.<br />
“The only thing left standing was my office,” Monroe<br />
said. “I lost 103 hogs when the ceiling collapsed on the<br />
northeast corner of the barn. The rest of the roof and<br />
walls were blown away.”<br />
The derecho destroyed this G-barn near Toledo.<br />
Dysart producer John Weber, past president of the <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
<strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong>, says he was fortunate in<br />
that his finishing barn only sustained minor damage,<br />
although he lost several grain bins, a machine shed and<br />
suffered extensive damage to other property.<br />
Josh Volante, an employee who has his own finishing<br />
business near Clutier wasn’t as lucky. The roofs on two<br />
1,200-head finishing barns he had purchased from Weber<br />
were completely blown off. The roofs have since been<br />
replaced.<br />
The hogs are all that’s left of Ross Monroe’s finishing barn<br />
Monroe said he luckily had lots of help from family and<br />
friends that day to help move the hogs out of the building<br />
and clean up. He found other empty barns and enough<br />
trucks to get all of the remaining hogs moved by 6:30 p.m.<br />
The Dysart Fire Department helped hose down the<br />
livestock in the afternoon until they were transferred out.<br />
A 1,400-head gestation barn owned by Bill Jesina and eight<br />
others was totally destroyed near Toledo, but all of the<br />
animals miraculously survived.<br />
“We called around and found enough spaces to move<br />
all of the sows,” Jesina said. “We moved some the first<br />
Monroe, Volante and Weber all raise hogs for Cargill and<br />
Weber praised the company.<br />
“We had really good cooperation from Cargill that day,<br />
Weber said. “They have an emergency response team and<br />
they helped all of us out.”<br />
Weber has been farming and raising hogs for nearly 40<br />
years and says it’s the worst storm he’s ever seen. While<br />
recovery is progressing, he suspects there will be some<br />
negative long-term effects.<br />
“There’s a lot of farmers my age and older who will<br />
never rebuild,” he said. “A lot of people are down in the<br />
dumps about this and there’s no question it will have a<br />
social impact.”<br />
18 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
<strong>Iowa</strong> Select Farms enhances animal<br />
well-being initiatives<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> Falls-based <strong>Iowa</strong> Select Farms<br />
has introduced SelectCARE TM , a<br />
new initiative designed for all <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
Select Farms’ operations to increase<br />
focus on continually improving farm<br />
animal care and well-being practices.<br />
These steps are a critical part of the<br />
state’s largest pork producer’s efforts<br />
to enhance its overall animal wellbeing<br />
policies following the June<br />
release of an undercover animal<br />
rights video shot at one of its farms<br />
earlier this year.<br />
“SelectCARE enhances and<br />
redefines our farms’ current wellbeing<br />
policies,” said Dr. Howard<br />
Hill, newly-appointed director of<br />
animal well-being compliance and<br />
improvement. “Since the company’s<br />
inception in 1993, there’s been a<br />
firm commitment by the owner,<br />
management and employees to<br />
animal well-being. With SelectCARE,<br />
we’ve doubled our efforts.”<br />
specialists, creating an expert<br />
Animal Well-Being Advisory<br />
Committee of outside, third-party<br />
experts, conducting quarterly<br />
independent audits at a minimum<br />
of three randomly selected farms,<br />
and designing and implementing<br />
an enhanced training and testing<br />
program for all farm employees who<br />
care for animals.<br />
All farm employees who care<br />
for animals, as well as our nonproduction<br />
employees, have been<br />
re-trained in animal well-being<br />
and PQA Plus and are committed<br />
to receiving training annually, said<br />
Hill. Employees will be tested and<br />
certified each year and those who do<br />
not pass will be re-trained.<br />
“[SelectCARE] definitely makes us a<br />
stronger producer,” Hill said. “We’ve<br />
told our employees that our goal is<br />
to be a leader in animal well-being<br />
efforts in the industry.”<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> Select also is increasing<br />
transparency of its farm animal care<br />
and well-being practices through<br />
the use of online farm tour videos,<br />
dedicated web pages and continuing<br />
to offer comprehensive tours of<br />
production facilities for customers,<br />
stakeholders and the media.<br />
SelectCARE was developed after<br />
a comprehensive, independent<br />
examination of <strong>Iowa</strong> Select’s animal<br />
care practices and standards by<br />
Dr. Anna Johnson, a nationally<br />
recognized expert in animal<br />
behavior and well-being at <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
State University. The examination<br />
was requested to answer questions<br />
about the animal care standards<br />
used on <strong>Iowa</strong> Select farms and<br />
to provide an expert, third-party<br />
assessment of both current practices<br />
and opportunities to further<br />
improve animal care. Johnson’s<br />
examination was funded by ISU<br />
Extension and included on-farm<br />
tours and review of employees<br />
working with animals.<br />
More information on SelectCARE<br />
can be found at iowaselect.com.<br />
Under the new initiative, <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
Select is hiring a minimum of<br />
four full-time animal well-being<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
19
Floor space and journey time research<br />
increases profits for swine producers<br />
By Jennifer Shike, University of Illinois<br />
Recent University of Illinois research<br />
confirms that the swine industry has<br />
come a long way in the past 10 years<br />
to improve pig transportation and<br />
handling. In this study led by graduate<br />
student Chad Pilcher, researchers<br />
discovered that an optimum allocation<br />
of floor space per pig during transport<br />
and a longer journey time allow pigs to<br />
better handle transportation stress.<br />
Mike Ellis, U of I professor of animal<br />
sciences, said their research started<br />
10 years ago when it became<br />
apparent that losses of pigs during<br />
the transportation process had<br />
increased since the early 1990s.<br />
This caused great concern in the<br />
swine industry from both an<br />
animal welfare and economic<br />
perspective.<br />
“Our goal was to understand<br />
why those losses were occurring<br />
and develop approaches to<br />
minimize them,” Ellis said.<br />
“Significant funding from the<br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> Board and several<br />
commercial companies, including<br />
ELANCO Animal Health and<br />
The Maschhoffs, allowed us to<br />
perform research in a controlled,<br />
commercial setting. It’s a great<br />
example of how the industry<br />
came together to attack a problem<br />
and make positive change.”<br />
One of the challenges of this type<br />
of research is controlling the<br />
factors such as animal handling<br />
that contribute to losses, he said.<br />
By working with commercial<br />
producers to perform on-farm<br />
research, Ellis’s team was better<br />
able to control who worked<br />
with the pigs and how they were<br />
handled while remaining in<br />
typical commercial conditions.<br />
“We were able to perform<br />
controlled research where the<br />
pigs were handled the same so<br />
we could evaluate journey time<br />
and floor space,” Ellis said. “We<br />
discovered that the lower the<br />
floor space available per pig,<br />
the higher the losses can be.<br />
However, there is evidence that<br />
you can give them too much floor<br />
space. When pigs are transported,<br />
they are more likely to be thrown<br />
about if there is too much open<br />
space. If they are closer, but not<br />
too close, they can help support<br />
each other.”<br />
20 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
Journey time also affected the<br />
pig’s ability to handle the stress of<br />
loading and unloading, Ellis said.<br />
“There’s not much research<br />
on this topic as it pertains to<br />
transportation loss,” he added.<br />
“But we have evidence that<br />
suggests short journey times<br />
could actually lead to higher<br />
incidences of losses because the<br />
pigs need a minimum amount of<br />
time to recover from the stress of<br />
loading at the farm. Normally, a<br />
pig will recover if given enough<br />
time. On short journeys, you<br />
may superimpose the stress of<br />
unloading onto animals who<br />
haven’t yet recovered from the<br />
stress of loading.”<br />
Although previous recommendations<br />
from Ellis and his team of<br />
researchers regarding floor<br />
allocation space have resulted in<br />
lower transportation losses (less<br />
than half of a percent of pigs in<br />
most well-managed systems), it<br />
remains a concern because the<br />
producer has invested a great<br />
amount of money to get pigs to<br />
that stage.<br />
Co-author Bradley Wolter, chief<br />
operating officer of The Maschhoffs<br />
in Carlyle, Ill., said working with<br />
the Ellis lab has allowed their<br />
company to lower pig losses within<br />
the supply chain between The<br />
Maschhoffs and its customers by<br />
more than one percentage unit.<br />
Because the industry has made<br />
such great strides to improve<br />
transportation and animal handling,<br />
this study did not show the trends<br />
and differences Ellis expected to see.<br />
“We did visual assessments of how<br />
stressed the pigs were upon arrival<br />
at the plant,” he said. “They were<br />
definitely more stressed after being<br />
unloaded from shorter journeys.<br />
But, anytime the losses are low to<br />
start with, you won’t find many<br />
factors that will lower them further.<br />
As losses are reduced, it’s more<br />
difficult to show how these factors<br />
are involved.”<br />
This is a good problem — and a win<br />
for everyone involved, Ellis said.<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
21
22 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
Food and farming celebration features<br />
unique state fair exhibit<br />
Thousands of canned food<br />
items and a committed team of<br />
volunteers created a first-of-itskind<br />
exhibit at the <strong>2011</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
State Fair.<br />
The “Together We CAN!” exhibit,<br />
presented by the <strong>Iowa</strong> Food<br />
& Family Project (<strong>Iowa</strong> FFP),<br />
featured the awe-inspiring work<br />
of Canstruction®, the most unique<br />
food charity in the world.<br />
The exhibit was located in the<br />
south atrium of the Varied<br />
Industries Building and included<br />
larger-than-life replicas of the<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair butter cow (in<br />
honor of its 100th anniversary),<br />
a milk carton, market-size hog<br />
and landscape of soybeans and<br />
corn fields — all sculpted from<br />
thousands of cans of food.<br />
All of the food items used in the<br />
exhibit was donated to the <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
Food Bank <strong>Association</strong> (IFBA)<br />
benefiting <strong>Iowa</strong>ns struggling<br />
against hunger.<br />
The purpose of the exhibit was to<br />
encourage conversations about<br />
farming, inspire greater awareness<br />
of the commitment of <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
farmers to providing healthy food<br />
for everyone and help people and<br />
families struggling with hunger.<br />
director of external relations for<br />
the <strong>Iowa</strong> Soybean <strong>Association</strong><br />
and coordinator of the <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
FFP. “Farmers want to listen,<br />
engage in the discussion and,<br />
most importantly, demonstrate<br />
their commitment to continuous<br />
improvement.”<br />
Actual construction of the display<br />
took place the first four days of<br />
the fair and utilized the services of<br />
celebrity builders” including <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
Ag Secretary Bill Northey, Des<br />
Moines native Rebecca Meyer, the<br />
Season 8 at-home $100,000 winner<br />
of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” and<br />
members of the Grammy Awardwinning<br />
contemporary Christian<br />
rock band Casting Crowns, which<br />
was performing at the fair.<br />
People were truly moved by the exhibit<br />
and many expressed their thanks to<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong>’s farmers and to the exhibit’s<br />
sponsors for making the event possible,<br />
Putze said. Several thousand dollars in<br />
donations was received during the fair<br />
by the <strong>Iowa</strong> Food Bank <strong>Association</strong> and<br />
for every $1 donated, <strong>Iowa</strong> Food Banks<br />
can distribute up to $15 of food!<br />
The “Together We CAN!” exhibit<br />
was sponsored by the <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong><br />
<strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong>, along with the<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> Soybean <strong>Association</strong>, Midwest<br />
Dairy <strong>Association</strong>, Hy-Vee, Syngenta,<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair, IFBA and the United<br />
Soybean Board.<br />
“While people hold farmers in<br />
high regard, they have sincere<br />
questions about farming and<br />
want to know more about the<br />
quality of their food and how<br />
it’s produced,” says Aaron Putze,<br />
This market pig was part of the Together We CAN! exhibit.<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
23
<strong>2011</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair Summary<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> Tent enjoys steady state fair business<br />
You could say that business at the <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> Tent during<br />
the <strong>2011</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair was comparable to what U.S.<br />
domestic demand has been over the years: steady.<br />
The weather was pleasantly cooler during the fair and<br />
people started lining up just before 10 a.m. each day to<br />
feed their pork appetites and it was pretty much a steady<br />
stream of customers each day. Business was brisk from<br />
the first day to the last night.<br />
“The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for this<br />
year’s Fair. The beautiful temperatures brought people<br />
to the tent to enjoy some of <strong>Iowa</strong>’s best pork products,”<br />
said Alison Swanson, <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong><br />
marketing and program director and <strong>Pork</strong> Tent manager.<br />
“The <strong>Pork</strong> Chops on a StickTM were another fair<br />
favorite.”<br />
members and all of the county volunteers, allied<br />
organizations and IPPA staff for contributing to this<br />
year’s success.”<br />
With 2012 being a presidential election year, there was<br />
no shortage of political candidates stopping by the <strong>Pork</strong><br />
Tent to help out on the grills for photo opportunities.<br />
The <strong>Pork</strong> Tent also had its usual share of celebrity chefs<br />
and volunteers.<br />
A crew from cable television’s Travel Channel stopped<br />
by the <strong>Pork</strong> Tent to get footage for a state fair special to<br />
be aired later this year.<br />
The <strong>Pork</strong> Tent menu included <strong>Iowa</strong> Chops, loin<br />
sandwiches, BBQ sandwiches, pork burgers and pork<br />
sliders that could be purchased individually or as a<br />
dinner.<br />
Led by the ever popular <strong>Iowa</strong> Chop and the Chop on a<br />
Stick, preliminary figures indicate total meat servings<br />
over the eleven-day fair were 87,527. That compares<br />
favorably with the 87,819 total servings in 2010.<br />
The <strong>Pork</strong> Tent sold 12,560 <strong>Iowa</strong> Chops this year and<br />
54,639 Chops on a Stick were sold. The most popular<br />
sandwiches appeared to be the BBQ pulled pork with<br />
more than 7,800 sold and the grilled loin sandwich with<br />
6,749 served. Dinners were another favorite of fairgoers<br />
with 22,640 sold.<br />
“It was a successful fair and we’re pleased with the<br />
results,” said IPPA <strong>Pork</strong> Tent Committee Chairman<br />
LeRoy Raabe of Hartley. “I want to thank the committee<br />
The <strong>Pork</strong> Tent has been an institution at the <strong>Iowa</strong> State<br />
Fair for the past 31 years and Swanson attributes its<br />
success to a group of individuals that works throughout<br />
the year to promote the pork industry.<br />
“The <strong>Pork</strong> Tent Committee really needs to be<br />
commended for the hard it puts into making the state<br />
fair a success every year,” she said.<br />
24 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
<strong>2011</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair Summary<br />
IPPA broadens scope at<br />
Animal Learning Center<br />
The people who visited the Animal<br />
Learning Center at the <strong>Iowa</strong> State<br />
Fair were able to learn more about<br />
pork production in <strong>2011</strong> than in<br />
year’s past.<br />
A new display was developed by the<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong><br />
this year to show fairgoers more<br />
stages of the production cycle. The<br />
exhibit featured two model barns<br />
representing the farrowing and<br />
finishing stages of pork production.<br />
Visitors could watch sows farrow on<br />
one side of the model barn and see<br />
feeder pigs on the other side. At the<br />
front of each exhibit was a banner<br />
containing pertinent information<br />
about that production stage. The<br />
normal, although scaled back,<br />
farrowing display was located on the<br />
south side of the building. A few days<br />
after the sows had given birth, a new<br />
group that was close to farrowing was<br />
brought in.<br />
Southeast Polk High School FFA<br />
members and other producer/<br />
volunteers were on hand at the<br />
exhibits throughout the fair to<br />
visit with consumers about pork<br />
production and answer their<br />
questions.<br />
Each pork exhibit also featured<br />
production videos that were shown<br />
continuously. A miniature scale<br />
model hog farm gave visitors a look<br />
at what a typical pork operation may<br />
look like.<br />
The ag education center also features<br />
live births of other farm animals,<br />
including cows, nanny goats and<br />
ewes.<br />
A key feature of the Animal Learning<br />
Center is the Christensen Farms<br />
Stage. A wide-range of ag-based<br />
presentations were held each day<br />
by several different groups and<br />
individuals. IPPA helped sponsor<br />
Rhonda Renee’s educational Thank<br />
a Farmer Show that was presented<br />
four times daily.<br />
Model barns representing the farrowing and finishing stages of production were added this year.<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
25
<strong>2011</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair Summary<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> cooking temperature<br />
featured in<br />
Ag building<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> joined the <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
Department Agriculture and Land Stewardship and<br />
several other commodity groups in promoting farming<br />
and livestock production at the Farmville display in the<br />
Agriculture building at the <strong>2011</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair.<br />
The 100th anniversary butter cow and other attractions<br />
brought large crowds and long lines into the Ag building<br />
and Farmville display each day.<br />
With the help of several county pork groups, samples<br />
of pork loin, pulled pork and other pork products were<br />
served throughout the fair. Fareway, Hormel, John<br />
Morrell, Johnsonville and Tyson all provided product for<br />
sampling.<br />
IPPA also offered consumers discount pork coupons,<br />
recipe booklets and new temperature sticks preprogrammed<br />
to 145º F. along with the pork samples.<br />
Volunteers were able to visit with consumers about the<br />
new cooking temperature and answer questions about<br />
preparing pork.<br />
A special cooler display located near the butter cow<br />
featured the new pork cooking temperature and received<br />
a lot of attention as well.<br />
Twice during the fair, pork producers took the Farmville<br />
stage for the daily Ask a Farmer segment. IPPA President<br />
Leon Sheets from Ionia and IPPA Director David<br />
Struthers from Collins talked about pork production and<br />
answered questions from fairgoers.<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey was at<br />
Farmville each day to provide general ag information<br />
and answer questions about farming.<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> Soybean <strong>Association</strong>, <strong>Iowa</strong> Egg Council,<br />
Midwest Dairy <strong>Association</strong>, <strong>Iowa</strong> Turkey Federation<br />
and the <strong>Iowa</strong> Beef Industry Council also participated in<br />
Farmville and provided samples and information.<br />
26 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
<strong>2011</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair Summary<br />
Swine barn<br />
features new educational exhibits<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> has long used the<br />
swine barn at the <strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair as a place to promote<br />
pork production and share information about hogs and<br />
key production practices.<br />
finishing pigs, as well as sows. The display had bins of<br />
corn, soybean meal, dried distillers grains and vitamins/<br />
minerals that could be mixed according to the rations<br />
shown on the colorful board above the station.<br />
Fairgoers were able to learn about the different growth<br />
stages of hogs. A large wall display had four-color<br />
cutouts depicting newborn piglets, four-week old pigs,<br />
eight-week-old pigs, market hogs, gilts/young sows and<br />
boars and their average weights at those stages. The<br />
display was titled “Look how fast we grow.”<br />
Children also could browse through a large story book<br />
about pork production that featured Aaron and Trish<br />
Cook, 2010 IPPA <strong>Pork</strong> All-Americans from Winthrop in<br />
Buchanan County.<br />
IPPA also posted displays of the 2010 producer award<br />
winners around the swine barn.<br />
The feed mixing station featured the ingredients in swine diets.<br />
This year’s fair featured new kid-friendly exhibits that<br />
offered educational activities, including a feed station,<br />
a large pork story book and a large wall display that<br />
highlighted the various growth stages of hogs.<br />
“With thousands of people visiting the swine barn each<br />
day of the fair to look at pigs, watch the various hog shows<br />
or to see the big boar, it’s an excellent opportunity to try to<br />
educate consumers about hogs and what pork producers<br />
do,” said Joyce Hoppes, IPPA consumer information<br />
director.<br />
The feed station, which was co-sponsored by Kent Feeds,<br />
showed the rations that make up the diet of nursery and<br />
This display showed the different growth stages of hogs.<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
27
<strong>2011</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair Summary<br />
The volunteers who make it happen<br />
County pork organizations, the national pork industry organizations and allied industry representatives provided<br />
nearly 900 volunteers to help make <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> venues at the <strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair successful this<br />
year. It takes around 100 people a day to staff the <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> Tent and Chop<br />
Shops, the Animal Learning Center and the Agriculture Building. IPPA thanks<br />
the following organizations and everyone who volunteered this year for their<br />
continued support and dedication to promoting <strong>Iowa</strong>’s pork industry!<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> Tent, Chop<br />
Shops<br />
Adair County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Audubon County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Benton County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Boone County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Butler County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Cass County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Cherokee County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Clinton County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Delaware County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Franklin County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Greene County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Grundy County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Guthrie County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Hamilton County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Hardin County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Jefferson County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Lee County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Madison County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Mahaska County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Marshall County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
O’Brien County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Page County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Polk County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Ringgold County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Scott County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Story County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Tama County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Union County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Washington County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Webster County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Wright County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Alpha Gamma Rho, <strong>Iowa</strong> State<br />
Coalition to Support <strong>Iowa</strong>’s farmers<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> Select Farms<br />
Liberty Bank<br />
Murphy-Brown<br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> Board<br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> Council<br />
Nevada FFA<br />
Prestage Farms<br />
The Maschhoffs<br />
Tyson Foods<br />
U.S. <strong>Pork</strong> Center of Excellence<br />
Wells Fargo<br />
Animal Learning Center<br />
Adair County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Benton County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Bremer County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Buena Vista County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Butler County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Chickasaw County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Clay County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Delaware County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Dickinson County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Greene County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Guthrie County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Hamilton County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Hardin County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Humboldt County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Jasper County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Marion County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Page County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Sac County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Shelby County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
28 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
<strong>2011</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> State Fair Summary<br />
Story County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Tama County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> Board<br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> Council<br />
Agriculture Building<br />
Adair County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Benton County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Bremer County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Chickasaw County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Greene County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Hamilton County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Hardin County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Jasper County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Marion County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Page County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Sac County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Shelby County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Story County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Tama County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
Webster County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong><br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> Board<br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> Council<br />
<strong>2011</strong> <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> Tent<br />
Committee<br />
An extremely dedicated group of<br />
pork producers and former hog<br />
farmers comprise the <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong><br />
Tent Committee. Many of the<br />
committee members have served<br />
for 20 years or more and the group<br />
works year ‘round to make the <strong>Pork</strong><br />
Tent and Chop Shops a success<br />
during each state fair. These venues<br />
have become a labor of love for<br />
the committee members and their<br />
devotion to serving superb pork<br />
products and providing a quality<br />
dining experience is exceptional.<br />
IPPA says “thank you for another<br />
job well done” to the following<br />
people for their continued support<br />
and hard work at the <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong><br />
Tent and Chop Shops.<br />
LeRoy Raabe - Chairman<br />
Dave & Diane Petersen<br />
Eugene & Ruth Moody<br />
Dave & Alice Moody<br />
Chris & Stacy Cornell<br />
Ed & Sandy Fry<br />
Dana Wanken<br />
Terry & Donna Derby<br />
Gary (Otis) & Shirley Helmrichs<br />
Duane & Karen Dreager<br />
Doug & Cindy Barry<br />
Mike & Kathy Rice<br />
Lowell & Deanne Johnson<br />
Dan Bruene<br />
Stephen Burgmeier<br />
Cindy & Chuck Becker<br />
Charlie & Erin Johnson<br />
Ray & Julie Crouch<br />
Rich Claeys<br />
Jamie Helmrichs<br />
David & Kassy Rice<br />
Doug Rice<br />
Mike & Susan Deahr<br />
Dennis & Julie Kent<br />
Tim & LaDonna Pafford<br />
Alison Swanson, IPPA staff<br />
Tyler Bettin, IPPA staff<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
29
‘It’s too damned hot for man or beast!’<br />
By Kelley J. Donham MS, DVM, professor of Occupational and Environmental Health, director of <strong>Iowa</strong>’s<br />
Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (I-CASH), University of <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
My pork producing dad used to say frequently, “It’s<br />
too damned hot for man or beast.” This summer<br />
has been no exception. My dad’s words rang in my<br />
ears the first time many years ago, as I staggered<br />
out of the haymow after stacking bales up under<br />
the roof on a 100° F.-plus day. I was weak, dizzy,<br />
confused and thirsty. My head hurt and I remember<br />
I was so tired; I could hardly walk up the hill to the<br />
house. After sitting down in the shade, drinking<br />
about a gallon of sweet iced tea and consuming<br />
three ham salad sandwiches, I started feeling better.<br />
This was one of two times doing farm work that<br />
I experienced these symptoms that I now know<br />
was heat exhaustion (the first signs of the serious<br />
condition heat stroke).<br />
Later in life, as a practicing swine veterinarian, I<br />
was called to a farm during another hot spell. I<br />
walked into a 500-head-capacity building holding<br />
40 lb. feeders – and found 500 pigs – all dead! The<br />
ventilation had failed during the night and they<br />
died of heat stroke.<br />
Pigs and people are alike in many more ways than<br />
just having the proclivity to eat until we are fat. We<br />
are alike in that overheating can be deadly. However,<br />
we have the advantage in that we sweat, an extremely<br />
effective way to help keep us cool. As sweat<br />
evaporates from our skin, it can remove nearly 2/3 of<br />
the heat we generate when working. Pigs (like dogs<br />
and cats) only sweat on their noses and foot pads,<br />
not much help in cooling off. They have to rely on<br />
panting, air movement and radiating their body heat<br />
to a cool body (like a cement floor or water).<br />
If you believe in global climate change (or not),<br />
regardless, we are having and probably will have<br />
more “too damned hot days.” We need to be prepared<br />
to prevent the detrimental effects of heat for our own<br />
health, the health of our family members, employees<br />
and of course, the pigs. The basic take-home messages<br />
follow and include: 1) the stages of heat illness and<br />
symptoms in people; 2) prevention of heat illness in<br />
people; 3) the concept of heat index; and 4) prevention<br />
of heat illness in pigs.<br />
Table 1: Stages of heat illness, symptoms and<br />
prevention in people (from mild to severe)<br />
• Heat cramps<br />
• Dehydration with loss of salts from the body<br />
• Weakness, muscle spasms, dizziness and<br />
vomiting (often seen in football players in hot<br />
weather)<br />
• Cool off, drink water supplemented with salt,<br />
or better yet, a balanced sports drink (e.g.,<br />
Gatorade)<br />
• Heat exhaustion<br />
• Long work periods in hot environments,<br />
dehydration and loss of body salts<br />
• Extreme fatigue, thirst, headache, dizziness,<br />
confusion and body temperature above normal<br />
(greater than 38° C. or 100° F.)<br />
• May lead to syncope (fainting) and heat stroke<br />
if not attended to<br />
• Prevention is taking more frequent breaks,<br />
shade, maintaining hydration by drinking<br />
at least 1.5 liters per hour (even if not thirsty),<br />
and avoiding alcohol and tobacco. Wear<br />
loose fitting “wicking” clothing that will allow<br />
evaporation, such as polyester sport shirts<br />
30 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
• Heat stroke<br />
• Long work periods in hot environments,<br />
especially people not used to heat<br />
• Loss of sweating capacity, disturbed mental<br />
state, possible convulsions or coma<br />
• Body temperature may exceed 105° F. (41° C.),<br />
rapid heart rate<br />
• Emergency situation, must cool rapidly;<br />
spraying or immersion in cool water, get the<br />
person to the emergency room<br />
• Prevention (see heat exhaustion above)<br />
Table 2: The serious combined effects of health and humidity.<br />
Heat Index<br />
The air temperature<br />
combined with the relative<br />
humidity (heat index) is<br />
a critical factor to watch.<br />
High temperature plus<br />
high humidity combine to<br />
create hazardous conditions.<br />
With high humidity, the<br />
sweat does not evaporate<br />
as readily compared to<br />
drier air, eliminating our<br />
most effective cooling<br />
mechanism. Table 2<br />
provides a picture and<br />
advice when the combined<br />
temperature and humidity<br />
create situations when it is “too<br />
damned hot for man or beast.”<br />
Remember, if you think it is hot, it is even hotter for<br />
pigs. If the ventilation fails in a building on a hot day,<br />
a lethal situation can develop in a matter of hours.<br />
Transportation of market hogs on hot days also is a<br />
risky proposition. The article “Keeping Pigs and People<br />
Cool” in the National <strong>Pork</strong> Board’s <strong>Pork</strong> Checkoff<br />
newsletter provides great information on keeping pigs<br />
cool when it’s hot.<br />
It has been too damned hot this summer and we can<br />
expect more to come in future years. Understanding<br />
the basic principles of heat stress and prevention – and<br />
applying them - can help us live, learn and work even<br />
through “too damned hot” spells.<br />
SEPTEMBER MAY JULY 2010 <strong>2011</strong><br />
31
National <strong>Pork</strong> Month<br />
Great ideas to promote and celebrate!<br />
Everyone can get involved in promoting the pork<br />
industry and there are several ways to do it without<br />
great expense. Here are a few options for you to<br />
consider in celebration of National <strong>Pork</strong> Month.<br />
Host an open house – Having an open house is a<br />
great way to show people what you do and share<br />
information about the positive aspects of pork<br />
production. It lets them see what’s inside the barn.<br />
Inviting a local club, community group or school<br />
to tour a pork production unit can be a good way<br />
to show people how responsible producers are<br />
caring for the animals and producing safe, healthy<br />
and nutritious pork. You can have a cookout or<br />
grilling promotion featuring chops, pulled pork<br />
sandwiches or pork burgers at your farm or in<br />
your local community to celebrate <strong>Pork</strong> Month!<br />
October is National <strong>Pork</strong> Month and the industry<br />
has two great, new reasons to celebrate in <strong>2011</strong>.<br />
This spring, the <strong>Pork</strong>® Be inspired SM brand was<br />
introduced and then the United States Department<br />
of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service<br />
announced the lower 145° F. cooking temperature for<br />
pork. These new developments help add excitement<br />
to your October activities.<br />
Of course, <strong>Pork</strong> Month is the perfect time for <strong>Iowa</strong><br />
pork producers to showcase the work being done<br />
to ethically raise quality, wholesome pork. It’s an<br />
opportunity to tell everyone what you do and how<br />
you do it! Consumers are interested in learning how<br />
pork is raised today by responsible farm families.<br />
By getting in front of people, producers can dispel<br />
a lot of myths, correct misinformation and assure<br />
consumers that pork is being produced in the safest<br />
and most humane way known.<br />
Be a guest speaker – Spreading the message<br />
about pork production is important for both<br />
producers and the public. You can give a<br />
presentation about a specific area of pork<br />
production to a civic group. Invite local<br />
community leaders, legislators or government<br />
officials to recognize <strong>Pork</strong> Month, and present<br />
them with important information about the<br />
industry.<br />
Have a field day – Partner with other local<br />
agricultural organizations, such as the soybean<br />
or corn growers associations and host a field day<br />
for producers and community members to learn<br />
about the many different aspects of agriculture<br />
and why it is vital to society.<br />
Sponsor a drawing or giveaway – Give people in<br />
your community the opportunity to celebrate pork<br />
month by sponsoring a drawing or giveaway in the<br />
newspaper. Consider prizes such as pork products,<br />
gift certificates or pork merchandise. Visit www.<br />
porkstore.pork.org for available merchandise.<br />
32 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
Conduct a presentation for elementary<br />
students – Contact a local elementary school<br />
and give a presentation regarding modern pork<br />
production. Focus on how pork is raised and<br />
the by-products of pork and sponsor a pizza<br />
party to discuss the toppings that include pork.<br />
Tell pork’s story – Tap into the younger<br />
generations by hosting story time at a local<br />
library. Read a fun agriculture story such as<br />
Welcome to Our Farm.<br />
Get involved with FFA or 4-H – As members<br />
of FFA and 4-H grow into successful adults, it’s<br />
necessary to have their support for the future<br />
of pork production. Consider partnering<br />
with a local FFA chapter or 4-H club to host<br />
an appreciation barbecue in celebration of<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> Month. The same can be done with local<br />
colleges illustrating the opportunities for<br />
success and employment in the pork industry.<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> Month. Run an ad in the newspaper or on<br />
the radio saluting pork producers in your area.<br />
Grill – What better way to celebrate October<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> Month than to grill and provide pork<br />
to producers and consumers? Grill at a local<br />
business or event, such as a fair or town<br />
celebration. Take it a step farther and grill pork at<br />
the local elevator or co-op for agriculturalists as a<br />
quick and convenient meal.<br />
The <strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong> will be happy<br />
to provide brochures that can be handed out at events<br />
and assist you with any promotional activities you<br />
want to have.<br />
We encourage you to tell our story, have some fun and<br />
celebrate National <strong>Pork</strong> Month in October!<br />
Conduct in-store promotions – Offer samples<br />
of a variety of pork products, along with recipes,<br />
by partnering with a local grocery store/retailer<br />
or restaurant. Work with the business to offer<br />
an October <strong>Pork</strong> Month special. Also use this<br />
opportunity to highlight the new nutritional<br />
information regarding a serving of pork<br />
tenderloin being as lean as a serving of boneless<br />
skinless chicken breast.<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> producer appreciation event – Successful<br />
pork producers who exhibit positive and<br />
responsible management practices are vital<br />
to the industry. It is time to tell them thanks!<br />
Sponsor a dinner or banquet recognizing the<br />
pork producers in your area for a great year and<br />
job well done. Work with local businesses and<br />
restaurants to sponsor a discount or coupon to<br />
mail out to local producers.<br />
Arrange for media interviews – It is vital to<br />
inform the media about the pork industry<br />
and the latest happenings. Contact your local<br />
newspaper and television and radio stations and<br />
offer to do an interview highlighting October<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
33
All Around<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong><br />
Promotions are a big part of the pork industry’s success and<br />
many of <strong>Iowa</strong>’s county pork groups are actively involved in<br />
activities throughout the year to keep pork in the eye and mind<br />
of consumers. All Around <strong>Iowa</strong> provides a summary of these<br />
marketing and promotional efforts that pork producers around the<br />
state actively engage in.<br />
Black Hawk County<br />
Scott County<br />
The Blackhawk County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> grilled and served<br />
nearly 3,000 pork burgers at Fareway stores in Waterloo and<br />
Evansdale for the annual 4th of July promotion.<br />
Plymouth County<br />
Jean and Glen Keppy (foreground) and LeRoy Claussen<br />
(rear) of the Scott County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> helped grill<br />
pork burgers June 30 in Bettendorf for the annual<br />
4th of July Fareway promotion.<br />
Jeanette and Mark Schroeder proudly display the new mug the<br />
Plymouth County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> sold to promote their chop<br />
in a glove, the <strong>Pork</strong> ® Be inspired SM brand and their Grandstand<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> booth at the county fair. Nearly 500 mugs were sold!<br />
34 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
Tama County<br />
Four hours are all it took the Tama<br />
County <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> to sell 700<br />
lbs. of pork ribs to RAGBRAI riders<br />
July 28 in Baxter.<br />
We always welcome receiving information and photos of your events and activities.<br />
You can send information to the editor at:<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong><br />
Attn: Ron Birkenholz<br />
1636 N.W. 114th Street<br />
Clive, <strong>Iowa</strong> 50325<br />
E-mail: info@iowapork.org<br />
Phone: (800) 372-7675<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
35
News from the<br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> Council<br />
Pew Comission report urges restrictions<br />
on livestock numbers<br />
An environmental group is calling on the U.S.<br />
Environmental Protection Agency to use controls<br />
put in place to enforce total maximum daily limits on<br />
certain nutrients going into the Chesapeake Bay to<br />
impose livestock and poultry density limits.<br />
In a July 27 report, “Big Chicken: Pollution and<br />
Industrial Poultry Production in America,” the<br />
Pew Environment Group – not to be confused with<br />
the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal<br />
Production, but which includes personnel from that<br />
commission – urged EPA to depopulate or limit<br />
livestock and poultry farms through Clean Water Act<br />
permits the facilities would be required to obtain.<br />
The Pew report also calls on EPA to set standards for<br />
land-application of manure and urges states in the<br />
Chesapeake Bay to require large and medium-sized<br />
livestock and poultry facilities to obtain permits. But<br />
in a recent lawsuit NPPC filed and won, a federal court<br />
rejected an EPA rule that sought to require CAFOs<br />
that “propose” to discharge to seek permits. The court<br />
ruled that only facilities that actually discharge must<br />
obtain permits.<br />
Comments submitted on draft<br />
guidance on identifying waters<br />
protected by CWA<br />
NPPC in July joined a number of other organizations<br />
submitting comments on draft guidance on<br />
identifying waters protected by the Clean Water Act.<br />
NPPC and the other organizations expressed concern<br />
with that expansion, commenting that the agencies<br />
misconstrued and reinterpreted a U.S. Supreme<br />
Court case to support their new, expansive definition<br />
of “waters of the United States.” In addition, the<br />
groups said the scope of the guidance and its call for<br />
modifications to existing EPA and Corps rules make it<br />
a proposed regulation, which should be promulgated<br />
under the rules of the Administrative Procedures Act.<br />
Federal welfare law on egg production<br />
a dangerous precedent<br />
The National <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> Council has expressed<br />
concern that federal legislation being pushed by the<br />
Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the<br />
United Egg <strong>Producers</strong> (UEP) would set a dangerous<br />
precedent for allowing the federal government to<br />
dictate how livestock and poultry producers raise and<br />
care for their animals.<br />
The proposal would inject the federal government into<br />
the marketplace with no measureable benefit to public<br />
or animal health and welfare, NPPC said.<br />
HSUS and UEP announced an agreement between the<br />
two organizations July 7 on the size of cages for laying<br />
hens, moving from UEP’s standard of 64 square inches<br />
to 124 square inches over 15-18 years. HSUS agreed to<br />
stop litigation against<br />
and undercover<br />
Proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection<br />
Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the<br />
draft guidance would expand the agencies’ jurisdiction<br />
over waterways and bodies of water.<br />
36 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
investigations of the egg industry. The groups want the<br />
agreement codified in a federal animal welfare law that<br />
pre-empts state laws.<br />
In a press statement, NPPC said such a one-size-fitsall<br />
approach will take away producers’ freedom to<br />
operate in a way that’s best for their animals, make it<br />
difficult to respond to consumer demands, raise retail<br />
prices and take away consumer choice, devastate<br />
niche producers and, at a time of constrained<br />
budgets for agriculture, redirect valuable resources<br />
from enhancing food safety and maintaining the<br />
competitiveness of U.S. agriculture to regulating<br />
on-farm production practices for reasons other than<br />
public health and welfare.<br />
NPPC urges Codex to adopt guidelines<br />
on parasites that are science-based<br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> Council consultant Dr. Ray<br />
Gamble, director of the Fellowships Office of the<br />
National Academies’ National Research Council, and<br />
Dr. Paul Sundberg, National <strong>Pork</strong> Board vice president<br />
of science and technology, recently participated in a<br />
Codex Alimentarius Commission working group that is<br />
developing guidelines on parasites in meat.<br />
Gamble, who previously was laboratory director of<br />
the Parasite Biology and Epidemiology Laboratory for<br />
USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, is one of the<br />
world’s foremost authorities on zoonotic parasites.<br />
At a meeting in July, the Codex commission approved<br />
new work to develop “Guidelines for control of<br />
specific zoonotic parasites in meat: Trichinella spiralis<br />
and Cysticercus bovis.” NPPC worked closely with<br />
the commission, U.S. delegates and other industry<br />
stakeholders in the United States and in other countries<br />
to keep any new work from duplicating, contradicting or<br />
narrowing the current efforts of the World Organization<br />
of Animal Health (OIE).<br />
The European Union developed its own draft guidelines<br />
on controlling zoonotic parasites in meat and wants<br />
Codex to adopt them as international standards, which<br />
only a few countries in the EU could meet<br />
NPPC will continue to urge Codex to develop sciencebased<br />
standards for the safe trade of food.<br />
Your participation in the Strategic<br />
Investment Program allows the<br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> Council and<br />
state organizations to enhance and defend your opportunities to<br />
compete at home and abroad.<br />
Negotiate for fair trade (import/export)<br />
Fight for reasonable legislation<br />
Fight for reasonable regulation<br />
Inform and educate legislators<br />
Provide producers direct access to lawmakers<br />
Proactive issues management with media<br />
Secure and guide industry research funding<br />
Enhance domestic and global demand<br />
Provide producer information and education<br />
Strategic<br />
Investment<br />
Program<br />
Mandatory<br />
<strong>Pork</strong><br />
Checkoff<br />
Funding $0.10/$100 $0.40/$100<br />
Your voluntary investment is NPPC’s primary source of funding;<br />
Checkoff dollars cannot be used for public policy funding.<br />
The National <strong>Pork</strong><br />
<strong>Producers</strong> Council (NPPC)<br />
conducts public policy<br />
outreach on behalf of its<br />
44 affiliated state<br />
association members<br />
enhancing<br />
opportunities for the success of U.S. pork<br />
producers and other industry stakeholders by<br />
establishing the U.S. pork industry as a consistent<br />
and responsible supplier of high quality pork to the<br />
domestic and world market.<br />
NPPC is primarily funded through the Strategic<br />
Investment Program, a voluntary producer investment<br />
of $.10 per $100 of value that funds state and national<br />
public policy and regulatory programs on behalf of U.S.<br />
pork producers.<br />
For more information on NPPC, visit www.nppc.org.<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
37
News from the<br />
National <strong>Pork</strong> Board<br />
A handful of information for foiling high<br />
costs<br />
Ideas for relief arrived in the mailbox of pork<br />
producers in July. The <strong>Pork</strong> Checkoff sent “Practical<br />
Ideas to Address High Feed and Production Costs,”<br />
a booklet containing ideas for reducing the cost of<br />
feeding pigs during this time of high production costs.<br />
The booklet consists of two sections. Divided into<br />
different areas of production, the first section<br />
shares tips on topics from feed processing and<br />
manufacturing to marketing. The second section<br />
contains a brief description of <strong>Pork</strong> Checkoff-funded<br />
research in areas relevant to feed and production<br />
costs and has a link to get more detailed information.<br />
In a cover letter attached to the booklet, National<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> Board President Everett Forkner said he wanted<br />
to assure America’s pork producers that the <strong>Pork</strong><br />
Checkoff continues to work to find answers to the<br />
tough questions brought on by the high prices and<br />
uncertainty about this year’s feed crops.<br />
“Whether it’s looking at the real-time challenges,<br />
such as monitoring herd health for efficiencyrobbing<br />
diseases, or seeking answers to longer term<br />
issues such as sow lifetime productivity, Checkoff is<br />
involved in the frontline of research,” he said.<br />
If you are interested in a copy of the booklet and did not<br />
receive one, or for additional information, simply visit<br />
pork.org for the online version or call (515) 456-7675.<br />
PRRS’ costs to pork industry increasing<br />
A new study estimates that porcine reproductive<br />
and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) continues to be a<br />
major drag on the U.S. pork industry - costing the<br />
pork industry $641 million per year. This translates<br />
into $1.8 million per day or $114.71 per sow<br />
annually.<br />
A previous economic study in 2005 calculated PRRS<br />
losses at $560 million annually.<br />
The study was underwritten by the <strong>Pork</strong> Checkoff<br />
and conducted by <strong>Iowa</strong> State University.<br />
“This Checkoff-funded work offers producers,<br />
veterinarians and every part of the pork chain a new<br />
and valuable insight into the economic impact of<br />
PRRS and underscores why we’ve leveraged domestic<br />
and international government funds to offer<br />
producers tools for regional control of this virus,”<br />
said National <strong>Pork</strong> Board President Everett Forkner,<br />
a producer from Richards, Mo.<br />
The <strong>2011</strong> study differed most significantly from the<br />
2005 study in the allocation of losses between the<br />
breeding and the growing pig herds. Specifically,<br />
losses in the growing pig herd accounted for 88<br />
percent of the total cost of PRRS in the 2005 study<br />
compared with 55 percent in the current analysis.<br />
New oral fluid collection resource available<br />
A new nine-minute DVD, Oral Fluid Collection<br />
in Pigs, guides swine health experts and producers<br />
through the step-by-step process of collecting,<br />
labeling, processing and shipping oral fluid samples<br />
to a diagnostic lab.<br />
USDA provided funding for the DVD, and the<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> Checkoff collaborated on the project. The<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> Checkoff has funded several research projects<br />
involving the development and validation of oral<br />
fluids as an alternative to collecting serum or blood<br />
for disease diagnoses.<br />
“This is the latest tool available to show veterinarians<br />
and producers how to properly collect samples<br />
that can help detect multiple swine pathogens, said<br />
Lisa Becton, Checkoff director of swine health.<br />
“Pathogens now detectable via oral-fluid sampling<br />
include influenza, PRRS, porcine circovirus and<br />
mycoplasma.”<br />
38 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
The DVD is accompanied by a wall chart that also depicts<br />
the steps required to submit an oral fluid sample to a<br />
diagnostic lab. To order, call (800) 456-7656.<br />
Swine ID critical to safeguard U.S. herd<br />
Nearly all (95 percent) of the nation’s pork producers<br />
have registered their premises and obtained<br />
a nationally standardized farm identification<br />
number, typically referred to as a standard premises<br />
identification number (PIN).<br />
According to Patrick Webb, <strong>Pork</strong> Checkoff director<br />
of swine health, this demonstrates the clear<br />
understanding by producers of the importance of<br />
implementing the Swine ID Plan, which provides the<br />
industry a standardized animal identification and<br />
pre-harvest traceability system for animal health that<br />
is consistent across all states.<br />
“Having the traceability infrastructure in place at<br />
the state and national level is crucial for maintaining<br />
and expanding export markets,” Webb said. “It offers<br />
the industry an invaluable tool to use in the event<br />
of a foreign animal disease, as well as a layer of<br />
protection that would not otherwise be possible.”<br />
The “Just Think Pink” campaign is continuing to<br />
encourage the use of official pink PIN tags for the<br />
identification of breeding stock entering harvest<br />
channels. The official tags enhance pre-harvest<br />
traceability of sows and boars, further enhancing<br />
industry-supported disease surveillance programs and<br />
the ability to detect and contain diseases more quickly.<br />
The official PIN tags are printed with the USDA shield<br />
and the premises identification number. <strong>Producers</strong><br />
also can add customizable production numbers,<br />
eliminating the need for a separate management tag.<br />
in June put pork top-of-mind and face-to-face with<br />
more than 700 key culinary influencers.<br />
From the presentation, “What Every Food Pro Should<br />
Know (And Is Not Afraid to Ask) about Today’s<br />
Agricultural Practices: A Farmer Face-to-Face on<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> Production” to the National <strong>Pork</strong> Board’s<br />
presence at the meeting’s culinary expo, IACP proved<br />
again to be an impactful way to engage with this<br />
important audience.<br />
Presentation panelists included pork producers Brad<br />
Greenway and Tim Beeler as well as moderator Charlie<br />
Arnot from The Center for Food Integrity. The trio<br />
offered the culinary attendees a complete picture of<br />
pork production and the opportunity for a candid<br />
face-to-face conversation with producers from both<br />
conventional and niche operations and an industry<br />
expert.<br />
The attendees were engaged and asked a range of<br />
questions on topics like cost, antibiotics, feeding,<br />
labeling and food safety.<br />
The National <strong>Pork</strong> Board has responsibility for<br />
Checkoff-funded research, promotion and consumer<br />
information projects and for communicating with<br />
pork producers and the public. Through a legislative<br />
national <strong>Pork</strong> Checkoff, pork producers invest $0.40<br />
for each $100 value of hogs sold. The <strong>Pork</strong> Checkoff<br />
funds national and state programs in advertising,<br />
consumer information, retail and foodservice<br />
marketing, export market promotion, production<br />
improvement, technology, swine health, pork safety<br />
and environmental management. For information on<br />
Checkoff-funded programs, pork producers can call<br />
the <strong>Pork</strong> Checkoff Service Center at (800) 456-7675 or<br />
check the Internet at www.pork.org.<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> producers converse with culinary<br />
influencers<br />
The <strong>2011</strong> International <strong>Association</strong> of Culinary<br />
Professionals (IACP) Annual Meeting in Austin<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
39
Coalition to Support <strong>Iowa</strong>’s Farmers<br />
News and Notes<br />
South central <strong>Iowa</strong> farmer Ben<br />
Waigand recently planted trees<br />
at his hog farm near Lorimor<br />
and he invited family, friends,<br />
neighbors and the general public<br />
to his site July 20,to see the many<br />
ways he cares for the hogs and<br />
environment.<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong><br />
Southwest Region Director<br />
Dave Struthers, a Story County<br />
pork producer, along with IPPA<br />
Producer Education Director<br />
Tyler Bettin attended the event<br />
to talk with neighbors, share<br />
information about IPPA efforts<br />
and discuss IPPA’s partnership<br />
with the Coalition to Support<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong>’s Farmers (CSIF) during<br />
WHO Radio’s Big Show.<br />
“It means a lot that producers<br />
like Ben are willing to go the<br />
extra mile to share the<br />
positive story of pork<br />
production in <strong>Iowa</strong> with<br />
neighbors,” Struthers said.<br />
“The coalition (CSIF) is a big<br />
part of helping <strong>Iowa</strong>’s pork<br />
producers tell their story and<br />
do things right.”<br />
Waigand planted the<br />
trees as part of CSIF’s<br />
Green Farmstead Partner<br />
program, a unique initiative<br />
designed to help farm<br />
families establish buffers<br />
on their livestock farms.<br />
His shelterbelt was planned<br />
and installed by Advanced<br />
Greenscapes of<br />
Ackley and was<br />
specifically designed<br />
to provide a<br />
windbreak for the<br />
site, control snow<br />
during the harsh<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> winter and<br />
improve the site<br />
aesthetics.<br />
The Green Farmstead<br />
Partner program,<br />
a partnership with<br />
Trees Forever and<br />
the <strong>Iowa</strong> Nursery<br />
and Landscape<br />
<strong>Association</strong>, brings<br />
the technical<br />
expertise of certified<br />
nursery and design professionals<br />
directly to the farm gate.<br />
The Coalition to Support<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong>’s Farmers is a non-profit<br />
organization that assists livestock<br />
farmers who want help interpreting<br />
rules and regulations, guidance<br />
on good site locations for barns,<br />
counsel on enhancing neighbor<br />
relations and tips on how to protect<br />
the environment at no cost. Farm<br />
families wanting a helping hand<br />
can contact CSIF at (800) 932-<br />
2436. For more information on<br />
how CSIF can help you, visit www.<br />
supportfarmers.com.<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> producer Ben Waigand recently planted<br />
trees around his hog barn as part of CSIF’s<br />
Green Farmstead Partner program.<br />
40 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>
<strong>Pork</strong>:<br />
Delicious in so many ways!<br />
Peppered<br />
<strong>Pork</strong> Roast<br />
1 pork loin roast, 4-pound,<br />
(OR 2 2-pound roasts)<br />
6 tablespoons pepper blend<br />
seasoning<br />
Nutrition Facts<br />
Calories: 160 calories<br />
Protein: 22 grams<br />
Fat: 6 grams<br />
Sodium: 50 milligrams<br />
Cholesterol: 60 milligrams<br />
Saturated Fat: 1 grams<br />
Carbohydrates: 2 grams<br />
Piedmont <strong>Pork</strong> Stew<br />
1 pound boneless pork loin, cut into<br />
3/4-inch cubes<br />
1 teaspoon oil<br />
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped<br />
2 carrots, sliced<br />
8 ounces mushrooms, coarsely<br />
chopped<br />
1 8-oz can tomato sauce<br />
1 cup dry red wine<br />
1 teaspoon thyme<br />
1 teaspoon oregano<br />
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon<br />
1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
1/2 cup raisins<br />
Nutrition Facts<br />
Calories: 202 calories<br />
Protein: 18 grams<br />
Fat: 4 grams<br />
Sodium: 710 milligrams<br />
Cholesterol: 45 milligrams<br />
Saturated Fat: 1 grams<br />
Carbohydrates: 19 grams<br />
In large, heavy skillet, brown pork in oil over medium-high<br />
heat until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in onion, carrots,<br />
mushrooms, tomato sauce, wine, thyme, oregano, cinnamon,<br />
salt and raisins; bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15-20<br />
minutes, until pork and vegetables are tender. Serves 6<br />
Rub all surfaces of roast(s) with seasoned pepper.<br />
Place pork in shallow roasting pan and roast in<br />
350 degrees F. oven for 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hours,<br />
until internal temperature on a thermometer reads<br />
145º F. Remove roast from oven; let rest about 10<br />
minutes. Slice and serve.<br />
Oktoberfest<br />
Ribs<br />
2 pounds pork spareribs<br />
2 32-oz jars sauerkraut,<br />
rinsed and drained<br />
8 juniper berries<br />
2 large onions, peeled and<br />
thickly sliced<br />
2 tart green apples, cored<br />
and wedged<br />
1/4 cup brown sugar<br />
Nutrition Facts<br />
Calories: 390 calories<br />
Protein: 32 grams<br />
Fat: 17 grams<br />
Sodium: 2230 milligrams<br />
Cholesterol: 100 milligrams<br />
Saturated Fat: 6 grams<br />
Carbohydrates: 28 grams<br />
Evenly layer ingredients<br />
into a large stew pot or<br />
Dutch oven in this order:<br />
Sauerkraut, juniper berries, onion, apples, brown<br />
sugar and ribs. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover<br />
and simmer gently for 2-3 hours, until ribs are very<br />
tender. Serves 6. Wine suggestion: Pour a chilled<br />
Gewurztraminer.<br />
Stir-fried <strong>Pork</strong> in<br />
Garlic Sauce<br />
1 to 1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin, OR<br />
shoulder, cut into thin shreds<br />
2 tablespoons peanut oil, OR<br />
vegetable oil<br />
2 tablespoons garlic, peeled and<br />
chopped<br />
2 chiles, dried<br />
1 bunch scallions, OR green onion,<br />
trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths<br />
(separate white parts from green parts)<br />
3 tablespoons soy sauce<br />
4 cups white rice, cooked<br />
Nutrition Facts<br />
Calories: 497 calories<br />
Protein: 31 grams<br />
Fat: 14 grams<br />
Sodium: 980 milligrams<br />
Cholesterol: 77 milligrams<br />
Saturated Fat: 4 grams<br />
Carbohydrates: 57 grams<br />
Fiber: 2 grams<br />
Put oil in large, nonstick skillet (12 inches is best) and turn<br />
heat to high; a minute later, add garlic and chiles, cook, stirring<br />
occasionally until the garlic begins to color, just a minute or so.<br />
Add pork and stir once or twice. Cook until it begins to brown,<br />
about a minute. Add white parts of the scallions and stir; cook<br />
another minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in the green parts of<br />
the scallions and stir; cook for 30 seconds, then turn off heat<br />
and add the soy sauce. Serve immediately with white rice.<br />
Serves 4.<br />
SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong><br />
41
P r o D u c e r S ’ M A R K e t<br />
ADVERTISING<br />
WORKS.<br />
THE<br />
IOWA PORK PRODUCER<br />
SELLS!<br />
Contact Doug Fricke for more<br />
information on how to reach<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong>’s pork producers.<br />
(800)372-7675<br />
dfricke@iowapork.org<br />
42<br />
38<br />
SEPTEMBER MAY <strong>2011</strong> <strong>2011</strong>
P r o D u c e r S ’ M A R K e t<br />
Place<br />
your ad<br />
here!<br />
SEPTEMBER MAY <strong>2011</strong> 43
<strong>Iowa</strong> <strong>Pork</strong> <strong>Producers</strong> <strong>Association</strong><br />
P.O. Box 71009<br />
Clive, IA 50325-0009<br />
NON-PROFIT ORG<br />
U.S. POSTAGE<br />
PAID<br />
DES MOINES, IA<br />
PERMIT NO 1911<br />
44 SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong>