A new venue for Swine and Stein brought with it five courses of pork goodness large enough to be a meal on their own and delicious craft brews. Hatch on Broadway in Oklahoma City was the place to be on August 21st. Cabin Boys Brewery out of Tulsa was there to provide the drinks.

“Teaming up with Hatch made a lot of sense for us. Their food is outstanding, and they have become a staple to OKC,” said Roy Lee Lindsey, okPORK executive director. “They are only open until 2 p.m. each day so we could have the whole restaurant for the evening event.”

As we all know 2020 has been nothing like we may have planned, but I have always been told to keep a steady head and roll with the punches. In March, when I accepted my internship with okPORK I had a whole list of things I thought I would get to experience. But, with shortened events, virtual meetings and mask mandates, this summer was far from what I expected.

This, however, was not a bad thing! The staff at okPORK welcomed me with open arms and a beautiful vase of flowers on my first day. From that moment I knew I was in the right spot, even if we didn’t know where the summer would lead us.

Many people dream of moving from Mexico to the United States. For Cristina Carmona that dream came true in 2003.

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Chihuahua, in Mexico, Carmona was able to achieve a master’s degree at New Mexico State University.

Growing up, Carmona and her family raised cattle and were involved in other sectors of agriculture. It wasn’t until she came to the United States that she had any interaction with pigs.

In 2005 Carmona was recruited by Murphy Brown and has been engaged in the swine industry ever since.

Pig farmers faced many obstacles due to COVID-19. But that did not keep them from supporting their state when so many other Oklahomans faced great needs.

When pork processing plants across the country had to operate at a reduced capacity, pigs were stuck on farms longer than usual. okPORK staff began to search for local processing plants that were available to process pork for donation to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma State University Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center answered that call and Prestage Farms of Oklahoma had pigs to donate.

“The reality that we have people in our great country who go hungry on a daily basis is tragic,” said Greg Stephens, general manager for Prestage Farms of Oklahoma. “Any entity or individual that has resources to help alleviate this situation should feel morally obligated to help in any way possible.”

In 2010 the Oklahoma Pork Council announced a gift of $50,000 to Oklahoma State University’s Pickens Legacy Match Scholarship Program in honor of Dr. Bill Luce. Throughout the years he played a vital role within the pork industry.

Luce dedicated his career to the industry and was extremely interested in what the future would bring. This is why okPORK created a scholarship to honor his legacy.

This scholarship was created to recruit the best graduate students to research swine production at Oklahoma state University.

Even with a worldwide pandemic affecting the industry, pork producers have worked diligently to make sure they are putting pork on the table for consumers across the country.

Roy Lee Lindsey, okPORK executive director, said the commitment pig farmers show on a daily basis has not wavered.

“It takes a lot of faith to breed a sow today and think in 10 months her pigs will be going to market.”

In the last few months, pig farmers have spent countless hours in conversation about the outcome of COVID-19, Lindsey said. They are planning for a number of different scenarios and are continuing to show the resilience farmers are known for around the world.

This year marked the 14th annual Pre-Memorial Day Blood Drive partnership between the Oklahoma Pork Council and the Oklahoma Blood Institute. This two-day event is crucial for boosting the blood supply in Oklahoma, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With COVID-19 hitting Oklahoma in March, the blood supply levels have been increasingly low. Several okPORK events had been canceled but the Pre-Memorial Day Blood Drive would not be one of them. With no substitution for blood and multiple blood drive cancelations across the state it was imperative to have a successful turnout. 1,340 Oklahomans gathered around the state to donate blood. Thanks to a record-breaking blood drive, 4,020 lives were saved.

A cornerstone of okPORK’s mission has been supporting communities. As a staff, we take pride in using your checkoff dollars to give back to those in need all across our state. Early in the COVID-19 quarantine it became apparent many Oklahomans would need support. And those who weren’t out of work could use a boost of joy into their community and other groups need a big thank you for their hard work.

So, Lloyd Hawkins fired up the smoker and went to work feeding people who were hurting. To date he has had the opportunity to feed four separate groups.

“Plan the work. Work the plan.” This is the saying longtime okPORK office administrator, Donna Jackson, repeated many times over the years to keep us as a team motivated when things got tense or overwhelming.

We have generally worked on an okPORK strategic plan once every five years. On January 30 and 31 of this year, the okPORK staff gathered with the board, and investors to work on the next iteration of the strategic plan. The approach was a bit different in that instead of working on a plan that covers five years, we will now be reviewing the strategic plan every 18 to 24 months.

We are excited to have selected Chelsea Mabry to be our Summer Intern this year. Chelsea is passionate about the swine industry and was a member of our first Pork Industry Group at Oklahoma State University. She will be joining us in mid-May and we can’t wait for you to meet her in person. Until then, enjoy this Q&A session with Chelsea.