Introducing Oklahoma Pork's Summer 2023 Outreach Intern

Hello pork producers and friends of the pork industry! My name is Braden Burns, and I am honored to start as an intern at the Oklahoma Pork Council. I just finished my sophomore year at Oklahoma State University, pursuing a degree in Agribusiness. Growing up in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, I was actively involved in FFA. Judging and showing livestock as well as prepared public speaking were among my favorite competitive events within the organization. In FFA, I became educated and passionate about protecting producers from industry threats.

I am looking forward to feeding my passion and working with people who share this passion at the Oklahoma Pork Council. Each time I drive past a wheat field full of stocker calves or walk past the fully stocked meat counter with tasty bacon and pork chops at the grocery store, I am reminded of how much careful work, countless dollars, and tireless effort goes into ensuring Americans have the safest and most affordable food supply in the world. As a proud American, and rural Oklahoma native, I want to be certain this is always true. 

Oklahoma Pork advertised an attractive summer internship focused on serving members in all four strategic intention areas of the organization: workforce at all levels, FAD preparedness, freedom to operate, and image enhancement. As I researched the position, I also saw Oklahoma Pork boasts a team of highly qualified and passionate staff members who are eager to serve pork producers by being led straight from our state’s pig farms. I am excited to feed off their mentorship as we embark upon a summer of eye-opening experiences, providing new insight into the pork industry. I am most enthusiastic to meet the strong network of producers and supporters who care endlessly for the future of pork production as we continue to be one of the largest enterprises in the great state of Oklahoma!

I want to thank each of you for your support of the Oklahoma Pork Council and allowing opportunities, like this internship, for young people to pursue careers in agriculture. To learn a little more about Oklahoma Pork's internship experience, click here.

- Braden Burns, Oklahoma Pork Summer 2023 Outreach Intern

New Pork Truths Messaging on Healthy Eating

The National Pork Board (NPB) is releasing new pork messaging including health and wellness data, research and recipes targeted at nutrition professionals. As part of their "Pork and Partners Community" outreach, NPB's new healthy-eating pork hub welcomes dieticians with "We’re here to provide free continuing education opportunities, exciting events, featured recipes, evidence-based handouts and peer-reviewed research. Join us to access resources and support to take your practice to the next level."

The educational resources for nutritionists and dieticians then discuss how pork is the world's most consumed protein source, and the impressive comparison of pork products compared to 30 years ago including 16% less fat and 27% less saturated fat. The messaging also shares the eight cuts of pork considered 'lean' and the two cuts certified by the American Heart Association as heart-healthy foods.

NPB's outreach also highlights the sustainability of modern pig farming, including this messaging alongside health data and recipes. "You can feel good about choosing lean pork. Swine have the lowest emissions of any class of livestock and have the ability to feed the world’s population without grazing on deforested land and emitting heat-trapping methane gas.6 Since 1960, farmers have used over 75% less land, 25% less water and 7% less energy, reducing carbon emissions by 8%."

To explore these healthy pork-promoting resources online, click here. Or, to check out one of the hand-outs complete with two healthy pork recipes click here. You might just find a delicious new recipe to try at home, or learn something new to share with your local community about the quality products you raise!

"Picture Yourself in Pork" Focus at FFA Convention

The Oklahoma Pork Council interacted with hundreds of FFA members at our "Work In Pork" trade show booth during this week's Oklahoma FFA State Convention in Tulsa.

The Oklahoma Pork Council went all-in at the 97th Annual Oklahoma FFA State Convention where a record-setting 15,000 attendees took over downtown Tulsa for a memorable week filled with blue and gold. Our team had a fantastic time reconnecting with passionate students we have met throughout the year and meeting many more who enjoy showing pigs, eating pork and learning about potential career opportunities offered throughout the pork industry.

During convention, hundreds of FFA members visited our expanded "Work In Pork" booth at the career-focused trade show. To help these students "picture themselves in pork," we photographed more than 700 Oklahoma FFA members and had them to write on their Polaroid "what they want to be when they grow up." The "Work in Pork" careers booth was again a convention crowd favorite, and our team cannot wait to see these students promoting our industry with their "pork swag" in communities across the state. Our goal was to create positive impressions for FFA members to see that pork is cool and that endless opportunities exist within our industry for careers after high school or college. Based on the booth's success, we are confident this message is resonating with the next generation of agriculture leaders.

Another highlight this year was hosting students from six FFA chapters connected with our organization to sit in our "Oklahoma Pork VIP" row of seats during general sessions at the BOK Center, including Maysville FFA, Laverne FFA as Travis and Cathy Vaughan's daughters received their State FFA Degrees and Kingfisher FFA as alumnus (and upcoming Oklahoma Pork intern) Braden Burns gave his State FFA President retiring address. Overall, State FFA Convention proved to be a fun and worthwhile experience for Oklahoma Pork to engage with students and promote our industry.

Sharing Bacon-Flavored Pig Cookies at the State Capitol

“Oklahoma Pork’s team enjoyed distributing almost 200 pig cookies to staff members at the State Capitol earlier this week for National Administrative Professionals Day. ”

The Oklahoma Pork Council was able to spread bacon-flavored positivity by delivering adorable pig cookies throughout the State Capitol. In celebration of National Administrative Professionals Day, our team thanked dozens of legislative assistants, executive assistants and other Capitol support staff for their service to our state. In total, we distributed almost 200 peanut-butter-bacon and maple-bacon flavored pig cookies.

Encouraging Students to Work in Pork

OSU students participating in OYE's leadership program learned about the Oklahoma Pork Council, Remington Park, and the Lazy E Arena on their recent agriculture tour in Oklahoma City.

Last week, Oklahoma Pork enjoyed meeting with students in the Oklahoma Agricultural Leadership Encounter (OALE) to discuss pork production, agricultural advocacy, career development and more.

OALE is a year-long collegiate leadership program led by the Oklahoma Youth Expo (OYE) staff for Oklahoma State University (OSU) students studying agriculture. OYE's board first developed the experience in 2003 after identifying a gap in livestock-related agricultural leadership learning after high school. Students accepted into OALE participate in 10 enriching agricultural experiences throughout the academic year, including hands-on tours throughout the state, a visit to Washington, D.C., and an international trip.

While learning about the Oklahoma Pork Council, OALE Class XX heard from Kylee Deniz about our team's rewarding work serving pork producers across the state. Kylee shared more details about pork's significant economic impact to Oklahoma and the diverse opportunities for successful careers in pork production. This meeting also provided a fun opportunity to spotlight OALE member Kalley Whitlock who participated in our organization's Pork Industry Group in 2021 and served as Oklahoma Pork's campus liaison for Pork Industry Group in 2022.

Oklahoma Pork's staff and board love opportunities to pour into the next generation of agriculture leaders. Adding students like these into our network of pork advocates will continually reap rewards as these young people build their careers across agriculture for years to come. If you know a student group of any age that could benefit from learning more about pork, email us!

Oklahoma Pork Launches One-Stop-Shop for Oklahoma Disease Preparedness on Website

Across the globe, a foreign animal disease (FAD) outbreak represents the most substantial and immediate threat to the pork industry. Like it or not, deny it or not, prepared or not, the same can be said right here in Oklahoma.

From California’s Proposition 12 to veganism, there is no ballot initiative or diet trend that could suddenly, without warning, threaten livelihoods and have a staggering impact on local and national economies quite like a FAD outbreak.

While we have vaccinations and mitigation efforts for certain diseases, the impact of an effective response to an outbreak absolutely pales in comparison to the impact of proactive preparation, education, and vigilance. That is why Oklahoma Pork takes FAD preparedness so incredibly seriously and why, in 2022, we launched the first ever Oklahoma Pork Council FAD Hub.

The FAD Hub is a one-stop-shop for education, tips, step-by-step guides, helpful resources, communications plans and key contacts. We have gathered and organized the best available information from the National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council, U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA), Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ODAFF), and many others.

While this information is useful to pork producers across the nation, many pieces of content and contacts are customized specifically for Oklahomans.

According to Dr. Patrick Webb, National Pork Board (NPB) assistant chief veterinarian, having information customized to each state is a crucial need for our industry.

“We are constantly updating the Pork Checkoff website with the most up-to-date information available,” Dr. Webb said. “But when it comes to FAD response, there are so many nuances for each state’s rules, capabilities and contacts.”

“It is important that pork producers in each state know where to start, like Oklahomans now have with the Oklahoma Pork Council’s FAD Hub.”

With so many curated resources in one place, it can be hard to know where to begin.

“NPB has invested a lot of money in AgView, a free service for every pork producer whether they have one pig or one million,” Dr. Webb said. “AgView helps us collect and organize data and make it useful for state health officials.”

Signing up for AgView is one of the easiest and best things producers can do to help the industry ensure that any potential outbreak is short lived and handled correctly, Dr. Webb added.

At Oklahoma Pork, we could not agree more with Dr. Webb, which is why website visitors can find information about AgView in the resources section of the FAD hub.

The time you spend educating yourself and your operation on FADs, the time you spend engaging with resources like the Oklahoma Pork FAD Hub, is time invested in the future.

FADs do not care about fences or boundaries or surnames, they impact us all. With vigilance, preparedness and the resources on our FAD Hub, we can be better prepared together.

Click here to visit Oklahoma Pork’s FAD Hub!

Celebrating Oklahoma Pork Production at the State Capitol

Oklahoma Pork members Cathy Vaughan, Joe Locke, Dottie King and Tom Layne spent Tuesday at the State Capitol educating legislators and the public about Oklahoma's swine industry during Oklahoma Agriculture Day.

Last week was one of Oklahoma Pork's favorite days each year: Oklahoma Agriculture Day at the State Capitol. Led by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF), Ag Day brings together hundreds of agricultural producers and advocates to showcase our state's diverse agricultural sector and educate policymakers during the legislative session.

Elevating the success of last year's build-your-own pork cups, this year the Oklahoma Pork Council hosted an Ag Day "Bacon Bar" charcuterie spread featuring Wright's bacon strips, candied bacon, chocolate-covered bacon, bacon jam, and a variety of other pork, cheese, fruits and sweets. In total, Oklahoma Pork's crowd-favorite booth distributed more than 200 pork-focused snacks to legislators, staff and guests.

Oklahoma Pork leaders Joe Locke of Seaboard Foods, Dottie King of Tyson's Pork Group, Tom Layne of The HANOR Company, and Cathy Vaughan of Smithfield Foods also distributed fun pork giveaways while they educated visitors about modern pig farming. Our pork producers at Ag Day also participated in meetings with House Agriculture Committee Chairman Dell Kerbs and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Chris Kidd.

To mark the occasion, the State House of Representatives and the State Senate both passed resolutions affirming agriculture as one of Oklahoma's leading industries. HR 1010 and SR 8 highlight agriculture's role in our state economy, way of life, and international exports. Oklahoma Pork appreciates both our Agriculture Committee chairmen who authored these resolutions and continually work with our pork policy team to support your freedom to operate.

Special Collaboration for Latest Oklahoma State University Pork Donation

Joel Jackson and his team at OSU's Food and Agricultural Product Center "Cowboy Meats" helped source local pork products for Oklahoma Pork's recent protein donation to the campus food pantry.

As part of Oklahoma Pork's continued emphasis on protein donations to benefit food insecure students at Oklahoma State University (OSU), we recently gifted $250 for a pork restock at Pete's Pantry. Oklahoma Pork's latest financial support follows a 130-pound pulled pork donation to the student-led food pantry last fall.  

For this spring's donation, Oklahoma Pork coordinated with OSU's Food and Agricultural Products Center (FAPC) "Cowboy Meats" to source pork products that had been harvested and processed right on campus. Our donation secured 65 pounds of boneless pork chops to restock the Pete's Pantry meat fridge for collegians in need. In response to Oklahoma Pork's gift, Cactus Cares - the charitable arm of Cactus Feeders - has pledged to match our donation.

FAPC's Cowboy Meats is open for retail sale of OSU-raised animal protein products every Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The retail store sells a variety of local meats including steaks, chops, bacon and more.

The Pete's Pantry Network is a student-run initiative that advocates for reducing food insecurity across OSU's campus and meeting basic needs of the college community. They organize and take donations from various departments, student organizations, and community partners; such as Our Daily Bread, Alpha Gamma Rho-Pi Chapter, and others. Donated items include non-perishable and frozen food, canned goods, clothing and hygiene products.

Pig Farmers from Southeast Oklahoma Gather

Pictured here presenting is Angie Johnson serves as current president of Oklahoma Pork's board of directors and as a senior vice president for First United Bank. Angie's family operates Ran-Mar Farms near Holdenville.

Earlier this month, the Oklahoma Pork Council had the opportunity to share about our organization's work during two recent Tyson's Pork Group grower meetings in Southeast Oklahoma. Both meetings served as proactive gatherings to discuss disease prevention, animal care guidance for upcoming summer heat, and other company business.

Oklahoma Pork's board president Angie Johnson and executive director Kylee Deniz were also invited to present on the Oklahoma Pork Council's role serving our state's pork producers. Angie and Kylee outlined the four strategic intention areas where our board has continually affirmed the Oklahoma Pork Council should focus:

• Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) preparedness

• Workforce at All Levels

• Image Enhancement

• Freedom to Operate

Senior veterinarian for Tyson's Pork Group Dr. Steven Clifton also provided insight into animal disease preparedness of relevance to the group. Additionally, Oklahoma Pork's vice president Robert Peffley participated in the meetings since he serves as a pod manager for multiple farms. A special thank you to Jeremy Dickinson, vice president of live operations, for allowing Oklahoma Pork to participate in these educational afternoons involving Tyson contract growers from several counties.

Oklahoma Pork Deploys First-of-its-Kind Messaging for Spanish-Speaking Audience

Oklahoma is home to thousands of native Spanish speakers, as the Census Bureau estimated nearly 285,000 Spanish speakers in 2019 – increasing by roughly five percent each year.

This substantial segment of our state’s population represents customers of pork products and current (and potentially future) pork industry employees.

For the past few years, the National Pork Board has made additional funds available to state associations for new ideas to move our industry forward through a grant process.

In 2022, we dug deep into our communications and marketing strategy and applied for a portion of our grant dollars to focus on building industry pride with our Spanish-speaking employees who work on Oklahoma pig farms.

While Oklahoma Pork deployed Spanish Google ads focused on the pork industry’s economic impact and sustainability efforts throughout Oklahoma last year, the organization will continue the work to develop more Spanish content in 2023.