Oklahoma Pork Council Elects New Officers

Oklahoma Pork's board of directors held their September board meeting this week to discuss the organization's upcoming fall events and priorities. After three board members were re-elected to their seats at last month's Pork Congress, this meeting also provided the opportunity for officer elections.

• Joe Locke of Marietta began his term as board president at last month's Pork Congress after serving as president-elect for the previous year. Joe's 30-year career in pork production includes experience across multiple states and production systems. He currently serves as Director of Operations for Tyson Foods' The Pork Group.

• Cathy Vaughan of Laverne was tapped by her fellow board members to serve as president-elect for the 2024-2025 term. Cathy serves as the Midwest Safety Manager for Smithfield Foods and has been active with both the National Pork Board and the Oklahoma Pork Council for more than a decade. S

• Dr. Suzanne Genova of Perkins was chosen as Oklahoma Pork's new vice president. Dr. Genova owns Red Dirt Veterinary Services where she provides veterinary care to show pig clients across five states. She is active in Oklahoma Pork's disease prevention and preparedness efforts, including involvement with the United States Swine Health Improvement Plan (U.S. SHIP) and service as the Oklahoma Youth Expo (OYE) swine veterinarian.

• Tom Layne of Enid re-enters the executive committee as our organization's treasurer for 2024-2025. Tom has worked in the pork industry for more than 25 years, including his 20-plus-year tenure at The HANOR Company. As HANOR's Director of Human Resources, Tom's work impacts the company's 650 employees located across seven states.

Congratulations to our newly elected executive committee members! Our full board and staff look forward to following the leadership of this passionate group of pork producers!

Kylee Deniz Named Ag. Woman of the Year

On Thursday night, Oklahoma Pork’s Kylee Deniz received quite the heartwarming surprise when she was named Oklahoma’s 2024 Agriculture Woman of the Year. The well-deserved accolade was presented at the Diamond Hate Gala raising thousands of dollars for 4-H and FFA academic scholarships for livestock showing students associated with the Oklahoma Youth Expo.

As leaders from the Diamond Hats organization announced Kylee as this year's honoree, they praised her faithful leadership of the Oklahoma Pork Council and her impeccable reputation in our state's broader agriculture community. When given a few moments to speak as she accepted the award - not surprising to anyone who knows her - Kylee used the opportunity to thank Oklahoma Pork's board, staff, and pork producers. She also spoke passionately about supporting the next generation of agriculturists, including her two young sons.

Here at Oklahoma Pork, we believe there is no one more deserving of this honor than our leader and friend! Kylee has devoted her career to impactful storytelling for pork producers. She leads our board and our staff with integrity, creativity, and vision. Kylee is known for her big ideas and her steady handling of every situation. She is an incredible representation of the agriculture community, and a worthy role model to many. Since her appointment as executive director in 2021, Kylee has brought her award-winning experience in marketing and communications to her role representing thousands of Oklahomans employed throughout the various segments of pork production each day.

Buy Your Tickets for Bacon and Bourbon Today!

We are just two months from Oklahoma Pork's annual Bacon and Bourbon fundraising dinner! Join us Friday, November 8, 2024, at VAST - the restaurant atop Oklahoma City's Devon Energy Tower - for an elevated evening of pork-focused fine dining paired with high quality bourbons selected by Republic National Distribution Company's Bruce Upthegrove.

Dinner service begins at 7 pm, but sunset cocktails will be available for purchase beginning at 6 pm. Whether you are looking for a fancy date night in support of pork producers or a very special employee appreciation opportunity - click here to buy your tickets online before they sell out. If you are interested in purchasing a full table for eight guests, click here to send us a note.

Bacon and Bourbon on November 8 will surely be a night you won't soon forget. Don't wait to purchase your tickets - we expect this crowd-favorite event to be fully booked long before the first glass of bourbon gets poured!

Award Spotlight: Ryan Sites of Sites Livestock

To wrap our series highlighting 2024 Oklahoma Pork Council Excellence Award recipients, we are proud to celebrate a member of the show pig community known throughout the state for his integrity and mentorship.

Over the course of his lifetime, Ryan Sites has served the pork industry in a variety of impactful roles. After judging livestock at Oklahoma State University during college, Ryan began his career as an agricultural education instructor in Elgin.

Then in 2006, he joined Show-Rite as a national swine support specialist where he helps hundreds of young people in the show pig community with feeding, fitting, and more. He leads educational clinics throughout the United States and sees raising pigs as the perfect opportunity to teach young people valuable life skills. Ryan is also a respected swine evaluator, often being called upon to judge pig shows at every level.

Alongside his wife and son, Ryan operates Sites Livestock raising Chester Whites, Durocs and crosses. He is widely respected for his strong character and serves as a dedicated mentor to many families with a passion for pork. From the Oklahoma Pork Council, we are grateful for Ryan’s example of excellence in our state’s show pig network.

Sharing Realistic Agriculture Stories

Alongside many others throughout agriculture, Oklahoma Pork staff visited classrooms in their home communities this week to teach children about pigs, pork, and the great people who work to produce our food supply.

Oklahomans across the state committed to telling fact-based agricultural stories with hundreds of students in a fun and helpful way this week. The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF)'s Agriculture in the Classroom program held its annual "Read An Accurate Agriculture Book Week" to encourage more transparency about food and farming to young people.

Many teachers pledged to read an educational agriculture story in their own classrooms, and dozens of volunteers in counties throughout Oklahoma went into schools and early childhood centers to help promote agriculture's message. This year marked the most fun "Read an Accurate Agriculture Book Week" yet for the Oklahoma Pork Council since many guest readers chose to share "It Takes a Team!" written by Oklahoma Pork's Matti Carlile with photography and design by Oklahoma Pork's Shay Stegmann.

As the author of this educational story focused on commercial pork production, Matti was part of the official Agriculture in the Classroom "Zoom readers" line-up alongside VIPs like OSU baseball coach Josh Holliday and Oklahoma House Agriculture Committee Chairman Dell Kerbs. Thanks to this special virtual reading opportunity, Matti got to connect classrooms around the state with a modern sow farm and the people who work there each day.

Oklahomans Lead at U.S. SHIP Meeting

At this week's 2024 United States Swine Health Improvement Plan (U.S. SHIP) House of Delegates meeting in Minnesota, 10 voting representatives provided valuable perspective on behalf of our state's pork industry. As a reminder, U.S. SHIP exists to bring producers and government partners together to create a "National Playbook" of technical standards related to Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) preparedness for African Swine Fever (ASF) and Classical Swine Fever (CSF).

Throughout the multi-day meeting, a few Oklahomans played prominent roles leading discussion related to U.S. SHIP's key tenets of biosecurity, traceability and disease surveillance. Oklahoma's assistant state veterinarian (and a fantastic partner of the Oklahoma Pork Council) Dr. Alicia Gorczyca-Southerland shared her expertise during the Biosecurity Site Plans breakout session covering a unique Oklahoma pilot program where she worked one-on-one to create Secure Pork Supply (SPS) plans with members of the transitional swine segment. "Dr. G" - as she is affectionately known to many - also spoke about our state's collaborative "One Pork" approach bringing together commercial and show pig producers for disease prevention and preparedness. She applauded Oklahoma Pork leadership in this effort, including well deserved shout outs to board member Dr. Suzanne Genova and staff members Matti Carlile and Kylee Deniz.. Additionally, Seaboard Foods' Dr. Noel Williams spoke about his company's work leading the packer and processor segment of U.S. SHIP involvement.

In summary, our Oklahoma crew felt the meeting was a positive next step in U.S. SHIP becoming a USDA program. Thank you to each of Oklahoma's delegates for participating, including: Pati Law - Prestage Farms, Jay Johnston - Tyson Foods, Dr. Suzanne Genova - Red Dirt Veterinary Services, Dr. Rod Hall - ODAFF, Dr. Alicia Gorczyca-Southerland - ODAFF, Dr. Noel Williams - Seaboard Foods, Dr. Jon Tangen - The HANOR Company, Travis Vaughan - Smithfield Foods, and Joe Wolfe - JBS.

Award Spotlight: Kelly Haymaker of HANOR

The Oklahoma Pork Council Excellence Award recognizes pork producers who have made the daily work of raising pigs more than just a job, but a passionate calling to care for their animals and the people around them. This award covers all sectors of pork production, and it rewards those outstanding producers who excel in at least one of Oklahoma Pork’s four strategic intentions.

Throughout her 20-year career with The HANOR Company, Kelly Haymaker has become known for her deep love of her boars, her strong commitment to biosecurity, and her focus on continuous improvement. She began her pork career in HANOR’s sow farms before spending nearly two decades managing the 200 animals housed at the company’s Ames Boar Stud location.

As a boar stud manager, Kelly makes it her mission to provide the best possible care to her pigs every day. She oversees a four-person team that produces high quality semen used throughout HANOR’s Oklahoma operations. She holds all employees and visitors to the highest level of accountability for herd health, and she continually challenges the system to better prevent disease entry on HANOR farms. Kelly serves as an excellent role model for treating your pigs and people with genuine care.

The Oklahoma Pork Council celebrates Kelly for her heartfelt example of pork production excellence!

Working with ODAFF to Engage the Next Generation

Oklahoma's Department of Agriculture does a phenomenal job empowering students from rural backgrounds to become advocates for agriculture. Oklahoma Pork enjoyed engaging with some of these young people during the AgHERculture conference at the Fordson Hotel and hosting the Agriculture Youth Council at our office.

Over the past week, the Oklahoma Pork Council participated in two special events focused on developing young leaders. Both were hosted by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry's (ODAFF) as part of Secretary Blayne Arthur and her team's authentic commitment to fostering a passionate and engaged next generation. What an incredible asset to have a largely regulatory agency that devotes time and resources toward such an impactful mission. We applaud Secretary Arthur and the ODAFF crew for the generational difference their leadership is making!

First up, our team enjoyed helping last weekend with ODAFF's 2024 AgHERculture Conference for high school and college students looking to strengthen their professional skills alongside other young women. The two-day event allowed more than 100 students to learn more about agricultural careers, meet with role models from across the state, and reflect on their own goals for the future. Staff from the Oklahoma Pork Council served as mentors where we promoted opportunities in pork production and our Oklahoma Pork programming. Oklahoma Pork's Kylee Deniz also continued her conference-favorite role as the event's closing speaker where she proudly shared her pork story and led participants through a meaningful "letter to your future self" experience.

Then on Wednesday of this week, Oklahoma Pork hosted ODAFF's Agriculture Youth Council (AYC) to discuss our state's expansive swine industry, our role as a producer organization, and the importance of mentorship and advocacy. This year-long leadership program for 25 high school seniors digs into Oklahoma's diverse agriculture industry and government service. Our team was proud to be part of the AYC inaugural session for 2024, where students also visited ODAFF for the first time, toured Blue & Gold Sausage Co. in Jones, then finished their day at the Oklahoma Pork Council office. We look forward to other chances to engage this leadership group throughout the year.

Thanks to communications pros Lee Benson and Kirsten Hollansworth from ODAFF for sharing some of their event photos from this past week with us for this story!

Oklahoma's U.S. SHIP Delegates Head to Minnesota

In just a few days, pork producers and government partners from across the nation will gather in Minnesota for the 2024 United States Swine Health Improvement Plan (U.S. SHIP) House of Delegates Meeting. Individuals involved with U.S. SHIP continue to work toward a "National Playbook" of technical standards centering on prevention and demonstration of freedom from disease outside control areas in support of animal health, commerce and trade related to threats like African Swine Fever (ASF) and Classical Swine Fever (CSF).

The Oklahoma Pork Council is excited for our state to be well represented at this critical meeting. We have diverse delegate representation from our pork production companies and industry segments, in addition to Oklahoma Pork's Kylee Deniz and Matti Carlile attending the event. Oklahoma will have 9 voting delegates participating in this worthwhile discussion.

Oklahoma's voting delegation headed to Minnesota next week includes: Pati Law - Prestage Farms, Jay Johnston - Tyson Foods, Dr. Suzanne Genova - Red Dirt Veterinary Services, Dr. Rod Hall - ODAFF, Dr. Alicia Gorczyca-Southerland - ODAFF, Noel Williams - Seaboard Foods, Dr. Jon Tangen - The HANOR Company, Travis Vaughan - Smithfield Foods, and Joe Wolfe - JBS.

Award Spotlight: Ash Dennie of Ran-Mar Farms

In 2018, the Oklahoma Pork Council Excellence Award was established to recognize those pork producers who have made the daily work of raising pigs more than just a job, but a passionate calling to take care of their animals and the people around them. This award covers all sectors of pork production, and it rewards those outstanding producers who excel in at least one of Oklahoma Pork’s four strategic intentions.   

For more than 15 years, Ash Dennie has served Oklahoma’s pork industry with a true talent for animal care and farm management. Growing up in Holdenville, he began by helping part-time at a local pig farm through high school before opening Ran-Mar Farms with his family in 2012.   

As co-owner and manager of the now 2,400 head sow farm, Ash oversees all aspects of raising “our girls” as he affectionately refers to the Ran-Mar pigs. Under his management, Ran-Mar Farms expanded their operation while minimizing disease and retaining a consistent group of farm employees. He has a keen eye for animal health and has earned a great reputation for quality animals in partnership with Tyson’s Pork Group. Ash is known not only for his hands-on skills caring for the herd, but also for his impressive maintenance roles ranging from electrician to carpenter and much more.  

In addition to his dedication to the farm, Ash is an incredibly present father and new grandfather. He continually makes his family a priority, all while juggling the many roles that come with running a successful hog farm. The Oklahoma Pork Council celebrates Ash for his hard-working example of excellence in pork production. Click here to watch Ash's special award video that premiered at the Oklahoma Pork Congress earlier this month!