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National Pork Board COO John Johnson may have been in the pork segment only since 2009, but having worked with the USDA prior to that since 2002, Johnson knows his meats. And in that time, he has seen a great deal of change and improvement, both in the general meat industry as well as pork in particular.
Pork is an industry in which, Johnson said, “volatility is a constant,” with pork producers continually facing new challenges. But over the last decade, “there has been a tremendous record of continuous improvement in production efficiencies and reducing the environmental footprint, as well as increasing professionalism in the industry,” he said. “This industry is always changing, always seeking new ways to refine and get better.”
Among these are key sustainability initiatives, including feed conversion rates, number of pigs weaned per year, and the amount of pork that is able to be produced from each sow. In fact, if you take it back even further, over the 50-year period of 1959-2009, the industry has seen a 29% increase in market hogs—from 39% fewer sows. The 30% increase in pigs per sow per year has helped the industry decrease its environmental footprint by:
- 78% decrease in land use.
- 41% decrease in water use.
- 35% reduction in its carbon dioxide footprint
This trend has continued through the last 10 years in a substantial way, Johnson said.
Industry Professionalism.
As was discussed in QA’s Cover Profile on the pork industry in the July-August 2012 issue, the National Pork Board (NPB) developed the Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) program in 1989. Since then, it has grown from a way to certify education of specific food safety practices to PQA Plus, a comprehensive education and certification program that is implemented at the majority of major U.S. pig farms, covers animal welfare along with food safety, and includes tests and facility assessments.
Exactly a decade ago, in 2003, NPB then introduced the Swine Welfare Assurance Program which was merged with PQA Plus in 2007. And now, with 10 years under its belt, PQA Plus is being updated to include test components, environment and worker safety, and a more rigorous regimen for corrective action, Johnson said.
Many of the programs that the pork industry has implemented are intended to address consumer concerns, such as animal welfare, as well as how food is being produced and where it is coming from. Although 85% of consumers buy on price and quality, 10-15% are seriously concerned about production issues, Johnson said. “People want to know that it is being produced in a socially responsible way.”
In response, he said, “PQA Plus and NPB’s We Care program provide tangible evidence of how we are doing the right thing,” including tools that are continually put in place to provide the industry with guidance, not only on the how—of standards and certification, but also on the why—of ethical commitment. In fact, 75% of U.S. pork production comes from farms that have been site assessed by PQA Plus—which is a distinct increase over even five years ago, Johnson said.
The Future.
What does Johnson see for the next decade? Primarily a continuation of the steady increase in the number of larger farms. There was a dramatic decrease in farms overall in the 80s—with the 600,000 hog farms then in existence now reduced to about 69,000. This has leveled out in recent years, he said, but the continued pressures of input costs, environmental regulation, and animal welfare are more easily met by larger operations, so he expects the larger-farm trend to continue, though at a lower rate.
“I’m certain we will also continue to be pressed by some of the activist groups,” he said. “But that is always out there, and we will continue to deal with those as they come along.” Additionally, he said, NPB will continue to promote the professionalism of the industry, work with everyone in the food chain, and educate consumers about on-farm production.
With pork being the most widely eaten meat around the world, and U.S. production being a model for global pork producers, Johnson’s statement—“I think our track record of continuous improvement is a solid one, and we will continue to follow that.”—seems to be a solid one as well.