Environmental stewardship requires constant work and a serious commitment. The Environmental Stewardship Awards Program is for pork producers with all types and sizes of production systems who demonstrate their positive contribution to our natural environment.

Applications and nominations for this recognition may be submitted by pork producers, operation managers and other industry-related professionals. One progressive pork production system in each of four regions in the U.S. is selected annually. A national selection committee, comprised of experts from various pork industry and natural resource organizations, reviews all nominations.

The committee focuses on eight key areas: general production, manure management, soil conservation practices, air quality management strategies, aesthetics and neighbor relations, wildlife management, innovation and a short essay on the meaning of environmental stewardship. Each winner receives a special plaque, an expense-paid trip to the awards ceremony and a $1,000 cash honorarium. All nominations must be postmarked by March 31, 2005.

For more information on the Environmental Stewardship Program or for nomination forms, call (800) 456-7675, or write: National Pork Board, P.O. Box 10383, Des Moines, IA 50306. Forms will be posted on these Web sites in December, January and February: www.porkboard.org or www.nationalhogfarmer.com.

A Message From National Hog Farmer

National Hog Farmer is proud to partner with the National Pork Board and Phibro Animal Health in bringing pork producers and the public the positive environmental stories portrayed in the 2004 class of Environmental Stewards of the Pork Industry. It is our hope that this tradition of recognizing outstanding stewardship, begun in 1994, will generate more thought-provoking ideas and serve as an inspiration for the nation's pork producers as they work hard to be environmentally conscious citizens.