Delegates Select Members, Pass Motions

National Pork Board delegates ranked candidates for the board of directors and passed several resolutions during the National Pork Industry Forum held early this month in Kansas City.

In the voting, nine pork producers were ranked for consideration by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. The secretary will appoint five to serve three-year terms and one to finish the remaining two-year term of Deborah Johnson, who resigned to fill the state executive position at the North Carolina Pork Council.

The nominees, as ranked by the delegates, include: Diane Bettin, Minnesota; Dennis Michael, South Dakota; Jeff Galle, Illinois; Gene Nemechek, DVM, North Carolina; Randy Brown, Ohio; Alan Wilhoite, Indiana; Dale Springer, Kansas; Curtis Meier, Iowa; and David Reinecker, Pennsylvania.

Pork Board delegates also elected two members to two-year terms on the National Pork Board Nominating Committee: Brad Greenway, South Dakota and Brent Sandidge, Missouri.

The delegates passed resolutions that asked the Pork Board to:

• Work with pork producers to improve the image of modern pork production by stressing the economic viability of farms, emphasizing the involvement of family members, and by recognizing producer commitment to the betterment of the community and the environment;
• Develop educational materials to support producers on registering their premises with state animal health officials and improving reporting and record-keeping systems to protect farms from disease outbreaks; and
• Research the implementation of a swine species-specific identification system to meet the Agriculture Department’s goal of 48-hour traceback in the event of a disease outbreak.