Pork producers of all sizes and types are dedicated to raising high-quality pork in an
environmentally friendly and humane manner.

Pork producers and their families breathe the same air and drink the same water as their neighbors. They know they must implement environmentally sound management practices
and continually adapt to changing technologies and market demands.

The pork industry is constantly changing and U.S. pork producers will adapt in order to continue producing safe, wholesome pork for consumers around the world. In addition, farmers take pride in being good citizens in their community and in caring for their land and animals.

Employment and Pay:

There are approximately 70,000 hog farms in America today. When last measured more than a decade ago, mean salaries in the hog industry (1995) were greater than $25,000 per year.

Contribution to U.S. Economy:

Pork producers, together with other segments of the agriculture community, weave the fabric that holds the rural economy together. In addition to salaries earned by direct farm employees, there are indirect impacts on the local economy:

• An employee at the hog operation may spend part of his or her salary on housing, food, services, and entertainment in the local community.

• The hog operation may purchase local milling services and feed, trucking, and/or veterinary services and supplies. These expenditures create jobs and income in the community.

• For each job created in the hog industry another job is created in the community.

• An income multiplier of 2 means that for every $25,000 job created in the hog industry an additional $25,000 in income is generated in the community.

Source: Ag and Resource Policy Report, Colorado State University

Food Safety:

Through research and science-based production practices, pork producers are providing consumers safe, wholesome and high-quality pork.

Antibiotics:

• Over the last 17 years, U.S. pork producers have dramatically decreased the need for antibiotics by lowering disease threats through sound herd management and by using drugs only when needed.

• The industry introduced the Take Care. Use Antibiotics Responsibly Program in early 2005. It focuses on raising awareness and guiding producers on the responsible use of antibiotics.

• The Take Care program has the support of veterinarians, the pharmaceutical industry, Centers for Disease Control and other stakeholders.

• Take Care raises awareness of the public health concern regarding agricultural antibiotic use. It also educates producers on existing regulations.

• The Take Care program encourages producers to implement management practices that reduce the need for antibiotics, and to use antibiotics only when other management practices
do not, or will not, succeed in managing a correctly diagnosed problem.

Animal Well-Being:

U.S. pork producers take pride and personal responsibility in providing proper animal care on their farms. They consider anything short of providing the best, humane care possible as self-defeating. Today’s consumer wants to purchase pork from pigs that have been raised under humane conditions.

• U.S pork producers know that good care and attention to the well-being and comfort of their animals is not only the right thing to do, it is an important responsibility they take seriously.

• The modern farmer goes to great lengths to ensure his or her animals are raised in a clean, comfortable, disease-free environment.

• Producers’ livelihoods depend on using best management practices to ensure the well-being and performance of their animals.

• Using science-based information, producers have adopted techniques and husbandry skills to protect the welfare of their animals.

• The pork industry is taking the lead in developing animal welfare standards that can be embraced by producers, packers, grocery stores, restaurants and consumers.

• The National Pork Board developed the Swine Welfare Assurance Program (SWAP) -- a voluntary, science-based program to help pork producers to objectively assess and benchmark the care and welfare of their pigs.

• A panel that included international welfare experts, veterinarians and pork producers
developed SWAP.

• The objective of the program is to maintain and promote the pork industry’s tradition of responsible animal care through the application of scientifically sound animal care practices.

• Since its introduction in 2003, SWAP has been adopted by producers of all sizes and types.
SWAP consists of nine care and well-being principles:

1. Herd Health and Nutrition, which covers six areas of record-keeping, including records that document: veterinarian-client-patient relationship; the herd health program; medication and treatment records; pigs euthanized; and the pigs’ nutritional program.

2. Caretaker Training, which focuses on the husbandry skills training of all caretakers. This section evaluates the operation’s training programs in euthanasia, handling and husbandry, as well as what career development opportunities are taken by the producer and employees.

3. Animal Observation, which helps to verify that other aspects of the welfare program are successfully extended to the animals. This includes daily observations, animal evaluation, swine behavior and pig social contact.

4. Body Condition Score, which is crucial to evaluating the adequacy of the nutrition program.

5. Euthanasia, which evaluates the operation’s euthanasia action plan. These factors include timeliness, methods and the use of functional equipment.

6. Handling and Movement, which evaluates proper handling, facility considerations and equipment used to move the animals.

7. Facilities, which helps to evaluate facilities for: ventilation, heating and cooling, physical space to accommodate the body, pen maintenance, feeder space, water availability and the availability of a hospital pen.

8. Emergency Support, which uses a working emergency support system and a written action plan to provide direction in case of an emergency.

9. Continuing Assessment and Education, which helps improve management skills.

Environmental Stewardship:

Farmers are the original recyclers—growing crops, feeding the grain to livestock and using the nutrients in livestock manure as fertilizer. Done the right way, recycling nutrients is good for the environment and reduces our dependence on petroleum-based fertilizers.

• Using manure as a fertilizer is a practice as old as agriculture itself.

• Application of manure to cropland is both a cost-effective fertilizer option for farmers and benefits crops and soil. Every living thing needs nutrients to grow. Plants require nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other chemical elements. Most of these nutrients enter the plants through soil. Application of manure, which contains nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorus, is an important part of completing the natural nutrient cycle of agriculture.

• Farmers must develop nutrient management plans to address the complexities of extracting the fertilizer value of manure in modern cropping systems. These plans ensure that manure is being applied in an environmentally sound and scientifically measured manner.

• Manure has an additional agronomic benefit beyond its nutrient content. Manure contains many additional organic compounds. These organic compounds help build and maintain soil structure, which in turn helps maintain soil tilth, add water-holding capacity, improve soil’s aeration and reduce soil erosion.

• The organic compounds in manure are food for the soil’s microbial population, which may enhance nutrient availability, assist residue decomposition or in some cases, help remove nitrate from the soil.

• Liquid manure can be injected below the soil surface so that nutrients are conserved and become more available to crops. The potential loss of nutrients to water or air also is reduced.

• Lagoons and some slurry systems allow manure to move by gravity. Manure collection and transport can be accomplished with flush alleys, gravity-drained collection basins and sewer lines. This is similar in many ways to how human wastewater is collected and transported for treatment.

• Progress has been made on the odor challenge and much work is being done. The industry has invested over $1.2 million in the past few years to find a solution. In 2005, half of the research projects and research funded by industry were devoted to odor related issues.

Community Involvement and Contribution:

Farmers take pride in being good citizens in their community.

• Farm families participate in service clubs, church groups and school boards—because like their neighbors, they want to preserve their surroundings for future generations. They may offer free fertilizer for community gardens, sponsor beautification projects, or provide recreational access to their land.

Abundance and Affordability:

U.S. pork production continues to lead agriculture in the adoption of new technologies and has achieved record-high productivity. The increased productivity translates to efficiencies that mean that not only is pork of higher quality and safer than at any time in history, but it also costs 20 percent less than it did in 1979.