WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2014 – The National Pork Board (NPB) has released a new strategic plan for the next five years with the goals of building consumer trust, driving sustainable production and growing consumer demand.
Following more than a year of planning and development, the plan will be implemented starting in January, guiding the organization into 2020, NPB said in a news release.
Each of the three goals is supported by several measurable objectives to achieve by 2020. For example, an objective under consumer trust is for 50 percent of U.S. pig producers to annually report sustainability performance metrics to a NPB-sponsored sustainability measurement and reporting systems. And under the sustainable production goal is the objective for NPB to develop identification and diagnostic tools, surveillance and mitigation strategies for the potential elimination of the top domestic swine diseases.
One objective for growing consumer demand is to have pork’s U.S. market share of total real per capita meat expenditures increase by 1 percentage point.. All of the 17 objectives can be read here.
"It's a plan sharply focused on a vision for the future of America's pork producers. It defines in clear, customer-centered language a set of objectives focused on results," said Dale Norton, Pork Checkoff president and a pork producer from Bronson, Michigan. "Our task force, which included pork producers and representatives from allied industries, defined a commitment to leverage industry and supply chain collaboration to achieve the vision."
Unlike the previous strategic plan, this new effort is more customer-centric, Norton said, with a commitment to transparency and continuous improvement.
"In the planning process, we connected with customers and consumers. We heard their desire to better understand and have dialogue about U.S. pig farming," Norton said. "The resulting commitment to greater transparency and collaboration takes on a whole new focus and priority in this plan."
The board also added two new Pork Checkoff positions to focus on U.S. pork industry priorities. Becca Hendricks was named as vice president of international marketing, and Jarrod Sutton was named vice president of social responsibility.
"Food retailers' growing interest in production practices and our pig farmers' social license to operate have an increasing impact on the farm,” said John Johnson, chief operating officer of the National Pork Board. “While, as an industry, we perform well - anchored by our ethical principles - we are continuously striving to improve."
Johnson noted that 28 percent of our U.S. pork production is marketed internationally. "With rising incomes in the developing world and pork's current position as the No. 1 source of animal protein worldwide, international trade requires a higher profile within our programs,” he said.
The National Pork Board has responsibility for Checkoff-funded research, promotion and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. Through a legislative national Pork Checkoff, pork producers invest 40 cents for each $100 value of hogs sold. Importers of pork products contribute a like amount, based on a formula.
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