The National Pork Board's six producer-led science and technology committees
recently met in Dallas, Texas, to make decisions on how to advance pork
producers' research priorities. Many of the committees reviewed research
proposals to select projects that the Pork Checkoff would fund in 2012. In all,
the groups reviewed more than 100 proposals, ultimately selecting those that
would be of greatest benefit to the overall industry.

Everett Forkner, a producer from Richards, Mo., and president of the National Pork
Board, said it's exciting to see producers, along with allied industry and
government, work together to set the course for new pork-specific research.

"We know that the Pork Checkoff's involvement helps spur advances in science, but
what's particularly gratifying is how this investment in research helps make a
difference in how farmers produce food in an efficient and socially responsible
way," Forkner said.

"Providing unique scientific and technical information that will benefit the entire
industry is a major goal of the Pork Checkoff," said Paul Sundberg, the
Checkoff's vice president of science and technology. "Producers take many
things into account when determining what proposals get funded each year,
including ensuring that the research is not being done elsewhere, the project
will impact the industry and the results will be publicly available."

Some of the new information and action, coming from the respective science and
technical research committees, included:

Animal Science - Research results, addressed by the
Checkoff's Nutritional Efficiency Consortium, are published at pork.org. The
committee asked for a more comprehensive summary of this research to be
available later this year. The committee has dedicated resources to work on
pork quality, as it relates to on-farm factors that could affect
tenderness. 

Animal Welfare - Proposals on pain management related
to castration and euthanasia were funded. Work on the next version of Pork
Quality Assurance^®Plus also was discussed, with the launch of the
updated program slated for mid-2013. Housing and transportation research remain
as key priorities.

Environment - The committee discussed the additional
work on the carbon footprint that will be released in 2012, including a
baseline report and improvements to the calculator tool. In 2013, an economic
component for the calculator is expected, along with a water footprint baseline
and calculator and an air emissions model.

Pork Safety, Quality and Human Nutrition -
Several proposals related to how the quality of fat affects overall meat
quality were funded. The objective of the projects is to help producers raise
animals that will provide high-quality pork to help increase consumer demand.
For human nutrition, the committee identified priorities for the next call for
research, including satiety, body composition, weight loss/maintenance,
cognition function and pork's role in a healthy diet.

Producer/Public Health and Worker Safety -
This newly formed committee approved its mission statement: "To acquire
and provide science-based information that will protect and improve producer
and public health, promote a safe farm-work environment and enhance consumer confidence
in U.S. pork production." Research funded included environmental movement
of antimicrobial and resistant bacteria and resistant genes, as well as a study
on the impact of pig health on public health.

Swine Health - The committee funded research on the
transmission and vaccine development for influenza and diagnostics and
intervention strategies for swine dysentery, mycoplasma and rotavirus. Also
funded was research on foreign animal disease that could assist in the
development of better vaccines for diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease.
While not discussed at this meeting, PRRS remains a top concern, and a special
call for PRRS research proposals will occur later this year.

Sow Lifetime Productivity Working Group -
This group, which included producers from across the science and technology
program areas, as well as other producers with a high interest in breeding herd
productivity and allied industry representatives, met during a separate meeting
in Dallas to discuss a multidisciplinary approach to improving sow lifetime
productivity of the U.S. herd. The group discussed the road map to achieve the
specific research needs of the multi-year effort, with a goal of a 30 percent
improvement in sow lifetime productivity over the next seven years.

Completed Checkoff-funded research results are available at pork.org.

The National Pork Board has the 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 $0.40 for each $100 value of hogs sold. The Pork Checkoff
funds national and state programs in advertising, consumer information, retail
and foodservice marketing, export market promotion, production improvement,
technology, swine health, pork safety and environmental management. For
information on Checkoff-funded programs, pork producers can call the Pork
Checkoff Service Center at (800) 456-7675 or check the Internet at pork.org.

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