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Hog Outlook: Checkoff program looks for new, better ways to handle mortalities on the farm.

Kevin Schulz, Editor

June 13, 2022

3 Min Read
Hogs in pen inside barn
BE PREPARED: The last thing any livestock producer wants to do is handle mortalities, but hog producers would be forced to do just that if African swine fever would hit their herd. The Pork Checkoff is asking producers and innovators to create new methods for handling on-farm mortalities. Kevin Schulz

Sadly, livestock losses happen on farms and ranches, and producers have developed systems to handle the mortalities — whether it be burial, incineration, composting or transporting the carcasses to landfills.

Those systems were challenged when COVID-19’s impact was felt in meat processing plants, as hog producers were forced to put down large numbers of healthy hogs. Compounding that problem, many of these hogs were market-weight hogs with no place to go.

Putting down one healthy animal goes against every fiber of a hog farmer’s being. Not to mention, it is emotionally and financially draining. But imagine if a foreign animal disease such as African swine fever were to hit; a farmer’s entire herd would need to be euthanized to contain the spread of the disease.

That handling and disposal of a much larger number of hogs of all sizes would create a Herculean management challenge.

Step up to challenge

The Pork Checkoff is asking producers and other innovators to enter its Pork Industry Innovation Challenge to present new or innovative methods of pig mortality disposal. The checkoff will reward those who bring the best ideas to the table.

By July 31, producers or innovators need to submit a 500-word overview of an on-farm mortality disposal method for the pork industry to consider, and a brief overview of how it would work. Entry ideas must be “novel” or be a “significant” improvement of an existing method that saves time, money, labor and inputs.

The challenge is open to all companies, students, producers and individuals who are at least 18 years old and a U.S. resident at the time of entry. Each applicant is allowed two entries, and each one will be judged separately.

Reward for innovation

Not only is there the satisfaction of creating a better way of doing things for the pork industry, but there is also cold, hard cash available for the best ideas — and rewards come to innovators in a four-tier setup.

In Tier 1, a $1,000 award awaits those who provide a plausible idea for on-farm mortality disposal that can be designed into a small-scale pilot project. Tier 2, and $5,000 award, is given if one can successfully execute a small-scale project from the idea.

At Tier 3, $10,000 is awarded if one can successfully design a large-scale pilot from the idea. The final tier brings with it a $30,000 award, if the innovator can successfully execute a large-scale pilot from the idea.

The National Pork Board, through the Pork Checkoff, will notify applicants who advance beyond Tier 1 of the challenge by Oct. 31. Prize money for moving past Tier 1 will be distributed by Dec. 31.

Maybe you’re a producer who had to dispose of a large number of hogs in the COVID-19 devastation, all the while thinking there has to be a better way. Well, put your ideas to paper and submit them, if you’re up to the challenge.

Visit porkcheckoff.org/challenge to find out more and to submit your entry before the July 31 deadline.

Schulz, a Farm Progress senior staff writer, grew up on the family hog farm in southern Minnesota, before a career in ag journalism, including National Hog Farmer.

About the Author(s)

Kevin Schulz

Editor, The Farmer

Kevin Schulz joined The Farmer as editor in January of 2023, after spending two years as senior staff writer for Dakota Farmer and Nebraska Farmer magazines. Prior to joining these two magazines, he spent six years in a similar capacity with National Hog Farmer. Prior to joining National Hog Farmer, Schulz spent a long career as the editor of The Land magazine, an agricultural-rural life publication based in Mankato, Minn.

During his tenure at The Land, the publication grew from covering 55 Minnesota counties to encompassing the entire state, as well as 30 counties in northern Iowa. Covering all facets of Minnesota and Iowa agriculture, Schulz was able to stay close to his roots as a southern Minnesota farm boy raised on a corn, soybean and hog finishing farm.

One particular area where he stayed close to his roots is working with the FFA organization.

Covering the FFA programs stayed near and dear to his heart, and he has been recognized for such coverage over the years. He has received the Minnesota FFA Communicator of the Year award, was honored with the Minnesota Honorary FFA Degree in 2014 and inducted into the Minnesota FFA Hall of Fame in 2018.

Schulz attended South Dakota State University, majoring in agricultural journalism. He was also a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and now belongs to its alumni organization.

His family continues to live on a southern Minnesota farm near where he grew up. He and his wife, Carol, have raised two daughters: Kristi, a 2014 University of Minnesota graduate who is married to Eric Van Otterloo and teaches at Mankato (Minn.) East High School, and Haley, a 2018 graduate of University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She is married to John Peake and teaches in Hayward, Wis. 

When not covering the agriculture industry on behalf of The Farmer's readers, Schulz enjoys spending time traveling with family, making it a quest to reach all 50 states — 47 so far — and three countries. He also enjoys reading, music, photography, playing basketball, and enjoying nature and campfires with friends and family.

[email protected]

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