Jared Lierman wants to make things better for the next generation of pork producers, and the third-generation hog producer from Beemer, Neb., is working to make that happen as president of the Nebraska Pork Producers Association.

“I had no intention of being a part of the pork producers [association],” he says. “That wasn’t even on my radar.”

Timing is everything, and Lierman was approached by former NPPA president Scott Spilker about running for the board of directors, and “at that time, I saw what was going on in the industry and how challenging it is to get started, how difficult it is,” Lierman says, “and I figured that I can complain about it, or I can do something about it.”

He sees that as one of the biggest challenges facing the Nebraska pork industry. “How do we create more independent producers in the state and more opportunities for the existing independent producers is a question I ask myself a lot in regards to Nebraska,” Lierman says.

Being a part of an organization such as NPPA has opened Lierman’s eyes to practices of other hog producers and what options exist.

“It would have been really nice if I had known some of those options when I first got started,” he says. “And I know I’m not the only one, so I guess I’d like to just educate as many young producers as possible, to say, ‘Hey, this is another option you can use to make farming more flexible or feasible, or just easier to get going.’”

Although his own sons — ages 4 and 2 — are too young to commit to a life of farming, Lierman would like to see business models to make that an option for future generations.

If nothing else, Lierman is looking to have resources available for all producers, but mainly for prospective producers.

 “I guess that was the motivation for me to serve on the board, that if there was another kid that’s interested in being a pork producer, I don’t want them to be in the same situation,” he says. “That’s why I’ve talked with the University of Nebraska and our own executive director about the possibility of providing regionalized and combined resources. That way, that young producer, or a kid that wants to raise pigs, has a place to go.”

Hog production in Nebraska may be the place to go, as over the past decade the state’s annual pig crop has grown by about 14%. The state’s corn and soybean production makes Nebraska fertile ground for even more industry growth. “When we are No. 3 in corn production,” Lierman says, “it makes sense to raise pigs where the feeds are.”

National priorities

To the surprise of no one, Lierman says labor shortages face pork producers nationwide. That issue was a hot topic when producers visited the nation’s capital in April, lobbying to expand the H-2A visa program to year-round agricultural workers — as the current visa allows for temporary, seasonal farmworkers. “When we work with pigs, we don’t have seasons,” Lierman says.

Also of concern to the pork industry is that visas are capped at 20,000, half of which are committed to the dairy industry.

Every hog producer’s goal is to produce healthy animals, and keeping foreign animal diseases such as African swine fever away is of utmost concern for the industry. Lierman feels progress was made in getting Nebraska’s U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer to co-sponsor a bill to further fund the Beagle Brigade, reinforcing the country’s first line of defense in preventing AFS-infected pork products from entering through ports.

Increasing pork trade is also high on the industry’s wish list.

Firsthand experience

Lierman knows firsthand the difficulties facing, young independent hog producers. He joined his father, Kevin, and grandfather, Arlen, in 3L Farms in 2009, a career that almost wasn’t as he majored in business administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

A stint during his sophomore year working the drive-thru at a credit union gave him a window to the outside world. “The whole time I was looking outside, thinking, ‘Man, I can’t do this. I need to do something else,’” Lierman says.

His father suggested looking into hog production, and the younger Lierman contacted Duane Reese, the UNL Extension swine expert at the time, “and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Help extends beyond producers

In addition to helping pork producers, Lierman feels it’s important to give back to his community.

This July marks the one-year anniversary of Lierman and his wife and another local couple operating a gym and fitness center in the old Beemer High School that had most recently been occupied by Northeast Community College.

Lierman and Sam Steffensmeier were finishing up reviving the town’s softball field when the idea was pitched to open a fitness center for the community of about 600 people. From the beginning, Lierman says this project was not about making money. “Our goal is to break even and make it as affordable as we can for the community,” he says.

Circling back to hog production sustainability, Lierman says that without hog production in the Beemer area, this project may have never materialized.

Learn more about the Nebraska Pork Producers Association at nepork.org.