As times have gotten tight lately and profitability has been poor to negative in the pork industry, many producers want to know where their hard-earned dollars are going when it comes to the Pork Checkoff. Where in the past, producers may have seen those consumer advertising dollars at work through traditional communication and advertising efforts, today with micro-targeting different geographical areas and demographic groups digitally, those ads are often not front and center with producers.

“I remind people in the industry that we don't physically sell pork chops or raise hogs at our office in Des Moines, Iowa,” says Bill Even, CEO of the National Pork Board. “So, information is our product, but how do you get that information out efficiently to consumers? But then also how do you get it out to the producers themselves?”

One-on-one engagement is key, but with roughly 60,000 pork producers across the United States, engaging in direct communication with each and every one of them can be challenging. In addition to getting NPB staff on farm, the Pork Checkoff relies on the state associations in many regions to take the messaging the last mile. That messaging includes the approach of the three C’s: Communicate, coordinate and collaborate, and two D’s: Don't duplicate.

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“Being efficient with producer messaging is important. State pork association annual meetings are very important. We get out and we spend time talking to those state boards, talking to the producers that show up,” Even says. “We aim to be reachable, and we work for the producers themselves. And that is really an important part of our mission that we drive home with our staff, that we are servant leaders for those producers whose hard-earned money we are deploying on their behalf.”

While events like World Pork Expo and the National Pork Industry Forum are crucial for producer engagement, producer interactions such as Pork Quality Assurance certification trainings are just as valuable.  

“Roughly 98-plus percent of the pork sold in the U.S. is coming from a farm that is Pork Quality Assurance certified. We run a national educational certification program for anybody that works with pigs,” Even says. “So, there are many opportunities for us to interact with those barn workers and farm owners. And also all of our staff and board members have to be Pork Quality Assurance certified to even be able to work for the Pork Checkoff. So, we walk the talk at the staff level as well.”

Even says outreach comes down to an omnichannel approach, whether that be through social media, radio, and podcasts or video interviews, long-form content, and digital advertising.

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“Our big push this past year has been ensuring that we're getting more and more producers actually opting to receive communications from the Pork Checkoff so that we can actually reach them” Even says. “Because frankly, the most effective and efficient way to get to a producer and save their precious dollars is to reach them digitally. It's very effective.”