American swine producers see positive returns on Pork Checkoff investments

Jan 09, 2018

NPB study reveals strong farmer support of the program

Staff Reporter

Farms.com

The National Pork Board (NPB) has released an economic analysis of its Pork Checkoff from 2011 to 2016, according to a release yesterday.

Pork producers pay 40 cents per $100 market value of pigs sold, Kevin Waetke, vice-president of strategic communications for the NPB, told Farms.com yesterday.

From the Checkoff, the NPB uses “about $40 million in producer investment to deliver programs to meet the functional needs of our industry – specifically areas like science and technology, domestic and international marketing, and producer education, training and certification,” Waetke said.

Every five years, the NPB commissions the report, “which quantifies the returns generated by Pork Checkoff investments in research, pork promotion and producer education programs,” the release stated.

Over the most recent five-year period, producers saw a return of $25.50 for each dollar invested. This amount is an increase in the returns from previous years, which were $17.40 (2006 to 2011) and $13.80 (2001 to 2006) per dollar invested.

Producers saw each dollar translated into the following benefits, Waetke said:

$83.30 from production research to improve on-farm practices
$24.70 from foreign market development
$14.20 from advertising
$12.40 from non-advertising promotion

“The net return of 25:1 on Checkoff investments demonstrates that we are meeting producer needs in the areas that drive sustainable production and grow consumer demand,” Terry O’Neel, president of the NPB, said in the release.

In addition to the economic study, the NPB also released the results of its annual producer survey conducted in November.

The survey, which included 550 pork producers from across the country, reflected an improvement in producer support for the Pork Checkoff program for the eighth consecutive year.

“Support for the Checkoff remained at 91 percent, while opposition declined to a record low of 3 percent,” the release stated.

Photo: National Pork Board

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.