DIERKS INDUCTED INTO PORK INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME

Mar 10, 2022

LOUISVILLE, KY — For his 40 years serving U.S. pork producers, including 20 years as CEO of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and his dedication and countless contributions to the pork industry, Neil Dierks today was inducted into the National Pork Industry Hall of Fame at NPPC’s annual business meeting — the National Pork Industry Forum — held here.

Dierks, who retired in December 2021 after 31 years with NPPC, helped develop the organization that was born after the separation agreement that created the National Pork Board. He became the first CEO of the reconstituted NPPC.

Dierks started his career in the pork industry when he joined the Iowa Pork Producers Association in 1981 to manage the Iowa Pork Congress. He went on to head legislative state outreach for the organization. After leading field services and state legislative outreach for the Iowa Corn Growers Association, Dierks joined NPPC in 1990 to manage World Pork Expo. Prior to becoming CEO, he also served as the organization’s director of operations, vice president of research and education, and senior vice president of programs.

Six months after NPPC and the industry’s checkoff were split into independent organizations, Dierks was recruited from the National Pork Board in 2001 to be CEO of NPPC, which had five employees, and World Pork Expo was its single source of revenue. He guided NPPC’s steady growth for the next two decades, expanding sources of revenue and establishing it as a highly effective and influential national advocacy organization critical to the profitable growth of U.S. pork producers. “Neil is a giant in the pork industry. He was there at the beginning — after the separation agreement with the Pork Board — and he guided NPPC through good and not-so-good times over the past 20 years,” said outgoing NPPC President Jen Sorenson. “Neil has made countless lasting contributions to the U.S. pork industry and established NPPC as a top-tier advocacy organization and the global voice of the U.S. pork industry. If anyone deserves to be in the industry Hall of Fame, it’s Neil Dierks.”

Source : NPPC

Video: How farmers are protecting the soil and our food security | DW Documentary

For a long time, soil was all but ignored. But for years, the valuable humus layer has been thinning. Farmers in Brandenburg are clearly feeling the effects of this on their sandy fields. Many are now taking steps to prepare their farms for the future.

Years of drought, record rainfall and failed harvests: we are becoming increasingly aware of how sensitively our environment reacts to extreme weather conditions. Farmers' livelihoods are at stake. So is the ability of consumers to afford food.

For a few years now, agriculture that focuses solely on maximum yields has been regarded with increasing skepticism. It is becoming more and more clear just how dependent we are on healthy soils.

Brandenburg is the federal state with the worst soil quality in Germany. The already thin, fertile humus layer has been shrinking for decades. Researchers and farmers who are keen to experiment are combating these developments and looking for solutions. Priority is being given to building up the humus layer, which consists of microorganisms and fungi, as well as springtails, small worms and centipedes.

For Lena and Philipp Adler, two young vegetable farmers, the tiny soil creatures are invaluable helpers. On their three-hectare organic farm, they rely on simple, mechanical weed control, fallow areas where the soil can recover, and diversity. Conventional farmer Mark Dümichen also does everything he can to protect soil life on his land. For years, he has not tilled the soil after the harvest and sows directly into the field. His yields have stabilized since he began to work this way.

Isabella Krause from Regionalwert AG Berlin-Brandenburg is convinced after the experiences of the last hot summers that new crops will thrive on Brandenburg's fields in the long term. She has founded a network of farmers who are promoting the cultivation of chickpeas with support from the scientific community.