Educational role urged for hog farmers

Pork producers must educate consumers about issues such as animal welfare and environmental sustainability, said an expert on global market research and forecasting at the Banff Pork Seminar.

“We always say, ‘no, you’re wrong and here’s why, and we’re going to produce it (this) way,’ ” said Brett Stuart, president of Global AgriTrends based in Denver, Colo.

“So, the big debate right now is do customers get to decide what they want? And Econ 101 or Marketing 101 tells you, yes, the customer is always right because the customer is a guy with money in his hands and so, yes, we do have to bow to customer pressure.”

However, producers also need to ensure consumers are better informed about the positive conditions within the industry, “which is much harder than we think,” he said. “But yeah, we’re going to continue to be under consumer pressure. We’re going to be continually under legislative pressure.”