Joey Short, Emerging Leader

Joey Short has the tenth best beard in the pork industry, at least according to Farm Journal Magazine.

But it’s not that quirky accolade that defines him. Rather, it’s his rapid ascension within the North Carolina pork industry that has earned Short the 2023 North Carolina Pork Council’s Emerging Leader Award.

Short, 32, has taken a non-traditional path to his current position as the head of the farrowing department for a sow farm at Murphy Family Ventures. His mercurial rise in the swine industry began with an internship in 2020, leading to a career that he had not envisioned just a few years ago.

Short grew up on a small family cow farm in Raeford, an operation he calls a “hobby farm.” He entered North Carolina State University as an animal science major, later changing to agricultural science. Not having a clear vision of what area of agriculture he intended to pursue, it was a guest speaker in one of his classes who he says lit his fire for the swine industry.

“Bailee Arnold spoke to our class about her involvement in pork production,” says Short. “Her message was so compelling that suddenly her passion became my passion. The pigs just drew me in. But it has been the people I have met in the industry who have sealed the deal for me. I have found my calling.”