Chris Novak, National Pork Board, 2014 Pork Management Conference, June 17-20 in Tampa, Florida.

1. The More Things Change . . .
The More They Change Faster
An National Pork Board Update
Chris Novak, CEO
Pork Management Conference

2. Here’s What’s Coming . . .
• PED—A Passing Threat or The Canary
in the Mineshaft?
• Telling Stories—A conversation about
food, farming, and families
• What You Want to Talk About?

3. PED– What Do We Know?
• PED is not a human health or food safety issue.
• The disease is impacting farms of a variety of
sizes and production types and needs to be
prevented through a variety of biosecurity
procedures.
• There are multiple methods of PED transmission
including environmental, transportation, feed
systems and other vectors.

4. Current Status of PEDV

5. Current Status

6. The Good News & The Bad News
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7. Initial PED Research Priorities
Development and validation of diagnostic testing for antigen and
antibody detection for PEDv:
•Viral propagation techniques
•Standardized reference samples for VDLs
•Validation of the current PCR diagnostic tests
•Antibody-based diagnostic tests
•Oral fluid surveillance
Study of the basic pathogenesis and characterization of the virus:
• Tissue studies with interest in lung or other tissue involvement
• Duration of shedding
• Carrier state
• Determine how quickly immunity develops, how it impacts viral shedding and if
it can be enhanced to quicken recovery
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8. Initial PED Research Priorities
Environmental stability of the virus on various surfaces
and substrates and effectiveness of sanitation efforts:
• Time/temperature necessary to kill PEDv in live-haul trailers
• Environmental conditions affecting virus survival on or in various substrates:
• Drinking water (with identification of water additives that would render the virus
noninfective)
• Recirculated water (with identification of water additives that would render the
virus noninfective)
• Lagoon water; manure/slurry
Epidemiology:
• Identify risk factors for interherd or interpopulation spread.
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9. Pork Checkoff PED Research
• June 2013 – PED basic research
• October 2013 – Sow immunity and assessment
• 2013 total >$1M for PEDv research
• February 2014 – Diagnostics, surveillance, PCR
• March – Feed with feed industry collaboration
• April – PDCoV basic research, survivability,
diagnostics
• Total $3M Checkoff research within 12 months

10. PEDv—The Canary in the Mineshaft?

11. 2014 Pork Forum
• A listing of non-reportable swine diseases not in the
United States
• Responsibilities of the government, industry
organizations, producers, and the pork chain in
surveillance and response
• Coordinated strategies to respond to and contain or
manage disease
• Strategies for the efficient sharing of information
deemed necessary containment / control
• Strategies to strengthen the defense of the US pork
industry

12. Our Request to USDA
• Investigate the pathway or pathways and harden
our borders to prevent others from coming in.
• Enhance the ability of the veterinary diagnostic
labs to communicate and connect electronically.
• Support for diagnostic testing needed for control.
• Significantly add to USDA PED-related research.
• Develop an agreed upon comprehensive
response plan for diseases like PED so state-
federal-industry are prepared and know what to
expect of each other.

13. Building a New Framework for Disease Management
• Analyze external disease threat to identify and prioritize swine
pathogens.
• Facilitate the identification of existing and potential pathways
for introduction of swine pathogens.
• Facilitate analysis of the effectiveness of the diagnostic and
animal health products available to address each of the
pathogens in the Swine Pathogen Matrix
• Coordinate international research to address preparedness
gaps identified within the Swine Pathogen Matrix
• Solicit sustainable resources to fulfill the mission and
strategies

14. Telling Stories
A Conversation About Food, Farming, & Families

15. Author! Author!
What You Need and Want
An Idea
Letters/Syllables/Words
Understandable
Buyer
Audience
Enjoyable & Believable

16. What’s Our Story?
Your Thoughts?
• Continuous
Improvement
• Family
• Commitment
• Wholesome Food
• Hero & Villian
• Great product!
Things I Hear
• Efficiency
• Productivity
• Protein & Nutrition
• We Care
• Birth & Death
• Bad Actors
• Painful
• Emotional
• Personal

17. What Letters & Words Do We Use
• PQA
• PEDv
• TQA
• P/S/Y
• PRRS
• Gilt
• Farrowing
• Gestation
• Ractopamine
• Euthanasia

18. Is Our Story Understandable?

19. Who is Listening to Our Story?
Customers? Consumers?

20. Nice Story, But . . . ???

21. Telling a Better Story
• A Stronger PQA Plus
• A Revised TQA
• Barn Worker Kits
• New Safe Handling Tools
• A New Barn Culture Initiative
• A Higher Commitment to Professionalism
• A Common Industry Audit Platform

22. Q. How likely would you be to actively seek out and buy pork
products that come from farms utilizing the Pork Quality
Assurance Plus program vs. those that don’t?
pre-ballot post-ballot
The Potential of PQA+
• The mere fact of PQA+ can influence opinions and
purchase decisions when it comes to pork products

23. Using Words that Work: Antibiotics
Once you have them
interested in what you have
to say, explaining HOW
antibiotics work can both
surprise them and make
them want to learn more.
Always bring the
conversation back to what
they care about most: their
health.
Ensure that this isn’t a
black-and-white issue
by opening up the
discussion.
Set up a broader conversation
with language that indicates
there’s more to the story.
Show them that engaging
with consumers is a priority.
We know consumers today want more information about where their food comes
from. It’s especially important to answer questions about why antibiotics are used on
the farm, and to talk about what else farmers are doing to raise healthy animals.
Antibiotic use on the farm is a complex issue. There are many different types of
antibiotics, and they’re used in different ways to treat, control and prevent illness.
Bacteria that cause illnesses and infections need to be kept under control in order to
preserve human and animal health. So farmers use antibiotics to help lessen the
risk. They work to remove or inhibit the growth of bacteria that could potentially harm
the animal and pose a food safety risk. They also promote good bacteria, the kind
that helps the animals digest their food more efficiently.
There are many other things that are equally important, and sometimes even more
important than using antibiotics, like maintaining high standards when it comes to
nutrition, so that animals get the right diet to keep their immune systems strong.
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24. Reaching the Right Audience: Customers
• A New Team
• A New Approach
• A New Level of Engagement
• New Materials, Information, Resources
• A New Awareness
• A New Partnership

25. Reaching the Right Audience: Consumers
• U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA)
• Food Dialogues (Integrity in Marketing)
• Social Media
• Media Outreach
• Food Chain Engagement
• Farmland. A Documentary About Farmers

26. The Challenges Ahead
• Understanding the drivers & decision-makers
• Finding ways to align interests across the
food chain
• Not breaking into jail
• Finding the right message and the right
mediums to be effective.
• Allocating resources efficiently & effectively to
make a difference

27. Other Things We Could Have Talked About
• Making a Plan with 2020 Foresight
• New Common Industry Audit Program
• Looking Past Today’s PED Markets
• Measuring Sustainability
• Strength of Pork. Be Inspired Campaign
• Working to Re-Define Pork Quality
• Reaching Multicultural Consumers

28. Questions?
CNovak@Pork.org