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Source: PRESS RELEASE, 6/5/12
Conley Nelson, a farmer and pork production executive from Algona, Iowa, was elected president of the 15-member National Pork Board Tuesday during the board’s meeting prior to the World Pork Expo in Des Moines. Nelson, who had been the board's vice president, owns a 4,400-head wean-to-finish operation on a farm that has been in his family for 121 years. He also is general manager of the Murphy-Brown LLC Midwest operation that oversees 75,000 sows and markets 3.4 million hogs a year.
Nelson succeeds Everett Forkner, a farmer from Richards, Mo., who will remain on the board’s Executive Committee as immediate past president.
National Pork Board members also elected Karen Richter, a pork producer from Montgomery, Minn., vice president, and Dale Norton, a pork producer from Bronson, Mich., treasurer. All three will serve one-year terms beginning immediately.
Nelson said he hopes to draw on his experience as a smaller producer and as a production manager for one of the nation’s largest production companies to help the board guide pork producers through some of the tough challenges facing the pork industry. "Our strategic plan is dedicated to preserving the ability of producers to make decisions about what works best for their farms and their animals," he said. "We’re seeing an increasing number of examples where those outside production agriculture are trying to dictate how we care for our animals. As pork producers we must stay unified. I will work to assure that all producers, regardless of the size of their operation or their production style, have a voice in these decisions."
"It’s also important," he said, "to continue to build trust with our customers and with consumers by demonstrating our commitment to continuous improvement. We have both a great product and a great story to tell about how we are producing more pork for a hungry world using fewer natural resources. We can’t lose sight of the importance of telling our success stories."
Nelson is in his second, three-year term on the National Pork Board. He serves on the Checkoff’s Domestic Marketing Committee, Trade Committee and Budget Committee. He has served on the Animal Welfare and Audit Committees and is a 2005 graduate of the Pork Leadership Academy. He also has served on the Iowa Pork Producers board of directors, and is a member of the Kossuth County Pork Producers and the Humboldt County Farm Bureau.
Richter, who has been the board’s treasurer the past year, operates a farrow-to-finish operation with 185 sows and markets 3,300 hogs per year, while raising corn, soybeans and wheat on 650 acres. Nationally, she serves on the Pork Checkoff Trade Committee and is an Operation Main Street presenter. She also has served on the Checkoff Nominating Committee, the Plan of Work Task Force and as a Pork Act Delegate. Richter served on the Minnesota Pork Board executive board and numerous committees. Locally, she is active in the Le Sueur County Pork Producers. She has held several offices including state director, treasurer and vice president and has chaired several committees including ambassador, scholarship and membership.
Norton is a partner in Kendale Farm, a farrow-to-wean operation with 1,450 sows and a farrow-to-finish operation that markets 31,500 annually. He also is involved with a cow-calf operation and raises corn, soybeans, hay, canning tomatoes, peppers for processing and seed corn on over 3,000 acres.
Nationally, Norton serves as the Pork Checkoff’s representative on the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) and is the treasurer on the Executive Committee. He also serves on the National Pork Board’s Domestic Marketing and Finance Committees. He is past chair of the Animal Welfare Committee and has served on the Pork Board’s Administrative and its Resolutions/Advisements Committees.
Norton is a board member and past-president of the Michigan Pork Producers. He was chair of the Michigan Swine Health Committee and a founding member of the Great Lakes Pork Co-Op. He was appointed to the Michigan Ag Commission in 2005 and is a member of the Michigan Farm Bureau.
The National Pork Board has responsibility for Checkoff-funded research, promotion and consumer information projects and for communicating with pork producers and the public. Through a legislative national Pork Checkoff, pork producers invest $0.40 for each $100 value of hogs sold. Importers of pork products contribute a like amount, based on a formula. The Pork Checkoff funds national and state programs in advertising, consumer information, retail and foodservice marketing, export market promotion, production improvement, technology, swine health, pork safety and environmental management. For information on Checkoff-funded programs, pork producers can call the Pork Checkoff Service Center at (800) 456-7675 or check the Internet at www.pork.org.
Conley Nelson
Conley Nelson is the general manager of the Murphy-Brown LLC Midwest operation with 75,000 sows and markets 3.4 million hogs a year. He also owns a 4,400 head wean-to-finish operation.
Nationally, Nelson is completing his first three-year term on the National Pork Board. He serves on the Checkoff’s Domestic Marketing Committee, Trade Committee and Budget Committee. He has served on the Animal Welfare and Audit Committees and is 2005 graduate of the Pork Leadership Academy. At the state level, he serves on the Iowa Pork Producers board of directors, and the finance, membership, leadership and animal well-being committees. He is a member of the Kossuth County Pork Producers and the Humboldt County Farm Bureau.
Nelson outlined three issues facing the pork industry: 1) pulling together all the agriculture groups to speak as one to promote trust and image; 2) stabilizing profitability in the industry through increased demand, not downsizing; 3) leveraging the limited dollars to keep productive research moving the industry forward.
Nelson lists his strengths as creating a positive environment and getting people on the same page. He has had extensive experience in developing people and teams to operate at high levels with people working together well. He is ready to stand up and defend the U.S. pork industry. He is an Operation Main Street speaker and conducts interviews with the media talking about the positives of the pork industry. He is seeking this position because he believes the current vision of the National Pork Board is more focused and is hitting the critical needs of the industry and he wants to see that vision through with another three-year term.
Karen Richter
Karen Richter owns a wean-to-finish operation with 600 hogs and contracts 3,000 gilts as part of their feeder-to-finish operation. She also raises corn, soybean, and wheat on 550 acres.
Nationally, Richter is completing her first three-year term on the National Pork Board. She chairs the Board’s Administrative Committee and serves on the Checkoff’s Animal Welfare and Pork Products Committees. She has chaired the State and National Relations Taskforce and the 2009/10 Nominating Committee. She has also served on the Checkoff’s Audit and Resolutions Committees. Richter served on the Minnesota Pork Board executive board where she held the office of president and secretary and was the chair of numerous committees. Locally, she is active in the LeSueur County Pork Producers.
Richter feels that operating freedom and profitability are the major issues facing the pork industry and is the main goal of the Checkoff and National Pork Board. She notes that over the past 25 years, our Checkoff investment has been utilized to improve our product and to increase product demand both domestically and globally, to educate consumers, industry partners and producers, and to provide the scientific knowledge to continually make us better at what we do.
Richter believes her strengths are her ability to look at all aspects of an issue, consider various perspectives, perception and outcomes, then to make a decision and implement a plan. She is willing to stand up for the industry and first did so at county feedlot hearings (1995-1998). As a trained Operation Main Street presenter, she has worked diligently to support the pork industry’s practices and product throughout her local community, state and nationally.
Dale Norton
Dale Norton of Bronson, Mich., is a partner in Kendale Farm, a farrow-to-wean operation with 1,450 sows and a farrow-to-finish operation that markets 31,5000 annually. He also is involved with a cow/calf operation and raises corn, soybeans, hay, canning tomatoes, peppers for processing and seed corn on over 3,000 acres.
Nationally, Norton is completing his first three-year term on the National Pork Board. He serves as the Pork Checkoff’s representative on the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) and is the treasurer on the Executive Committee. He also serves on the Domestic Marketing and Finance Committees. He is past chair of the Animal Welfare Committee and has served on the Pork Board’s Administrative and its Resolutions/Advisements Committees.
Norton is a board member and past-president of the Michigan Pork Producers. He was chair of the Michigan Swine Health Committee and a founding member of the Great Lakes Pork Co-Op. He was appointed by Governor Granholm to the Michigan Ag Commission in 2005 and is a member of the Michigan Farm Bureau.
The loss of trust in our present agricultural production system by consumers is what Norton considers to be the biggest issue facing the pork industry today. As part of a four-family, multi-generational, multi-enterprise partnership with brother, son and nephew, raising tomatoes, peppers, corn, cattle and hogs, including selling 4-H animals, Norton has adopted a Farm Mission Statement which is based on the Ethical Principles of the pork industry’s We Care initiative. He applauds the Pork Board and NPPC for programs like We Caresm, Operation Main Street, Pork Quality Assurance® Plus and getting USFRA going. These will keep members informed and ready to reap the benefits of our progressive, consumer focused programs.
As chair of the Animal Welfare Committee, Norton provided public comments in 2007 on the importance of a progressive focus in providing food for a hungry world and of the pork industry’s efforts to adopt good animal care practices to the PEW Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production. He is seeking reelection to the Pork Board as the lessons he learned from leadership activities and 40 owyears of experience raising hogs have given him some insight that will allow him to continue to serve pork producers well.
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