Volume 23 | Issue 6

We had a great time last week at our annual conference and would like to thank everyone who came out to join us, all the speakers who shared their expertise, and the sponsors and volunteers who helped us put it on. We couldn't have done it without you!

Award winners

We celebrated four award winners at the annual awards luncheon last Thursday. Click on the images below to watch each recipients video and watch your mailbox for the Spring issue of the Pork Report for in-depth stories about each of them.

Now is a great time to remind you that nominations are open year-round for our award programs. You can find everything you need on our website. So don't delay -- go ahead and nominate a deserving colleague today!

Bylaws change approved at Annual Meeting

The Bylaws committee presented a change in the district structure and the allocation of board members among districts. The amendment passed at the annual meeting on Thursday morning.

Beginning with the elections for the 2024 Board of Directors, the state will be divided into three (3) districts. District 2 and 3 have been combined to make District 2. District 4 will change to District 3. All districts will be guaranteed three (3) elected directors with the remainder of the directors allocated in proportion to the hog population in each district as determined every five years by the USDA Census of Agriculture.

In a recent video with the NC Farm Bureau, hog farmer Vicky Porter of Porter Farms in Cabarrus County says she wants to remove the stigma about talking about mental health.

While working on a multi-generational farm is a blessing, it also comes with it's own unique challenges. "We work where we live and we work with the people we live with, so the dining room table can be volatile...if you worked in the business sector, you [can leave] those people behind. You can't put your job aside because you can't put the people aside and just have free time."

Porter says she sought counseling after the death of her father, a decision that says made her stronger. But she acknowledges that counseling isn't for everybody. She now volunteers with the NC Agromedicine Institute Farmer to Farmer program. It's a peer support program for farmers and farm family members experiencing difficult times. Peers are farmers/farm family members or others working in agriculture that have received special training in peer support.

To request a peer farmer and/or to learn more about Farmer to Farmer, please call 252.744.1008 or email agromedicine@ecu.edu. In the subject line, please indicate 'Farmer to Farmer Request'.

This event is a fundraiser for non-checkoff and non-political programs. We welcome the use of corporate credit cards to purchase tickets and/or tables for this event.

Aurora Pharmaceuticals

Brock Equipment

Ro-Main

USDA-APHIS

Silent Auction sponsors:

• Bill Carone Cars
• Farmers Ace Hardware
• Villari Foods 
• River Landing Country Club
• Parks Livestock
• Neese’s Sausage
• Porter Farms
• Custom Quality Meats
• Jay Archer