Minnesota's Swine & U

Sarah Schieck Boelke:
Hello and welcome to Minnesota's Swine and U podcast series, a University of Minnesota extension swine program. Today's podcast is an industry update about the on-farm sustainability reports. My name is Sarah Schieck Boelke, your host, and I'm a swine extension educator with the University of Minnesota. Joining me today is Lauren Servik with the Minnesota Pork Board. And Lauren, great to have you on today.
Lauren Servik:
Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm excited to talk about the on-farm sustainability reports and the work that I do at Minnesota Pork as the director of marketing and public policy engagement. And the on-farm sustainability reports, it's been a big part of what the Minnesota checkoff and the national checkoff have been doing lately. So I'm excited to share a little bit more about it and get some more people interested.
Sarah Schieck Boelke:
Great. And I know through both the print as well as the e-newsletters that Minnesota Pork sends out, seeing a lot in there about on-farm sustainability, but I know it's more than just Minnesota. We're hearing it industry-wide. So, can you briefly explain what is the on-farm sustainability reports?
Lauren Servik:
Yeah. And well, first sustainability is nothing new for pig farmers and what Minnesota Pork and the National Pork Board have been working on is really looking to help people understand what sustainability means for a pig farmer. And as a kind of guiding principle, we've been using the "We Care" ethical principles to outline key areas of sustainability on a pig farm. We all know those six "We Care" ethical principles: animal well-being, food safety, public health, our people, communities, and the environment. That program has been around a long time and it's something that pig farmers do on their farms every day. So, using those principles, the industry has adopted a set of what we're calling the "We Care" sustainability goals and metrics.
For a long time, farmers have been talking about continuous improvement, which is definitely true. But we kind of need to go to that next step for our customers and the consumers that are enjoying pork products. And that really starts with telling people where we're at, what's important to a pig farm. I mentioned those six “We Care” principles and providing the metrics and the proof points to measure against those things. We've said continuous improvement for a long time and now we just really need to prove it and show them what we're doing on the farm and how that translates to the things that they're expecting. And so by farmers participating in the on-farm sustainability reports, we're able to take those goals and metrics and the practices and quantify what that actually means and use that information to help back up and provide proof for the story that we share about pig farmers. And I think ultimately we need to show consumers, regulators, and in a lot of cases even our neighbors who maybe don't understand why a farmer does what they do on that farm what that means. By using real farmers' data, we're able to back up those claims and show progress over time. And these reports are our main vehicle right now to help do that.
Sarah Schieck Boelke:
And so this is something that producers as individuals should do. Why is it important for them to participate?
Lauren Servik:
Yeah, there's a couple key reasons I think why it's important for farmers to participate. First of all, this assessment is essentially free to the farmers. It's run through the checkoff and so that's a service provided by the checkoff back to farmers through their investment. So besides maybe an hour or two of your time by working with the partner that we've identified, Sustainable Environmental Consultants (SEC), they're the third-party partner in all of this, which is really important for validating the data and the reports that come back to those farms. Second, I think what's unique about what we're doing is taking a snapshot and a look at a whole farm. It's not necessarily just the pig barns; if you have barns and you have land that you farm, it really does take kind of that whole picture approach because that's how sustainability works. It's not just the crop and pig it's also the people and what practices you're using in-barn to keep people and pigs healthy and safe. All of this information goes into these reports and I will say it's pretty easy to participate. In Minnesota, we've got just about 40 farmers who've enrolled and participated, some have already got reports back and generally they tell me it's a pretty painless process.
There is a lot of information farmers are already collecting and easy to pull and helps quantify the practices and what they're doing. When you put that all together, that gives you information back as a farmer about how different things are affecting different parts of the farm. And then I think increasingly we're seeing even in our local community at the state and national level just a lot of interest in what things farmers are doing and this kind of helps explain why we do what we do, not just what we're doing. So I think beside getting that insight, the fact that this is a resource for the farmers that is really going to help individual farms then that national and state level share the story of a pig farmer like I said using that real on farm sight data providing insight that is usable. One area especially that we're seeing increasing interest in for farms is things like carbon credits or water credits. The other way you can capitalize the project or processes you have on your farm. These reports could really provide some helpful information about those opportunities and realistic and give you an idea of really what is your environmental footprint and what can you do about it. I think there is a lot of reasons for an individual farm to participate and I think each one will find something unique about the report and really useful and helpful to them.
Sarah Schieck Boelke:
And I'm assuming that farms of all sizes, right? All types and sizes are encouraged to do the on-farm sustainability reports. Is that correct?
Lauren Servik:
Yeah, absolutely. What's really unique about these reports is it's not just what happens in the barn it's not like just what happens in the field. If you have barns but you don't farm any crops, there's still a role and information to be gained from participating. I've even heard of some other states' show pig producers participating in these reports.I think like I said there is a lot of information and insights to be gathered back. One of my favorite things about these reports is and I think it's something that really resonates with farmers that it's very specific to your farm, the practices you use, the soils where you farm, and the perimeters of the fields that you farm. We know that the same kind of sustainability practices aren't the same for every farmer in every location. This takes into account all of those factors and really looks at the individual farm with their practices and what that means for them and their sustainability story of their farm and so i think like you said no matter were you farm and how you farm there ways to get really good information and help again tell that greater story of pork industry in Minnesota.
Sarah Schieck Boelke:
So you've mentioned a little bit that farms can use this information to improve or learn more about their farms. How can information be used by individual producers and then also how will it be used on a state as well as a national level by the pork industry?
Lauren Servik:
Yeah. So, I think specifically for the farm, one part of the report that you get as an individual farmer once you complete it is called the Sustainable Continuous Improvement Plan (SCIP). It's kind of like the report card back after that here is where you are at and it kind of shows through different processes like soil erosion or carbon sequestration different energy things related to barns that if you implemented this practice, here's that potential return you could see on your farm for that improvement. So like I said the (SCIP)is what there called the Sustainable Continuous Improvement Plan again helps look where your at and what practices your using and if you tweaked or maybe expanded the area where your implementing that practice the kind of returns as a farmer that you could see and obviously those things are real money, real time,resources for farmers. Those investments have to be made carefully, and I think this is another tool that helps kinda evaluate what's out there and what could work and likely to see for gain. If we go back to that state and national level, the farmer will get their individualized report and it will be just their individual information. As a state organization like Minnesota Pork or at the national Minnesota Pork level, the reports we see are only ever blinded and aggregated for that state or region or national level. So I think one that helps us tell a powerful story in the areas that we have to work and advocate for the farmer both with consumers and with regulators and by using real on-farm data that were measured a year at a time. It really provides some compelling proof points and storylines that can help us go to work on things related to permits or help ease concerns with consumers about how things are interacting on the farm with animals with people with the environment. And we know like i said this is real farmers data its complete data sense there also alot of concerns with some of the claims that are made are based on a lot of models or a lot of national data that does not represent a certain farmer or a certain kind of practice. So I think these reports are really specific and it's real farmer data which helps us tell a really important story when we go and advocate on behalf of pig farmers.
Sarah Schieck Boelke:
Thank you. So another question I have and I'm sure it's a question that a lot of farmers that haven't participated yet may be asking, but how is their information protected?
Lauren Servik:
Yeah, this is really important. I understand and I can appreciate it from my family farm's perspective and a lot of people would tell you that pig farmers' data is one of the most valuable things they have about their farm . So Early on in the process, it was really critical to ensure that farmers' data is protected in this. And that's one of the reasons sustainable environment consultants (SEC) is a partner in this. Their systems are where the data and information is stored and analyzed with the farmer, and that is completely protected; it's just between the farmer and SEC who's generating that report. The National Pork Board and Minnesota Pork have absolutely no access even to any individual farm's report. Like I mentioned, we only ever see it blinded and aggregated. By keeping it in that third party, we're also protecting it from other areas that people might want to try and use to get a farmer's information. This process of the on-farm sustainability report done very specifically to help insure farmers data is protected. Then your report is your information and your report only.
Sarah Schieck Boelke:
Thank you for explaining that because like I mentioned and you mentioned as well, yeah, farmers should be very protective of their information. Where can farmers find more information like if they want to learn more and or even if they want to participate?
Lauren Servik:
Yeah, we would be happy to have more farmers participate. One of the key things about finding out more information and getting involved is the more farmers we have, the better comprehensive story we can tell and represent as many of the pig farmers in Minnesota who participate. And to find out more about the on-farm sustainability reports, you can also see an example report or sign up to get enrolled at porkcheckoff.org/sustainability. There you can find an example of what the report might look like for your farm and what you can expect. They also have an overview of the data that's needed to participate so you have a heads up as you prepare to participate in the on farm sustainability report. And you can also see why we are collecting certain things, why those things are important and why we are including them in the report. And specifically, if you want to learn more about the "We Care" goals and metrics that I mentioned, like I said those cover all 6 “We Care” ethical principles you can find that at porkcares.org. That's kind of our consumer-facing side helping people bring attention to what farmers are doing and why this is a good measurement about sustainability on a farm. One of the unique things that I think this project and just sustainability messaging overall for a farmer is that there's a lot of people who think sustainability is important, but they might not know exactly what that means for any given industry. And so we are really kind of putting a flag in the ground saying that this is what a sustainable pig farm needs to do. And here's how we measure whether or not we're doing those things. And you can find more about that again on those “We Care” Goals and metrics at porkcares.org. ANd as always, as a check up organization we were here to work for the farmer. And so if people have questions or have some specific things that they'd like to learn more about, they can definitely reach out to Minnesota Pork and give me a call. I'm happy to talk through any questions they might have, give them a rundown of how the process goes. If there's any questions or concerns, happy to address those. So if people have questions they can definitely contact me by email at lauren@mnpork.com or by calling the Minnesota Pork Office at 507-345-8814. I'm happy to talk through it and get them enrolled if that's what they're interested in doing.
Sarah Schieck Boelke:
Perfect. Thank you for explaining all those specifics and also giving the links and contact for where they can go for more information. So to wrap up our conversation today, is there any closing remarks that you would like to make?
Lauren Servik:
Again, I really appreciate coming on to the podcast and getting to share why and what we're doing and why it's so important. I would just really encourage pig farmers of any size, any location in Minnesota, actually anywhere in the country. This is a national program to get involved and get those insights for your farm. Again, provide the needed information and proof points so we can keep telling the pig farmer story using real data. We're really just trying to build consumer trust and I think that these are really key and really powerful tools that we have to help do that. I think there's something in it for every farmer to help understand their farm, what that means for their customer and consumer, and really just protect their freedom to operate ultimately. So I really have the opportunity to share and am happy to help farmers get involved.
Sarah Schieck Boelke:
Thank you. And thank you for making note too that this is not just a Minnesota initiative that this is a national Pork Board checkoff initiative. So no matter where the producer is located, Minnesota or other states,they should participate in this. Well, thank you Lauren once again for speaking with me today about the on-farm sustainability reports. And why as well as how pig farmers can go to find information and then also why they should do it as well. Thank you to those listening to Minnesota Swine and U podcast, a University of Minnesota Extension Swine Program. This has been Sarah Schieck Boelke, swine extension educator along with Lauren Servik with Minnesota Pork Board. To further connect with University of Minnesota Extension swine activities, please visit the webpages on the University of Minnesota Extension website at www.extension.umn.edu/swine. On those pages, you'll find connections to our blog as well as our Facebook page. Then to learn about research being done by our swine faculty in veterinary medicine, visit their Swine in Minnesota blog at www.umnswinenews.com.