Social Responsibility in the US Pork Industry

Don Butler, Past President National Pork Producers Council

Presentation to Animal Agriculture Alliance Summit

April, 2010

US Pork Producers Embrace Social Responsibility in a Verifiable Way

Commitment to Ethical Principles

Ethical Principles for U.S. Pork Producers U.S. pork producers recognize our obligation to build and

maintain the trust of customers and the public in our products and our practices. To promote confidence in what we do and how we do it, we affirm the following ethical principles.

We affirm our obligation to produce safe food. We affirm our obligation to protect and promote animal well-

being. We affirm our obligation to safeguard natural resources in all

of our practices. We affirm our obligation to ensure our practices protect public

health. We affirm our obligation to provide a work environment that is

safe and consistent with our other ethical standards. We affirm our obligation to contribute to a better quality of life

in our communities.

History and Evolution

1989 – Pork Quality Assurance (PQA)

2003 – Swine Welfare Assurance Program (SWAP)

2005 - Coalition Discovery Team

2007 – PQA Plus released

2010 – full PQA Plus implementation

Program Objectives

Continuous improvement in pork production practices

Demonstrate that pork producers are accountable for the way we produce pork

Provide a workable/affordable/credible tool for the pork chain

Terms

Certification vs. Site Status– Certification (People)– Status of Sites (Premises ID)

Trainer vs. Advisor– Trainer (Limited in each state)– Advisor (Vets, Extension, Ag Educators)

Assessment vs. 3rd Party Verification– Assessment (Consultative, Benchmarking)– 3rd Party Verification (Objective observation/evaluation)

Infrastructure

Trainers = 63 Advisors = 1,162

– Be a veterinarian, Extension Specialist or Ag Educator1.– Have a D.V.M. or B.S. or equivalent experience in

Animal Science or associated field3.– Have two years of recent, documentable swine production

experience3.– Former PQA Educators or Certified SWAP Educators

are not grandfathered into PQA Plus.

Elements for Continuous Improvement

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PQA Plus – Producer Education

Two main elements

– Food Safety

– Animal Well Being

Producer Certification– 45,384 PQA Plus individuals– Only 2 states with no certified individuals (RI & VT)

Site Assessment

Well-Being Assessment– Animal observation– Facilities– Recordkeeping

Site Status = 9,657– Represents over 54%

of the U.S.A. swine inventory

Certification Content■ GPP #1 Establish and implement an efficient and effective herd health

management plan

■ GPP#2 Use a veterinarian/client/patient relationship (VCPR) as the basis for medication decision-making

■ GPP#3 Use antibiotics responsibly

■ GPP#4 Identify and track and maintain medication and treatment records for all treated animals

■ GPP #5 Adhere to medication withdrawal times

■ GPP#6 Properly store, label and account for all drug products and medicated feeds

Certification Content – continued

■ GPP#7 Use proper administration techniques, needle-use procedures, observance of withdrawal times, and methods to avoid marketing adulterated products for human food

■ GPP#8 Follow appropriate on-farm feed processing and commercial feed processor procedures

■ GPP#9 Develop, implement, and document an animal caretaker training program

■ GPP#10 Provide proper swine care to improve swine well-being

On-Farm Assessment – Site Status

Recordkeeping– VCPR– Medication and treatment records– Training programs

Emergency Support– Written emergency action plan– Operational emergency backup

Site Assessment Daily Observations

Body Condition Scoring Body Space Euthanasia

– Written action plan– Timely euthanasia

Facilities Ventilation

– Temperature– Air quality

Willful Acts of Abuse

Third-Party Verification: Objectives

Measure the effectiveness of the PQA Plus program, not to find farms that are not in compliance– Use aggregate assessment data and verification data to identify areas for additional

education and training in pork production

Provide credibility to packers and customers

Provide an alternative to every farm audited every year– Statistically valid random sample

Enable Pork Checkoff to pay for third-party verification element

Create one set of industry-developed criteria to avoid confusion and extra cost

Use aggregate assessment data and verification data to identify areas for additional education and training in pork production

How will verification process work?

All sites with Site Status will be in a pool from which sites will be selected

Producer will be given official notice and information on how to schedule an appointment with third-party verifier

Completed by third-party, PAACO-certified verifier during agreed upon date/time

Verifier submit report to third-party database, and send producer information

Producers work with their advisors to address any issues identified during the verification process

How will verification process work? (cont.)

Database reports verification data in aggregate form to the National Pork Board

National Pork Board uses aggregate verification data to identify areas for additional education and training to promote continuous improvement of the pork industry

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Verification Timeline - 2010

April – complete Verifier training materials

– post request for proposals for verifiers

May – identify Verifiers

July – verifiers complete PAACO certification

September – begin verification process

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Continuous Improvement: Areas of Focus

Version 1.2– Retrain PQA Plus Trainers– Enhanced GPP #3 content (responsible antibiotic use)– Enhanced GPP #9 content (caretaker training)– Enhanced GPP #10 content (animal handling)

Recordkeeping: Additional emphasis on– Medication and treatment records– Emergency action plans– Written euthanasia plan

Animals & facilities: Additional emphasis on– Timely euthanasia– Facilities

Industry Commitment

■ The National Pork Board strongly recommends that all pork producers participate in the pork industry’s We Care Initiative by a target date of 12/31/10. Through their participation, producers would abide by the Statement of Ethical Principles, become Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA Plus) certified by 6/30/10 and achieve PQA Plus site status by 12/31/10.– Adopted June 1, 2009

Thank You

Questions?