New president for US pork body highlights opportunities

Richter said she could see there was a chance to help consumers understand the value of the versatility on offer when it came to pork. She also said she wanted to work to make the pork industry better for future generations and said that, although there was no “shortlist of challenges”​ in the livestock industry, it continued to evolve.

She said: “The pork products we provide and the way that we operate our farms improve to meet the needs of our customers, consumers and producers.”​ Ritcher is also a pork producer and farmer in Minnesota. She succeeded Iowa-based pig farmer Conley Nelson to the presidential post on the 15-member board. However, Nelson is to remain on the board’s executive committee as an immediate past president.

The new president is in her second three-year term on the board of the NPB and also serves on the Pork Checkoff’s Domestic Marketing Committee and Pork Safety Quality and Human Nutrition Committee. Newly elected NPB vice-president Dale Norton, a pork producer from Bronson in Michigan, said: “As we look ahead to this year, the pork industry has versatile, nutritious products that offer great value to consumers. It’s important that producers continue to build trust and share our commitment with customers and consumers.”​

Derrick Sleezer was elected treasurer for the NPB and will also be serving in his second three-year term. Sleezer also serves on the Animal Welfare, Finance and Producer and State Services Committees and also represents the NPB on the US Pork Centre of Excellence Board.