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National Pork Board names social forces team

Twelve college students from across the country have been selected by the National Pork Board to tell the stories of pig farmers on social media.

Wade Hutchens, a Senior at Illinois State University says he’s excited to include fun facts and historical details in some of his posts.

“I think we’ve got to do a better job of showing what we actually do and showing that we care. You know, we have 1500 sows that we take care of every day and they get individual care. I think that by taking this position I’ll be able to show people that we really do care about our animals, we consider them our co-workers and they are well taken care of.”

Cindy Cunningham tells Brownfield the student social forces team is part of the Pork Board’s real pig farming campaign.

“The Pork Checkoff is proud to host this program. We have so many people who may never have the opportunity to meet a real pig farmer or to understand what happens on our farms. This is one way that we can introduce them to pig farmers and pork producers and have their questions answered so they feel more confident eating pork.”

The team will spend the rest of the year sharing stories about the swine industry on their social media platforms.

This year’s student social forces team is listed below.

Abbie Greer                     The Ohio State Agricultural Technical Institute

Caitlyn Wileman               Iowa State University

Haley Fischer                   Northwest Missouri State University

Jenna Siegel                    Lincoln Land Community College

Logan Fullerton                University of Missouri

Mackenzie Wille                Oregon State University

Mati Abner                       Texas A & M

Meghan Clancy                 Texas A & M

Shelby Veum                    Iowa State University

Wade Hutchens                Illinois State University

Whitney Whitaker             Kansas State University