News

Adding value to pork through technology

An official with the National Pork Board says consumers today aren’t just wanting to know how their food is raised – they’re wanting producers to prove how it’s raised.

Brett Kaysen assistant vice president of sustainability says farmers aren’t resisting the technology as much as they once were.  

Especially if it adds value. “Their aptitude and willingness to do this is there,” he says.  “But they have lots of questions.  The key is when you talk to farmers about the security of the data and how we utilize it and it actually adds value to their product, because we can share a story of production – they’re willing to help.”

Emerging technologies like blockchain make it possible for farmers to provide consumers with secure data about the protein they’re eating. 

The dairy industry already has a value-added program in place and Kaysen tells Brownfield the model could be tweaked to work for the rest of production agriculture.

“They’re paying dairy farmers added incentive to their milk because of the ability to track this data and provide transparency,” he says.  “So that model is already there.”

He says they’ll plan to continue work with producers, the tech sector, and the supply chain to find a system that works.  

AUDIO: Brett Kaysen, assistant vp, sustainability, National Pork Board