There are still hog producers in business in Iowa and they are more dedicated than ever to producing a quality product for consumers at the best price possible.

That was my take away from a meeting I attended this week in Washington, IA to gather some audio, photos and video for our friends at PIC International to use for some on-line marketing. PIC stands for Pig Improvement Company and account manager John Jeckel says the company was started 40 years ago by a half dozen pork producers in England to improve the genetics of their animals. “PIC’s competitive advantage in the market place is feed efficiency and growth rate,” John says.

But genetics can only do so much and the rest is up to the producer. Cliff Jones with PIC’s tech services says they work with producers to help them achieve the maximum genetic potential from their animals with the proper care and he gave the producers in Washington an abbreviated version of PIC’s Farm Managers Boot Camp that they sponsor. “The key focus point is just to pay attention to the pigs,” Cliff says.

What was really interesting to me was the fact that these producers are really dedicated to taking the best possible care of their animals. “Take care of the pigs just like you would take care of your family,” Cliff said. “Take care of the animals and feed the world, that’s what our focus should be.”

Listen to an interview with John and Cliff here: