Posted March 6, 2012

An Iowan serving on the National Pork Producers Council Board of Directors has been elected vice president of the organization.

Dr. Howard Hill, a pork producer and veterinarian from Cambridge, was elected to a one-year term at the group’s annual business meeting – the National Pork Industry Forum – held in Denver March 1-3.

“Howard has been a strong leader in the U.S. pork industry and brings that leadership and knowledge of pork industry issues, particularly ones related to animal health and well-being, to his new position as vice president of NPPC,” said NPPC CEO Neil Dierks. “He is a valuable asset to U.S. pork producers.”

Hill is the director of animal well-being for Iowa Select Farms, an Iowa-based pork production company. He has been with Iowa Select since 2000, when he joined the company as director of production. In 2001, he was promoted to chief operating officer, continuing in that role until 2009.

His pork production business, H&K Enterprises, includes hogs and cattle, and Hill and his son farm 2,600 acres of corn, soybeans and alfalfa.

A native of southern California, Hill earned his bachelor’s and doctorate of veterinary medicine (DVM) degrees from the University of California-Davis. After graduation, he was a mixed animal practitioner in southern California for a year and a half. Hill received his master’s degree and Ph. D. in veterinary microbiology from Iowa State University.

Hill, who serves on a number of NPPC committees, last year was one of nine veterinarians appointed to serve on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Animal Health. He is an NPPC representative on the Iowa Pork Producers Association Board of Directors and also a member of the Story County Pork Producers. Hill is past president of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians and he’s involved with the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association.