Posted Sept. 19, 2012

 

The Pork Checkoff, along with its cosponsor, National Hog Farmer magazine, has selected Reed Family Farms of Ottumwa to be honored as 2012 Pork Industry Environmental Stewards.

 

Ryan and Lana Reed manage a 4,800-head feeder-to-finish business on the family farm where Ryan was born and raised. They feed roughly 12,000 hogs annually for Cargill Pork, LLC.

 

Despite losing their home to fire in January, the family remains devoted to agriculture. The Reed’s three children signify the family’s sixth generation to farm in Wapello County.

 

The award, now in its 18th year, recognizes producers who demonstrate a firm commitment to safeguarding the environment and their local communities. Hog farms in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Minnesota also earned this year’s award.

 

The Pork Industry Environmental Steward award winners were selected by a panel represented by pork producers and environmental organizations. The committee reviewed applications from pork producers who are committed to upholding the ideal relationship between pork production and the environment. The applicants’ farms were evaluated on their manure management systems, water and soil conservation practices, odor-control strategies, farm aesthetics and neighbor relations, wildlife habitat promotion, innovative ideas used to protect the environment and an essay on environmental stewardship.

 

The award recipients will receive the recognition of their peers at the 2013 National Pork Industry Forum next March in Orlando, Fla.

 

The Reeds qualified for the national environmental steward award in January when the family was named 2011 Environmental Steward Award winners by the Iowa Pork Producers Association.