John C. Howard Inducted in the NC Pork Hall of Fame

John C. Howard Jr. was recenty inducted into the N.C Pork Hall of Fame, the pork industry's highest honor.  Howard, a Deep Run hog farmer who has spent more than a half century building J.C. Howard Farms into one of the state’s largest pork producers was presented the award by the N.C. Pork Council.As a young boy in Lenoir County, Howard developed a strong affection for animals. He was active in 4-H and recalls the pride he felt showing a steer that he was certain would earn a blue ribbon. He lost that competition and decided to turn his attention to pigs. It was a passion that has lasted more than sixty years - and the North Carolina pork industry is much better for it.Howard’s family has deep roots in Deep Run. His grandparents started farming the land more than a century ago, raising hogs and growing tobacco, cotton and other crops. Soon after graduating from N.C. State in 1962, Howard and his wife returned home to the family business. He brought with him new methods for raising hogs and was among the first farmers to embrace the integration of the pork industry in the 1990s. Today, J.C. Howard Farms has more than 18,000 sows.Howard has been an active supporter of the pork industry and his local community. He was appointed by President Reagan to serve on the National Commission on Agricultural Policy and also served on the N.C. Board of Agriculture. He received the N.C. Pork Council’s Outstanding Pork Producer award in 1988.“It’s a great honor to be inducted in the N.C. Pork Hall of Fame,” Howard said. He thanked his family, friends, employees, growers and suppliers for enabling him to be a successful pork producer and said he hopes future generations will carry on the family business.The impact Howard has had on the North Carolina pork industry is profound. His passion for hogs has turned into a legacy for future generations. There are many in the industry who are thankful for his contributions, leadership, drive, and love of pigs.  Congratulations to Mr. Howard on this well-deserved honor!

Gaye Crowther Recognized as NC Oustanding Pork Producer

Meet Gaye Crowther, a family farmer from Tabor City. Gaye recently received North Carolina’s Outstanding Pork Producer award, which recognizes industry leaders for exceptional management and outstanding contributions to the state’s pork industry. The NC Pork Council honored her with this award.If you've ever visited Gaye's farm, it will be of no surprise that she truly is an outstanding pork producer. Not only does she work hard every day to run the farm to it's full potential, but she is passionate about her farm and all the animals on it. She loves it.Although she grew up as a city girl, Crowther always had a deep love for animals. Shortly after graduating from Auburn University, she moved to North Carolina to work for Murphy Farms and managed the company’s first 1,000-sow farrow-to-feeder farm.“Gaye is an exceptional pork producer who represents our industry well,” said Andy Curliss, chief executive officer of the NC Pork Council. “She is dedicated to promoting the industry and always looking for ways to make it stronger.”Gaye started Seawright Farms, a 3,400-sow farrow-to-wean farm, in 1993 and Sea Gro, a 2,000-sow farrow-to-feeder farm, in 2004. In addition, she operates Sea Blu, a 40-acre blueberry farm, and runs a 100 head cow-calf operation.She has been actively involved with the pork industry at the local, state and national level, including the N.C. Pork Council and the National Pork Producers Council. She currently serves on the N.C. Pork Council board of directors and the Grower Council for the Smithfield Hog Production Division.“I’m grateful to be part of an industry that has such great leadership and so many growth opportunities,” Gaye said.Congratulations to Gaye! She certainly deserves to be recognized for her many years of hard work both on the farm and for the hog industry.*Photos originally appeared in the NC Pork Report

Let's Shoot Straight Mr Dove

The Waterkeepers leader in North Carolina, Rick Dove, just posted a comment on Farm Families’ Facebook page, and he doesn’t like our video Eighteen Years Ago.Our video tells the story of what happened, almost twenty years ago, when Mrs. Elsie Herring complained about a hog farmer spraying too close to her home: How the company investigated her complaint, agreed with her, moved the farmer’s irrigation equipment and planted a wide buffer of trees between her home and the farmer’s field.That happened almost twenty years ago. But, a few months ago, one of the Waterkeepers’ allies reported, on its website, the farmer was spraying too close to Mrs. Herring’s house now.We made a video to set the record straight. And Rick Dove didn’t like that. He claimed our video was “alternative facts.” Here’s the video so you can judge for yourself:

Not long ago, Rick Dove had a problem with ‘alternative facts’ himself.The morning after Hurricane Matthew, Dove set out to spin a story to the press about an environmental disaster – and blame it on hog farmers. So he climbed into an airplane to fly over flooded farms to take photographs.We know now, according to state records, only one half of one percent of the lagoons on hog farms were inundated during the floods. One other lagoon on a shuttered hog farm (that hasn’t had a hog on it in five years) had two minor ‘breaches.’

In all, on 99.5% of the hog farms, nothing happened to harm the environment. But that wasn’t the picture Rick Dove and the Waterkeepers wanted to paint. So he resorted to a ruse: He posted nine pictures, all taken from a plane, all taken at different angles, of one flooded farm. But he didn’t explain, This is one farm. He posted four pictures of another farm, two of another, four of another. Dove even posted a picture of a flooded municipal waste treatment plant in Hookerton and called it a hog farm.Dove then spun his story to the press. The Washington Post even published Rick Dove’s photo of a flooded municipal waste treatment facility in Hookerton and called it a hog farm.Those were “alternative facts.” And Rick Dove hasn’t set the record straight.