Pork Industry Benefits from Data Sharing

Big data has been an ongoing concern for many U.S. farmers and ranchers over the years. Pork producers, in particular, have been under the gun for traceability standards, requiring a healthy amount of data to be shared from each operation. While the notion can seem daunting, if not risky for pig farmers, the new chief sustainability officer at the National Pork Board (NPB) says data can help measure and document continuous improvement efforts that benefit the entire industry.

NPB started a pilot project in 2019 to collect and track data and is already seeing trends. Whether collecting data that define trends in sustainability to build consumer trust or highlights areas of improvement for pig farmer profitability, the impact of data, according to some pork producers, exceeds the initial data-sharing hesitation.

Read more on how data support the pork industry here.