Bucyrus pork producer earns national award for environmental stewardship

BUCYRUS, Ohio – The National Pork Checkoff Board has selected Hord Livestock of Bucyrus, Ohio, to receive the 2006 Pork Industry Environmental Steward Award.
Hord Livestock and three other farms from around the country were selected to receive the award for demonstrating their commitment to protecting the environment while conducting their day-to-day activities.
Hord Livestock is an 11,000-sow operation. The Hords also operate a 4,500-acre row crop operation and a feed mill.
Practices. Pat and Janel Hord, a management team and a group of contracted producers, have partnered to form a business respected for professionalism and commitment to the environment.
Manure from the swine operations is transported to nearby fields in spring, summer and fall. Manure and soil samples are used to determine prescription variable rate programs for nutrient application.
GPS technology is used to grid and map all fields for soil sampling.
Hord Livestock has installed grassed waterways and filter strips along ditches and roads.
They have planted trees along the front of some of the farms to help dissipate odors.
To maintain good relations with the community, Hord Livestock produces a neighbor newsletter, a corporate DVD and Web site through which the company communicates with neighbors and others about their activities at the swine operation.
Criteria. The environmental stewards are selected by judges drawn from pork producers, academia and environmental organizations.
Judges look for pork producers from throughout the country who are representative of the pork industry’s commitment to minimizing its footprint on the environment.
Farms are 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 the meaning of environmental stewardship.
Award recipients will receive the recognition of their peers at the 2007 National Pork Industry Forum in Anaheim, Calif.