Photo courtesy of Jay Fultz Jay Fultz works with the pigs at Fultz Farms in rural Tracy. This spring, Fultz was one of four new members elected to the Minnesota Pork Executive Board of Directors.

TRACY — Minnesota pork producers face a variety of challenges, but there have also been positive developments in the industry, too. That was why it was important for farmers to make their voices heard, Jay Fultz said.

“We need to have a voice, and we need to get our story out,” Fultz said.

In February, Fultz was one of four new members elected to a three-year term on the Minnesota Pork Executive Board of Directors, during a joint annual meeting including members of the Minnesota Pork Board and the Minnesota Pork Producers Association. The board represents a variety of pig farms around Minnesota.

Fultz said part of the reason he’s become more involved with the Pork Board was because pork producers needed to be able to tell their own stories. Last year, Fultz was invited on a trip to Washington, D.C., to talk with members of Congress about issues facing pork producers. He said the experience helped give him perspective on the pork industry nationwide, and made him want to try and make a difference.

“I realized that my little bubble in Tracy, Minnesota was very narrow,” Fultz said.

Jay’s grandfather started the Fultz family farm on land east of Tracy in 1948.

“We were farrow to finish,” Fultz said. In 1996, the Fultzes bought into Pipestone systems. “That really allowed our operation to grow.”

Today, Jay works together with his father Dennis, his uncle Eric and Eric’s sons James and Brian at Fultz Farms. Fultz Farms finishes about 60,000 pigs a year. The Fultz family also grow corn and soybeans for feed.

Pork farmers face a variety of challenges at the national level, Fultz said. Some of those challenges are legislative.

“Getting the Farm Bill done would be nice,” Fultz said. “That’s probably the biggest issue right now that would affect everybody.”

The Farm Bill includes programs that impact pork producers, including funding for research programs to protect livestock health, and programs like the Beagle Brigade, which has canine teams that help detect animal diseases at U.S. ports of entry.

The pork industry is also calling for a federal response to state laws like California’s Proposition 12, a law which requires pork products sold in the state to come from pigs raised with minimum housing space requirements, Fultz said. The state of Massachusetts also has a similar law requiring pork to come from pigs raised in a certain amount of space, he said.

“What we’re asking the federal government to do is have a standard rule,” Fultz said.

International trade is an ongoing issue of importance to farmers. About one-third of the pork produced in the U.S. is exported to other countries. “We would like to see more international markets open to U.S. pork,” Fultz said.

Protecting against foreign animal diseases is another ongoing concern for pork producers.

“Biosecurity is a big thing in the industry as a whole,” Fultz said. Pigs aren’t only at risk from animal diseases, he explained. They can also get sick from germs spread by humans. “Pigs’ immune systems and human immune systems are very similar,” Fultz said. One disease that is a concern for American pork producers is African swine fever, a disease that is deadly to pigs. This disease has not been detected in the U.S., although it has been found in nearby countries like Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

“That one’s kind of scary,” Fultz said. If African swine fever makes it to the U.S., it would not only affect farms, but it would also have an impact on pork imports and exports, he said.

Fultz said the USDA has been working to prevent the spread of African swine fever, and to educate American producers.

Labor is another concern for pork producers. Immigration issues on a national level have made it harder for foreign agricultural workers to get visas, he said. “That’s been a topic for years,” Fultz said.

One aspect of labor concerns in southwest Minnesota is transportation, Fultz said. While southwest Minnesota pork farmers are fortunate to have a number of meat processing facilities in the region, they also need truckers to transport pigs, and truckers in the region are getting older, he said.

Mental health is a concern for Minnesota farmers, Fultz said.

However, Fultz said there were also positives for the pork industry in recent years, from better animal nutrition to a focus on more sustainable agriculture.

Within the past decade, there have been improvements in corn and soybean genetics, that has made feed sources for pigs become more drought and pest-resistant, he said. “That has helped farmers immensely.” At the same time, Fultz said, there have also been been improvements in knowledge of the kind of nutrition pigs need.

Pork producers in southwest Minnesota have also been working to conserve water, and help preserve water and soil quality. Fultz said variable rate manure application helps more efficiently fertilize fields and improve feed crops.

“A lot of farmers are doing more with renewable energy,” Fultz said. Using renewable energy sources is not only good for the environment, but helps reduce energy costs for pork farmers.

When it comes to farm operations, “There has been a lot of work on the environmental front,” Fultz said.