In the small town of Clinton, North Carolina, pig farmer James Lamb is the living embodiment of the old TV sitcom Cheers' theme song, "Where Everybody Knows Your Name." With a population of around 8,300, nearly everyone in the town knows James Lamb—in part because his farming family has been embedded in the community for decades, and in part due to his mindset of working to improve the natural resources he’s been entrusted with for future generations in Clinton and beyond.
Farmers and ranchers are often called stewards of the land because of their close connection to it. They hold true to the belief that they can and must enhance natural resources to protect the environment, while simultaneously producing food for a growing population.
For the Mensink family, farming and preserving the natural resources under their care has been a part of their daily life since they began their family farm in Preston, Minnesota in 1981.
Technological advancements continue to shift the pork industry. While not new to producers, data is integral to furthering sustainable pork farming. Producers are experienced in recording data on various aspects of their operations — feed use, litter size, rate of gain and the list goes on — to ensure they run efficient and cost-effective operations.
Reducing antimicrobial resistance in pigs is a major concern. So much so, there’s an organization dedicated solely to addressing the worldwide problem — and a yearly gathering to share research and further the cause with partnering universities including University of California Davis (UC Davis), Wageningen University & Research, University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University and Aalborg University.
