Nominate An FFA Member Today!

Culver’s has launched an FFA Ambassador Program. This is a new initiative that allows guests to nominate standout FFA members in their communities to represent Culver’s and their chapter, and earn prizes.

The program is the latest chapter in Culver’s longstanding relationship with FFA. Culver’s partners with the organization through its Thank You Farmers® Project, an initiative that aims to advocate for the positive impact of agriculture while investing in agricultural education to create a more resilient and sustainable world. Recently celebrating a decade of the program’s existence, Culver’s has donated over $5 million to agricultural causes through the Thank You Farmers Project since its founding.

In the contest, guests can nominate an FFA member who is doing outstanding work for their chapter and

their community. The nominator will answer three questions about why their chosen member should

become an ambassador:

1. Why would your nominee be a good representative for their FFA chapter, their community and Culver’s?
2. Why does your nominee deserve to become an ambassador?
3. Does your nominee’s FFA chapter work with a Culver’s restaurant, and if so, which one? (Optional)

Nominations are due

March 15!

What Are the Stakes if We Fail to Make Progress in Biosecurity?

Is the U.S. pork industry making progress in the area of biosecurity? Derald Holtkamp, DVM and professor in the Department of Veterinary Diagnostics and Production Animal Medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University, says it depends on how you measure progress. 

“If you measure progress by the number of things we are doing, then yes, we are making progress in biosecurity. If you measure results, however, I think the answer is no,” Holtkamp said during the biosecurity seminar at the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn. 

He says the incidence of outbreaks caused by porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in sow farms remains persistently high. Lateral introductions of viruses and pathogens into groups of growing pigs continue to occur at a high frequency and wean-to-market mortality is high and increasing. In short, the health of pigs is not improving, Holtkamp says. 

World Championship Cheese Contest Underway

A friendly competition between the world’s best cheesemakers helps move more dairy products in the marketplace, but what makes a cheese the champion? 

Tim Czmowski was the Assistant Chief Judge at the recent World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin. He tells Brownfield the first thing every judge looks at is the package and appearance, looking for any defects. Then, they’ll take a core sample to judge appearance, body, texture, and flavor. “I like to work it up in my fingers and get it warm because then, the aroma comes and the last thing we do is taste it. Most times, experienced judges can just about tell what the flavor is going to be based on the touch, feel, and the aroma.”

Czmowski says each cheese starts with 100 points, and deductions start with a tenth of a point. “For a very slight defect, we’ll take point one to point five off. A slight defect will be point-six up to one point, and then a definite, we go from one to two and a half points.”

Equity Cooperative Livestock Sales Association

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