Interacting with Pig Production: The Maschhoffs Launches Farm-to-Table Experience

CARLYLE, ILLINOIS (August 1, 2018) — It’s not every day that public audiences get to interact with pigs and the people who raise them. To help bridge that gap, The Maschhoffs recently created the Farm-to-Table Experience to explain the process of raising a pig from start to finish. The interactive digital tool was officially launched on August 1, 2018 at a stakeholder event at the Company’s headquarters.

“Today, less than 2% of the U.S. population is working in agriculture,” says Dr. Bradley Wolter, President of The Maschhoffs. “Many people have no connection to who produced the food they eat. The map will serve as a tool on The Maschhoffs’ website for consumer audiences to learn more about what goes into raising the pork they buy. We have a huge opportunity to share our story with consumers, and it’s one to be proud of.”

Pork producers like The Maschhoffs have been large contributors to the growth of the industry over the last 50 years. According to the National Pork Board, U.S. pork production has nearly doubled in that timeframe while using 78% less land and 41% less water per pound of pork produced – reducing the carbon footprint by 35%. Advancement in areas like genetics, nutrition and resource management have been large contributors to this.

“Even if you work in a barn every day, you likely don’t realize all the support functions that make it possible to raise a pig such as feed mills, health services, nutrition, environmental services, accounting, animal care, marketing and logistics, etc.,” adds Wolter. “The Farm-to-Table Experience brings all these functions together to provide a ‘big picture’ explanation on how The Maschhoffs raises pigs.”

The “north” side of the road highlights the production process while the “south” side of the road focuses on the functions that support raising high-quality pigs. The user can drag to different “hot spots” on the map to click in and learn more. Each spot has an explanation of the area as well as corresponding pictures and captions to tell the full story. This interactive set-up enables the user get as in-depth as they want to learn about the process.

“The interactive nature of this tool provides the user the chance to be in control of their experience,” Associate Director of Communication and People Projects Josh Flint says. “With this Farm-to-Table Experience, users can gain a deep understanding of how we produce enough pork to feed 16 million people each year. We are extremely pleased with the result and are looking forward to seeing the value this map brings to our business as well as the pork industry.”

To view the map and to learn more about The Maschhoffs visit www.themaschhoffs.com/process.