Wiechman Pig recognized with induction
Wiechman Pig Company of Fremont was a unanimous selection recently for induction into the Voluntary Checkoff Hall of Fame.
The Nebraska Pork Producers Association made the announcement last week following the its third annual Pork Industry Day Feb. 24 at Lincoln’s Cornhusker Hotel.
Youth leadership and events specialist Kyla Wize said the Hall of Fame recognizes people who advocate for Nebraska’s pork producers on key issues including trade, food safety, environment and animal health.
Wiechman, as a collection point, collects mandatory and voluntary checkoff dollars and submits them to the National Pork Board.
The company, headquartered in Fremont, has 13 locations throughout the Midwest and is the largest exporter of live hogs to Mexico. Wiechman purchases and markets more than 1.5 million hogs a year in the United States and exports 60 million to 70 million pounds of meat products to Mexico each year, said Leo Hansen, general manager.
“The meat products would be the equivalent of about 350,000 live animals,” he said.
Pork products also are exported to Guatemala and Honduras.
Wiechman finds markets for swine through more than 50 niche needs across the country. While the Mexican connection accounts for 27 percent of Wiechman’s business volume, manager Steve Riley said the niche markets are an example of the company’s mantra of getting the rights pigs to the right customers.
“We are very customer oriented,” Riley said. “We deal with small producers as well as corporate farms. The majority of pigs we have aren’t the same kind that a Hormel or a Tyson would have; they’re almost everything else.”
Certain markets, Riley went on, want certain breeds and sizes of pigs that don’t necessarily fit the slaughter house template. Wiechman has been able to find those pigs and match them with customers.
“When a farmer sells a pig, we take 45 cents per hundred dollars value out of the farmer’s check and send it to the National Pork Board,” Riley said. “Those funds are used to sponsor pork promotions, farm promotions, educational promotions and research.”
“There’s also a special voluntary fund,” Hansen added. “We collect that for people who want to sign up for the voluntary checkoff.”
Voluntary checkoff money can be used for nondiscretionary spending outside the guidelines for mandatory checkoff funds, such as sending members of the national organization on an educational trip, Hansen said.
“Obviously, promotion of the pork industry in Nebraska is quite important because that’s our livelihood, and we believe in promoting our own industry through support and collecting funds, and doing all the things we can do,” he said.
Wiechman sponsors various activities for pork producers and is involved in 4-H and county fairs, Riley said.
Hansen said the Hall of Fame award was group’s way of “showing some recognition for ongoing work we do with the Nebraska Pork Producers.
