JCCP works to advocate for pork

     With an influx of new members, and a new board, the Jones County Pork Producers (JCPP) hope to continue the traditions of advocating for pork that the organization has had in the past.

     “I think there was a lot of excitement around it,” said Adam Decker, JCPP president. “There were a lot of people who wanted to get involved and tell their story.”

     Secretary Abby Jaeger agreed: “There are a lot of us in the younger generation that were like, ‘We’re in this field, we need to advocate for it the best we can, starting on a local level.

     “We want to see Jones County be on the map as far as the hog industry. And so we were all pretty passionate about pushing forward.”

     The Jones County Pork Producers reorganized in late 2018, and there are about 25 families currently involved. They meet about every other month, offering ideas and setting goals.

     One of those goals was reached Sept. 21, when the producers sponsored the Pork-er Run, an ATV ride through several Jones County communities to raise funds for scholarships. The event drew 37 ATVs and sold more than 100 tickets.

     “I would call it a huge success,” Decker said.

     The group had talked about other ideas, including the possibility of reviving the Jones County Pork Banquet, which was last held in 2003.

     “We knew we couldn’t bite that off this year,” Jaeger said. “We had the manpower, and we had the want and the will, but we wanted to do something different this year, and something not quite to that magnitude.

     “We said, ‘Let’s kick off fall, and try something different,’ and so, Pork-er Run it was. We ran with that idea, and I think we’ll do it again. We had a lot of fun.”

     Scholarships, the producers hope, will entice youth to return to the county and work in the hog industry.

     “What we’re trying to do is invest in the hog industry, and to put money back into the education of Jones County youth,” Jaeger said. “We can encourage them to become advocates in the industry, just like we are. We want kids to feel like they can come back to Jones County and do this.”

     Grillings have also been a big part of what the JCPP is doing.

     The organization has grilled at Uptown Thursday Nights and Monti Days in Monticello, the A-Town Get Down in Anamosa, as well as grillings for the Great Jones County Fair at its kickoff party, a fair regional meeting, at the fairgrounds the day of the 4-H Swine Show, and more.

     In August, the JCPP sent 25 people to grill at the Iowa Pork Tent at the Iowa State Fair.

     The other two officers, vice president Todd Hefflefinger and treasurer Hilary Hogan, were excited to be part of the restructured JCPP board as well.

     Hefflefinger, who lives near Hale, manages a sow farm south of Prairieburg.

     “I remember when I was a kid, my dad was involved in Pork Producers, and I remember the pork banquet and stuff like that,” Hefflefinger said. “It’s a good organization to help the hog industry.”

     Hogan, originally from Centerville, married into the hog industry when she was wed to Ben Hogan.

     “We have hog barns, and I was always involved in 4-H and FFA, so this seemed like a good way to be an advocate for ag,” Hogan said. “I didn’t know many people when I moved to Jones County, so I guess it’s a good way to meet people with similar interests.”

     Ryan Toenjes, longtime and now former JCPP member, said he is encouraged by the increase in membership and the new board.

     “It was nice to have a fairly large group of young men and women who took interest in being on the pork board to help it promote pork,” Toenjes said. “This is a group of good individuals that have some good ideas, and I hope the communities in Jones County can support them.”

     Jaeger said the door is always open as far as membership, regardless of what aspect of the industry involves or interests a prospective member.

     “Even if you just like pigs,” she said. “It’s another avenue of friends.

     “We’re low-key. We’re very low maintenance. We don’t expect you to be at every meeting, but everyone wants to be here. Everyone’s excited about what we’re doing.”

     Both Decker and Jaeger said it’s a family-friendly organization.

     “Growing up, our parents were always part of organizations like this,” Jaeger said. “It wasn’t like they needed a babysitter, because we were all going.

     “So these guys (today) know our kids just as well as everyone else, because, when we go grill, our kids come with us. We do this as a family, not just as adults.”

     “It’s very family-friendly,” Decker agreed.

     Originally from Omaha, Neb., Jaeger lives on a hog farm in Worthington with her husband Shane. Being an advocate for the industry is nothing new to Jaeger; her uncle, Al Wulfekuhle, is a past president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

     Decker, originally from Bellevue, lived in the Independence area for a while and was a member of the Buchanan County Pork Producers. He moved to Hale about three years ago, and was approached to be involved in the new JCPP, and in January was elected president.

     The JCPP is active in social media (@jocopork on Facebook).

     “That’s our main way of communication,” Jaeger said. “We’re just making sure that Jones County knows that we’re here for whatever we can do, whether it’s show up at the parades, or do your weddings, or graduation parties, or anniversary parties. We’re trying to get at everything.”