A pork producer from northeast Indiana is stepping forward to keep a strong voice for Hoosier farmers at the national level.
“My goal, from the very start, is to do whatever I can to help bring our industry together and really make a difference in this industry,” says Alayne Johnson, who co-owns Shady Grove Farms with her husband and family near Columbia City in Whitley County—just west of Fort Wayne. She’s currently seeking a second term as a director of the National Pork Board.
Johnson served as a National Pork Board director for three years, including one year as treasurer. She also served on the Policy and Elections Committee, Research and Project Management Committee, recently chaired the Strategic Planning Task Force, and continues to serve on the Human Nutrition Task Force. The organization, which is also known as the Pork Checkoff, represents 60,000 pork producers across the U.S.
She also serves on the Indiana Pork Board of Directors and serves on the promotions committee, as well as serving as president of the Whitley County Farm Bureau—participating in many Indiana Farm Bureau activities.
Johnson tells Hoosier Ag Today how she first got involved.
“Well, I guess they asked,” she says. “It’s one of those things where you keep showing up, and you see a need for producers to continue to engage with our communities and our consumers, and help them to really understand what we’re doing. [Our family] has been so fortunate to have people with Indiana Pork and Indiana Farm Bureau show up for us and help support us and help provide resources to us. So, I really felt it was important that when they ask for help, that we show up for them too.”
The board collects the National Pork Checkoff funds and uses those dollars to implement programs of promotion, research and consumer information designed to enhance the marketing of U.S. pork and pork products.
With a track record of leadership and a focus on expanding markets at home and abroad, Johnson’s bid for another term signals a push to keep U.S. pork front and center in shaping the industry’s future.
“We want everyone to remember the new tagline, ‘Taste what pork can do.’ That’s one of our efforts right now that we’re using to drive our domestic demand. We also keeping that 30% of our product that is exported growing—and we know that by diversifying those markets, our emerging markets, it really helps us protect our position in the global space.”
So, why does Johnson want to serve a second term?
“Well, there’s more work to be done,” she says. “When I had the opportunity to throw my name back in the ring, I was really excited to be able to do that and continue the good work that’s being done.”
The National Pork Board is comprised of 15 pork producers or importers, nominated by Pork Act Delegates at the National Pork Forum and appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. The new directors will be named later this summer.
As the selection process moves forward, Johnson’s candidacy underscores the continued emphasis among industry leaders on producer engagement, market expansion and consumer outreach at a time of evolving challenges for U.S. agriculture. With global competition intensifying and domestic demand strategies taking center stage, the decision on the next slate of directors will help shape how the National Pork Board deploys checkoff resources in the years ahead.
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