Bryan Black, of Ned Black & Sons, Canal Winchester, Ohio; takes over the presidency. Don Butler, director of government relations and public affairs for Murphy-Brown LLC – the livestock production subsidiary of Smithfield Foods Inc. – is president-elect; and Sam Carney, a producer from Adair, Iowa, is vice president. Each will serve a one-year term.

Mr Carney was also elected to the board for three-year terms in the producer category along with Gary Asay, from Osco, Illinois; Mark Legan, from Coatesville, Indiana and Bill Luckey, from Columbus, Nebraska. Quentin Bottorff, of Phibro Animal Health, was re-elected for a two-year term, to represent the allied industry.

NPPC CEO Neil Dierks said the board is in the hands of excellent leaders with top quality and dedicated industry representation “I know that all of them will work diligently and tirelessly on behalf of America’s pork producers,” he added.

In addition to the new officers and board members, continuing as NPPC directors are: Kathy Chinn, from Clarence, Missouri; Bob Dykhuis, from Holland, Michigan; SRC Hunt, from Wilson, North Carolina; Larry Liepold, from Okabena, Minnesota; Randy Spronk, from Edgerton, Minnesota; Doug Wolf, from Lancaster, Wisconsin; and Todd Neff, from Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, who serves as the Pork Producer Industry Council representative. Retiring president Jill Appell, of Altona, Illinois will also serve on the board .

Producers C. Ray Noecker, Ohio; E. Ray Summerlin Jr., North Carolina and Todd Wiley, from Iowa, were elected to NPPC Nominating Committee, which reviews the credentials of candidates for the organization’s board of directors.