Coming off a year marred by drought in much of the country and higher input costs faced by virtually all producers, the theme this year focuses on how producers' investment in their Pork Checkoff can help them navigate through difficult times.

From product marketing that increases demand at home and abroad, to animal and food-safety research that assures high-quality pork products, to education programmes that help producers continuously improve, the Checkoff continues to be a great resource for all pork producers, the Pork Board says.

"Pork producers are justifiably proud of the food we produce. We also are committed to getting better - from producing safer meat to improving our environmental practices; to adopting new techniques that help us take better care of our animals. We continue each day to look for ways to improve and to build a better tomorrow," said a spokesman.

This year's Pork Industry Forum promises some other interesting news. Producer Delegates will get a report on how your Checkoff responded to 2012 Delegates' request for action on the sow housing issue.

Delegates also will hear how the new marketing campaign designed to refresh and reinvigorate the image of pork in the minds of U.S. consumers is doing. They will also be the first to see a new television commercial scheduled to begin airing this spring.

There will also be a report on progress in the industry's We Care initiative designed to build consumer trust in the way we produce pork. A key component of the We Care initiative is producer participation in the PQA Plus® and PQA Plus Site Assessment programs. Three years ago, Pork Act Delegates adopted an advisement whereby all delegates were to "commit to completing PQA Plus certification and to conduct on-farm assessments of each site in order to achieve Site Status."

Following the Producer Update Session will be a brief "Meet the Candidate" segment, in which the candidates for seats on the National Pork Board, National Pork Board Nominating Committee and NPPC Board will be introduced.

The forum will be held from 7-9 March at The Peabody Orlando Hotel in Orlando, Florida.