When I realized my September blog would fall on Labor Day this year, I immediately thought about writing something to commend the hard-working employees in our industry. From farm to fork, there’s no doubt we have a lot to thank these folks for — especially during the past six months. But that tribute will have to wait for another day, because I have something near and dear to my heart to write about — my grandpa’s 90^th birthday.

Grandpa Gene turned 90 on Sept. 1. And while we would have loved to gather around him in celebration, he spent his birthday alone, quarantined in his long-term care facility due to COVID. He recently was declared “recovered” from the virus and for this I am truly grateful. I had feared upon hearing of his infection several weeks ago that he might not see this milestone birthday. I guess his healthy farmer’s immunity served him well in fighting it off.

Grandpa is the reason that I work in agriculture. He was a Master Farmer when I was growing up, earning awards year after year for high corn and soybean yields. Despite having only an 8^th-grade education, he made row crop farming look easy. It wasn’t until I went to college and took an agronomy class that I realized all of the science Grandpa needed to understand and apply to achieve the yields represented on those award plaques.

He was also an excellent stockman. He bought me my first heifer to show at the county fair as soon as I was old enough to compete, and he and I spent the next nine years traveling around the state to various shows. We spent a lot of time just hanging out on the fence talking, too. That was where I learned the value of hard work, how important it was to be able to talk to all kinds of people, and that I could be anything I wanted if I put my mind to it. (Much to Grandma’s chagrin, I learned a few swear words, too.) It was under his guidance and example I learned the value of being straightforward, honest and authentic. He was only slightly disappointed when I ended up working with the “short-leggers,” as cattlemen sometimes call pigs.

Grandpa has dementia now. I wish we could reminisce about the steer that won the county fair, or the time that I took out a couple sections of the electric fence when I tried to back up his pickup to get out of the way of the work he was doing. I still like to tell him these stories as they provoke a smile, but I know he doesn’t remember. My memories have to be enough for both of us now. But boy, do I wish Grandpa could comprehend that the deep respect I have for all farmers, and for the knowledge and dedication they have to the land and their livestock grew from the foundation he built for me all those years ago.

This Sept. 1, I didn’t get to celebrate with Grandpa, but it was still a special day for me. It was the day our team at the National Pork Board launched our new master brand strategy, Real Pork. I plan to talk in upcoming blogs about the complexity of trying to develop a master brand for an entire industry. It has certainly been challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. For the first time, the Pork Board will market pork to consumers by including and celebrating the farm-to-fork story. We will tell the stories of our farmers in the most authentic ways possible and connect those stories to how consumers feel when they enjoy all the wonderful flavors of pork.

For me, it’s entirely fitting this effort was launched on Grandpa’s birthday. The emotional connection to agriculture that he created in me so many years ago has driven me to want to help make that connection with consumers in a way that’s true, honest and relatable. With the support of an amazing group of colleagues, it is coming to life.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Gene. Happy Birth Day, Real Pork.

What Grandpa taught me about being authentic

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