Rosie on The House: October Is Pork Month!
Author
Published
10/6/2024
October is typically a month dedicated to celebrating pork, a flavorful protein that shines during events like Oktoberfest. These celebrations highlight the significance of this vital meat.
In light of October and Arizona's pork industry, we focused on this topic during the “Farm Fresh” hour on Rosie on the House, featuring Kevin Gary Rogers as our guest. Kevin works for ShowRite Feeds and has his own show pig business, Rogers Livestock.
You can listen to the entire show, commercial-free, at the end of this article. Meanwhile, enjoy some interesting facts about pork below.
Arizona and General Pork Facts
- Arizona has one major commercial pork farm, several direct-market pork farms and a few small farms designed to raise pigs for 4-H and FFA kids.
- According to the USDA, The Arizona Pork Industry gross cash receipts value can run anywhere from $45 million to $65 million.
- An estimated 600 jobs are involved in various aspects of the Arizona pork value chain ranging from input suppliers to producers, to processors and handlers as well as main street businesses that benefit from purchases by people in these industries, according to an industry report by the National Pork Producers Council.
- Overall, an estimated $46.84 million of personal income and $79.78 million of gross national product are supported by the Arizona Pork Industry based on 2023 levels of production, according to an industry report by the National Pork Producers Council.
- Hog inventories in Arizona have varied over time, increasing from 145,000 in 1997 to 180,000 in 2011, then trending downward to 109,000 in December 2023, according to an industry report by the National Pork Producers Council.
Overall Pork Facts
- Pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world.
- Pork has more protein than chicken and is high in zinc, iron and B-vitamins.
- Over a third of the fat in bacon is the same as the healthy fat found in olive oil, which is known to lower cholesterol levels.
- Insulin and about 40 other medicines are made from pigs.
- In fact, pig heart valves can be used to replace damaged human heart valves.
- Pigs are among the smartest animals in the world. They can learn tricks and commands, recognize their own names and use tools.
- Pigs are generally clean animals and will avoid defecating where they sleep or eat. However, they do have a reputation for being dirty because they roll around in mud to cool off in warm weather.
- Pigs don't sweat much because they have very few sweat glands.
- Baby pigs are called piglets. They weigh about 2.5 pounds when they’re born, and they’ll double their weight within the first week. Newborn piglets can recognize their mother’s voices, and they’ll run to her when she calls.
- A pig’s best sense is in its snout. Pigs don’t have great vision, but they make up for it with an impressive sense of smell. In the wild, pigs can use their snouts to sniff out tasty tubers and roots in the forest floor. Truffle hunters will bring pigs with them to help them root out the valuable and delicious truffles, which are a fungi.
- Those squeaks and grunts are not just noise. Pigs communicate with each other using grunts that can be matched to emotions like excitement, happiness, fear, or stress.
- European settlers brought pigs to America, and pork has been a staple in the United States ever since.
- In fact, salt pork was a key staple food for Washington’s troops at Valley Forge in the winter of 1776 to 1777.
- A pig’s squeal can range from 110 to 115 decibels, a Concorde jet is usually under 112 decibels.
- Pigs can run a 7-minute mile.
- Swine were among the first animals to be domesticated.
- Are there hormones in pork? All animals, including humans, naturally produce hormones that are needed for normal growth and functioning. Federal law does not permit the use of added hormones in swine production, therefore pork products in the United States do not contain added hormones.
- Pigs grow fast because they eat a good diet. For a pig to reach 250 pounds, it will eat 600 pounds of corn and 100 pounds of soybean meal.
- There are more than 500 different types of important things besides meat that come from pigs. Examples of pig by-products are chewing gum, animal feeds, leather, glue, combs, buttons, plastics, paintbrushes, plywood, adhesive, insulation, upholstery, cosmetics, antifreeze, cellophane, floor waxes, cement, crayons, chalk, matches, putty, and linoleum.