Support Your Local Pork Producers....

... Because everything is better with Bacon!

It's October and it's National Pork Month. All this month listen during The Noon Show and I'll ask one question that has to do with Pork (some way, shape or form) and you can win The Illinois Pork Producers Association "Celebrating 60 Years of Service to the Pork Industry" Cookbook as well as a Gift Certificate for a Pork Product all courtesy of the Illinois Pork Producers Association.

Here are some fun facts about pork....

** Due to its similarity to human skin, pig skin is used to treat burns in humans....

** Pigs are found on every continent except Antarctica

** Pork is the world's most widely eaten meat.

** The world's largest hog was "Big Bill"... Weighing it at more than two tons, he was 5 feet tall and 9 feet long... He was a Poland China.

** A female pig that has not had babies is called a Gilt.

** A female pig that has had a litter of piglets is called a Sow.

** Since 1990, pork has become 31% leaner.

** All of these products are made from pig byproducts: Glue, Paint Brushes, Cosmetics and Linoleum.

Also, this month we're going to talk to a few Pork Producers throughout the area that are doing remarkable things. Today we talked to Steve Ringger who works for United Feeds and he and his three brothers own Gridley Meats. His family has stepped up and raised the bar for producers and people involved in agriculture. Two of Steve's brothers still own and operate a 600 sow farrow to finish operation. Here is where the raising the bar comes in to play... Steve and his brothers are taking their cull hogs and light hogs and slaughtering them in their meat locker and in return taking the processed ground pork and sausage and donating it to the Midwest Food Bank. With Steve's connections through the feed and livestock community he has arranged for several pork producers to pledge their cull and light hogs (and Gridley Meats will cover the processing) and the finished product (the ground pork and sausage) is given to Midwest Food Bank. As it is now, the Midwest Food Bank is receiving between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds of pork products a month courtesy of Gridley Meats.

Kudos to the Ringger family and stay tuned for more excellence in agriculture!

For more information email: ag@1290wirl.com

Until next time... Remember to support your local pork producers because everything IS better with bacon!!!