Focused on Compliance with PQA+

The JBS USA Live Pork team worked diligently in 2018 to implement multiple new animal welfare training programs and facilitate a huge push to increase PQA+ compliance. The efforts of these team members to drive improvements across the business resulted in the accomplishment of nearly all of Live Pork’s animal welfare training goals.

JBS USA Live Pork assessed 259 of its grow-finish family farm partners according to the National Pork Board’s Pork Quality Assurance Plus (PQA+) program – an increase of 26% from 2017. Additionally, 403 family farm partners and 122 JBS USA team members were PQA+ certified this year.

To date, 95.8 percent of grow-finish family farm partners have been trained according to the Live Pork Market Pig Handling Review program, 97.9 percent of sow and multiplier family farm partners have been trained according to the Needle Management Guidelines program, and 79 percent of Live Pork field staff have been trained according to the Humane Euthanasia program.

Furthermore, from June through December of 2018, the Live Pork Animal Welfare team conducted 167 hog load investigations and worked to identify the most common reasons for losses and loading improvement opportunities. Additionally, they completed 350 market load audits and assessed 120 family farm partners.

Looking forward to 2019, the Animal Welfare team intends to assess all new farms (both acquired and newly built) in January/February 2019 and hold PQA+ certifications after Missouri and Iowa Pork Grower Meetings.