If you have spent much time with the Oklahoma Pork Council, you know recruiting the next generation of pork producers ranks toward the very top of our priority list. During the past few weeks, our organization enjoyed two fun-filled opportunities to start that recruiting early for a critical role within our industry: veterinary medicine.
Over the past three years, the Oklahoma Pork Council has refined our role assisting with the Oklahoma State Fair and Tulsa State Fair "ExpOSUre: Livestock Docs" workshops led by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF), the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine (OSU-CVM), and the Oklahoma Veterinary Medicine Association (OVMA). "ExpOSUre" aims to connect mostly elementary and middle school students attending the fairs with several hands-on activities to spark their interest in animal health careers like veterinary medicine.
For the Oklahoma Pork Council, the ExpOSUre workshops have also served as the perfect platforms to engage with a broad audience of children about important topics like swine biosecurity, commercial production careers, and our organization's role serving Oklahoma's pork producers. Between the Oklahoma City workshop earlier this month and the one held today at the Tulsa State Fair, this Oklahoma Pork education pitch has been heard by almost 100 young people with a passion for livestock - many of whom have not otherwise connected with Oklahoma Pork.