Thanks to thoughtful relationship building with nutrition experts like the "Dirt Road Dietitian" Sheri Glazier, Oklahoma Pork has expanded our reach the last few years to connect with registered dietitians and other nutrition professionals to promote the many benefits of pork to broader audiences.

Recently, Oklahoma Pork board member Cathy Vaughan, executive director Kylee Deniz, and digital content creator Shay Stegmann took advantage of one of these unique opportunities by spending the day with registered dietitians as they learned more about Oklahoma agriculture in Tulsa. The GROWN Conference brought more than 20 diet and nutrition professionals together to learn about commercial pork production, cook a pork meal alongside a professional chef, tour a lettuce farm, visit a coffee roastery, and more. GROWN's slogan of "Where Oklahoma's agriculture and nutrition experts meet" proved true throughout the day where our Oklahoma Pork leaders got to advocate and bond with this health-focused group.

For Cathy, two of the most interesting parts of Oklahoma Pork's day at GROWN were fielding unique questions from this group of food experts with little agriculture knowledge and seeing how many similarities exist between modern pork production and hydroponic lettuce farming. GROWN serves as a great reminder to us all that there are always new opportunities to teach and always new opportunities to learn as well.

A heartfelt thanks to Cathy and our Oklahoma Pork staff members for representing our industry well at the 2025 GROWN Conference. Check out more from the Dirt Road Dietitian here.