Earlier this week, the Oklahoma Pork Council got to celebrate one of our favorite days of the year: Oklahoma Agriculture Day at the State Capitol. Led by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF), Ag Day brings together hundreds of agricultural advocates to showcase our state's diverse food and fiber system while educating policymakers during the legislative session.
Building on the continued success of our build-your-own pork charcuterie station, this year the Oklahoma Pork Council worked with a new charcuterie vendor called "SAVOR OKC" to offer a jaw-dropping selection of bacon on a stick, ham, prosciutto, salami, chicharrones, a variety of other pork products, cheese, fruits and sweets. In total, Oklahoma Pork's crowd-favorite booth distributed more than 300 pork-focused snacks to legislators, staff, and Capitol visitors. Additionally, we distributed more than 1,000 Oklahoma Pork giveaways like "The Year of Youth in Ag" tote bags, "Life is hard, bacon helps" socks, stickers, squishy pigs, and more.
Oklahoma Pork board members Joe Locke, Tom Layne, Dr. Suzanne Genova, Roy Cansler, Cathy Vaughan, and Dr. Donna Drebes used serving at our booth as an opportunity to educate visitors about Oklahoma's incredible pork industry. As folks hand-picked their delicious pork snacks from our charcuterie spread, we got a moment to share pork's story in an approachable, bite-sized way. Tyson producer Hannah Trujillo and Oklahoma Pork's soon-to-be summer interns Chyann Emerson and Ethan Drake also kindly joined us to promote pork in the scenic State Capitol Rotunda. All together, this biggest-ever crew of pork industry Ag Day volunteers made an impressive impact serving our industry.
Highlights from Ag Day 2025 included: sharing framed photos from the Oklahoma Youth Expo (OYE) Legislative Show with several policymakers who chose to show pigs; an interesting meeting with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Casey Murdock about pork priorities this session; and, listening into the official Agricultural Day proclamation on the House of Representatives floor.
Thank you to our members who represented Oklahoma's pork producers at this exciting event, and thank you to our members who produce a quality product that is easy to celebrate!