Earlier this week, the Oklahoma Pork Council celebrated one of our favorite days of the year: Oklahoma Agriculture Day at the State Capitol. Led by our friends at 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.

This year, the Oklahoma Pork Council worked with Butcher Stand Barbecue out of Wellston to serve 85 pounds of mouth-watering "pork belly burnt ends" while our ODAFF friends debuted an impressive Oklahoma-themed charcuterie table inspired by our past pork giveaways. In total, Oklahoma Pork's continual-crowd-favorite booth distributed close to 500 meaty pork snacks to legislators, staff, and Capitol visitors. Additionally, we shared hundreds of Oklahoma Pork giveaways branded under our new "Proud to Provide" image campaign and a fun "Boar'n to be Wild" promotional campaign, both designed by our talented Shay Stegmann.

Oklahoma Pork leaders Tom Layne, Travis Vaughan, Cathy Vaughan, Hannah Bevins, Dr. Suzanne Genova, Roy Cansler, and Joe Popplewell used leading our booth as an opportunity to make Oklahoma pig farmers approachable to the public. As folks inquired about the delicious BBQ and our fun new swag, we got a moment to share pork's story in a relatable, bite-sized way. Oklahoma Pork's soon-to-be summer intern Rachel Swinford also kindly joined us to promote pork in the scenic State Capitol Rotunda. All together, our passionate crew of pork industry Ag Day volunteers made an impressive impact.

A big thank you to our members who represented Oklahoma's pork producers at this exciting event, and an even bigger thank you to our members who produce a quality product that is easy to celebrate!