McDonald’s Japanese pork buyers visit Fair Oaks Farms

FAIR OAKS, Ind. — Indiana Pork and Legacy Farms hosted two pork buyers from McDonald’s Japan on their recent visit to Fair Oaks Farms and Belstra Milling.

Indiana Pork representative Jeanette Merritt welcomed Kentaro Wantanabe, McDonald’s Japan Supply Chain buyer, and Maki Sugiyama, McDonald’s Japan Pork Supply Chain lead, as well as Norman Bessac, global pork director with Fulton Market Group, to Fair Oaks Farms.

The Pork Education Center at Fair Oaks gives visitors an up-close view of modern farming practices at its working pig farm.

Malcolm DeKryger, president of Belstra Milling, gave a tour of the farm and answered questions about animal husbandry, product consistency, pig diets and the different types of barn housing that Hoosier pig farmers use.

Earlier this spring, Indiana pork farmers attended a U.S. Meat Export Federation conference in Kansas City.

“Indiana Pork pays an annual membership to USMEF and tries to make sure that someone represents our state at each conference,” Merritt said.

“Joe Baldwin and Josh Trenary represented Indiana Pork at this meeting. Pork specific updates at the meeting included pork demand in Japanese foodservice, Caribbean efforts to educate consumers on how to grill U.S. pork, a new campaign for U.S. pork in Central America and an update from an exporter’s point of view from Seaboard Foods.”