Industry News Former OPC President elected to Ohio Agriculture Hall of Fame As one of four Ohioans to receive the honor, former board member and president of the Ohio Pork Council, Randy Brown, was named to the 2021 class of the Ohio Agricultural Council Hall of Fame. Brown will join Monte Anderson, Tim Corcoran, and Keith Stimpert as members of this year’s class of inductees, joining a group of more than 240 recipients dating back to 1966. A native of Nevada, Ohio, Brown has been highly involved in the pork industry for over four decades. During that time, Randy has worked alongside his dad, David, his brother, Tom, and his son, Kyle, to continue the legacy of their family farm, Maken Bacon Farm. Throughout his tenure in the pork industry, Brown has maintained a high level of involvement at the local, state and national levels. Locally, Brown has served as the President of the Wyandot County Pork Producers. At the state level, Brown has served as the President of the Ohio Pork Council (OPC), and on the Awards, Budget, Executive and Scholarship committees. Additionally, Randy has served on the Ohio Livestock Coalition. Nationally, Brown has served on the National Pork Board (NPB), where he served on the Producer Services, Environmental, Domestic Marketing and Audit committees, the NPB Plan of Work and Budget Task Force, and the Environmental Stewards sub-committee during his six-year term. He also was appointed to the U.S. Pork Center of Excellence Board of Directors. In addition to these involvements, Brown has participated in numerous promotional and educational programs within the pork industry Ohio Porkline | www.OhioPork.org 6
– such as NPB’s Operation Main Street Program, in which he has reached over a thousand people through his speaking engagements since 2005. He has also hosted many students, media, legislators and key leaders on his farm for personal tours, including members of the Ohio House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. In 2005, Maken Bacon Farm received NPB’s National Environmental Stewardship Award. Additionally, Brown was awarded OPC’s Pork Industry Excellence Award in 2012 for his passion to promote Ohio’s pork industry. Brown, Anderson, Corcoran, and Stimpert will be inducted in the OAC Hall of Fame on Friday, August 6, 2021.
2021 Ohio State Fair Updates and Information After two years of waiting and deliberation, the Ohio State Fair will return to Columbus in 2021, with a bit of a twist. Unlike years prior, the 2021 Ohio State Fair will not be open to the general public. Instead, it will focus on the educational and agricultural side of the festivities, giving 4-H and FFA exhibitors an opportunity to enjoy what they have worked so hard to achieve. At this time, livestock and educational competitions will begin on Monday, July 19, and will conclude on Sunday, August 8 at the fairgrounds, with exhibitors, family members, and guests permitted to enter. For 2021, the Ohio Pork Council’s food stand will be located under the pavilion next to the Dairy Products Building, south of Taft Coliseum. OPC will be serving their famous pork dishes beginning Monday, July 26 until the conclusion of the fair on August 8.
