Jan. 24, 2013
Contact:
Rich Degner, Executive Director
(800) 372-7675,
For Immediate Release!
2012 Honorary Master Pork Producers announced by IPPA
(CLIVE, Iowa) — The Iowa Pork Producers Association has named its Honorary Master Pork Producers for 2012.
The award was presented last night to the National Pork Board’s Ernie Barnes and Pork Magazine editor Marlys Miller at the 2013 Iowa Pork Congress Banquet in Des Moines.
Ernie Barnes
Barnes has spent much of his career coordinating programs for the national pork organizations. Heis currently the director of producer services for the National Pork Board and coordinates the Checkoff’s Operation Main Street and Neighbor-to-Neighbor programs. He also works closely with seedstock producers and youth programs.
Prior to joining the Checkoffin 2001, Barnes was the assistant vice president of the National Pork Producers Council’s Shareholder Outreach.He developed and managed the first three World Pork Expos from 1988-1990. He also initiated Pork Alliance, NPPC's allied industry program, and coordinated the program for eight years. Ernie continues to work closely with World Pork Expo. He also coordinates the Past Presidents' program, which selects the Distinguished Service Award winners each year.
Barnes has served as executive secretary for the Landrace Breed Association andprior to joining NPPC, he worked as a field representative for the Yorkshire Association, was a sales representative for the Upjohn Company and a hog buyer for Bryan Foods.
Ernie enjoys working with young people through the 4-H and FFA organizations and has been a 4-H leader for 15 years. He received the Iowa FFA Distinguished Service award in 2000 and was inducted into the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame in 2009.
Barnes earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Mississippi State University in 1974. He received the Mississippi State College of Ag Achievement Award in 2005 and was inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame in 2009.
Ernie resides near Adel with his wife, Paula. They have two children.
Marlys Miller
Miller has spent much of her life in the pork industry.
She grew up on a swine, dairy and crop farm in Southern Minnesota and showed purebred Chester White hogs in 4-H and open class competitions.That led her to additional activities such as livestock and meat judging. She also served as the first pork queen for Rice County, Minnesota, and was a finalist in the state competition. She attended the University of Minnesota, where she received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism with a minor in animal science.
Miller’s professional career has been dedicated to the pork industry, working first as a hog market analyst and writer for Professional Farmers of America in Cedar Falls. She then movedon to Des Moines where she was editor of producer publications for the National Pork Producers Council.
Miller joined the Pork Magazine editorial staff in 1987 as associate editor. In 1995, she was named editor of the magazine becoming only the second person to hold that position since the publication’s inception in 1981. Marlys left her position at Pork Magazine and Pork Networkin November 2012 to begin a freelance career focused on serving the pork and agricultural sectors. As she says: “My intention is to remain in the pork industry as that’s where my heart and soul are.”
Marlys has received several honors from the Livestock Publications Council and the American Agricultural Editor’s Association, including the Master Writer distinction. She has won seven Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards and five Certificates of Merit for editorial excellence presented by American Business Media in New York. Miller received the Minnesota Pork Board’s Distinguished Service Award in 2010.
She and her husband, Tony Smick, live in Madison, Wis., where they are active in a variety of community and city programs.
The Honorary Master Pork Producer Award is given to two people each year for their outstanding and distinguished service to the betterment and success of Iowa’s pork industry. Recipients are selected by the IPPA Board of Directors and the program is funded by the Pork Checkoff.
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