Premium Standard Farms Takes Gold Medal
From PSF
Perspective --Premium
Standard Farms was recently awarded a Gold Medal Taste Award from the
American Tasting Institute during a ceremony at Carnegie Hall. Premium
Standard Farms natural, fresh premium pork was awarded the Gold Medal
based on excellent ratings in these categories; appearance, freshness
and taste. Judging is based on product attributes by a panel of
professional chefs from the American Tasting Institute.
"Taste
is the top consideration when awarding a Gold Medal," said S. Patrick
Finney, Culinary Director for the American Tasting Institute. "Good
taste is what brings people back for more."
Headquartered
in San Francisco, the Awards of the Americas spends countless hours
researching every aspect of the food and beverage industry to provide
the most comprehensive and objective judgings possible. These judgings
are carefully monitored to ensure a fair, objective evaluation from
certified chefs. The goal is to harness the expertise and experience of
some of the most respected chefs in America to guide consumers and
foodservice operators to the best of the best in the culinary industry.
 |
| Premium
Standard Farms' natural, fresh premium pork was given the Gold Medal
Taste Award by the American Tasting Institute during a ceremony in New
York. Pictured from left, Frank Wullenwaber, Premium Standard Farms,
East Coast Regional Sales Manager of Food Service; Chef Moses Cruz,
Adam's Mark-Houston; and Charlie Arnot, Premium Standard Farms Vice
President, Communications and Public Affairs. |
"The
Gold Medal from the American Tasting Institute is a great
accomplishment for us," said Bo Manly, Premium Standard Farms
President. "All of our people should be very proud. Everything we do at
Premium Standard Farms is key in delivering excellent fresh pork
day-in-day-out."
As a vertically integrated pork producer, Premium Standard Farms is able
to control every aspect from the initial genetic makeup to the final
product. Premium Standard Farms was the first pork processor to earn
the U.S. Department of Agriculture Process Verified certification.
"The quality, variety and great taste of Premium Standard Farms' products
are a perfect match for today's healthier diets," added Bo. "Everything
we do at Premium Standard Farms is critical to deliver the highest
quality and best tasting pork to our customers around the world."
--Cliff Gauldin, Premium Standard Farms
The
following article, highlighting the contribution of PSF to the economy
of northern Missouri, appeared in the Kansas City Star on May 30th. The
article credits PSF with spurring an economic turnaround throughout the
region over the last decade.
Hog Business Helps Brighten Conditions In North Part of State
John A. Dvorak
Gregory S. Reeves
The Kansas City Star
Going back home to northern Missouri - in 1990 that idea sounded so appealing to Jeff Gittings.
But as he finished community college in Iowa, he knew the reality.
There was nothing back home.
"These towns were ghost towns," recalled Gittings.
However,
conditions in northern Missouri soon changed, and two years later he
was able to return. He is 33 now and goes to work each day in
Princeton, a town where the population actually increased during the
1990s.
It
is part of a startling turnabout in a region that once showcased the
troubles of rural America. Census figures released Wednesday show that
in several northern-tier counties around Princeton, median household
income from 1990 to 2000 rose by a far higher percentage than for the
rest of Missouri. Home values soared. Poverty dropped. Population loss
slowed or stopped.
What happened?
Hogs.
In
1991, Premium Standard Farms arrived big-time in northern Missouri. The
company employs 2,400 workers, raises hogs on farms, buys grain from
surrounding farmers, and operates three feed mills and a
pork-processing plant.
"If
it weren't for Premium Standard, I wouldn't be here," said Gittings,
who joined the company a decade ago and now serves as safety
coordinator.
In
Mercer County, where Gittings works, the median household income jumped
37 percent, from $21,695 to $29,640, and the number of families in
poverty dropped 33 percent during the 1990s.
"Premium
Standard brought a great deal of income into the region," said Mike
Johns, executive director of the Green Hills Regional Planning
Commission, in Trenton, Mo. "Without that we would have some counties,
particularly Mercer, that would have difficulty even keeping their
courthouses open."
The hog industry is not the only reason for improvements in northern Missouri. Among the factors:
Population losses from earlier decades left behind people better able to deal with economic challenges.
Farmers became more efficient, improving their chances of turning a profit despite sagging grain prices.
Cities and counties learned to help themselves more, hiring economic development experts and marketing themselves aggressively.
Things are far from perfect.
Median household incomes, despite the huge jump, still are as much as $10,000 below the state median.
Corporate agriculture comes with a cost - truck traffic, smells from the animals, environmental problems.
Still, the upsurge in the economy stands out when compared with the rest of the state.
Consider
Sullivan County. Premium Standard placed its hog-processing plant there
in Milan and pays workers an average of about $31,000 a year.
The
census found that during the 1990s the median value of a home in
Sullivan County had soared 80 percent, the biggest such increase in
Missouri.
"It's
not a surprise," Premium Standard spokesman Charles Arnot said of the
census. "We've known for some time that we are a major economic
driver."
Around northern Missouri, the economic revival extends beyond leading hog counties.
From 1990 to 2000, median household income in Worth County rose 45 percent, the highest such jump in any Missouri county.
"It feels real good," said Billy Mozingo, Worth County's presiding commissioner.
Copyright 2002 The Kansas City Star Co.