As a result of successfully completing the intensive program, which runs from eighth to 12th grade, eight Denison students will be receiving four-year, full-tuition scholarships to attend Iowa State University. Among the requirements of the program, students have to complete a science fair project, maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0, and participate in 75 percent of the program’s activities.  

The students, graduates, and their families will have the chance to celebrate all their hard work at the Learners to Leaders/Science Bound Spring Honors Banquet on Wednesday, May 16, at the Boulders Conference Center in Denison. Guest speakers include Todd Gerken, Farmland’s vice president of operations, and Dave Townsend, Smithfield’s assistant vice president of environmental affairs.     

Since 2007, Farmland Foods and Smithfield Foods have sponsored the Learners to Leaders/Science Bound program, an educational partnership with Denison local schools and Iowa State University. The program’s goal is to inspire ethnically diverse students to work toward degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. 

On Friday, Aric Almirola and Richard Petty joined the Smithfield Foods Helping Hungry Homes initiative to deliver 120,000 servings of protein for hungry Florida families through the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Aric and Richard also met up with fans at the Smithfield tent where they signed autographs, snapped photos and offered up a chance to win various prizes.

We’re honored to be part of such a dedicated and outgoing team and thank Richard and Aric for their effort to help alleviate hunger in central Florida.

So, be sure to tune in tonight and cheer on the RPM team and hopefully see Aric leading the pack when the checkered flag flies!

Aric was recently named as driver of RPM’s infamous No. 43 Ford and will make his Sprint Cup debut at Daytona. “I’m looking forward to representing the Smithfield brands,” Aric said. “They have some great things planned and I am happy to be a part of it.”

The Petty organization meshes well with our core values at Smithfield so this partnership arises as a very natural fit. “The Petty’s stand firmly for family values and demonstrate a strong regard and enthusiasm for helping others, which is something we’re thrilled to be a part of,” said C. Larry Pope, our president and chief executive officer. “We’re excited to explore the many  possibilities in which we can give back through Helping Hungry Homes,^® our initiative focused on alleviating hunger across America.” In fact, Helping Hungry Homes^® will be Smithfield’s featured brand for the Daytona 500.

We’re all revved up to be on the track with such a great team! 

The hour discussion is an opportunity to talk about the current state of hunger in America, share personal stories, and brainstorm how both companies and individuals can be involved in solving the problem.

We encourage you to submit questions you would like to see addressed in the discussion and to share any personal stories about the effects of hunger with us this week leading up to the event.

To participate, follow @SmithfieldCSR on Twitter and tweet using #SFDHunger. Those of you unable to make this event are encouraged to submit your questions using the interactive Q & A function on this site found here or check out how we are already involved in hunger relief here. 

Looking forward to the discussion! 

In addition, our CSO Dennis Treacy was on the panel for a session entitled “Feeding the World by 2050 through Sustainable Intensification.”  The panelists spoke at length about the future of food production given the demands of a rapidly growing population, how business and government are addressing food security challenges, and what opportunities exist to meet these challenges while also “greening” companies’ operations.

Projections indicate the population is likely to grow to over 9 billion in the next 40 years, so the topic of sustainable intensification is a growing concern among producers – how to feed the growing population while reducing agriculture’s environmental footprint. Smithfield provided a “very interesting perspective” said one attendee in a session evaluation.  Another stated “all speakers had really enlightening insights into potential solutions and innovative thinking in the field, from large scale corporations to the WWF.”

We had a great time in Portland and fully enjoyed the opportunity to participate in a conference that brings together people whose values are so close to ours. It was a great success and we hope to sponsor and attend next year.

As part of its mission of “inspiring minds to strengthen communities,” Learners to Leaders challenges participants to achieve excellence in science-related courses that go beyond their school’s curriculum. And students are rising to the occasion. For example, the program stages an annual science fair that has produced projects as advanced as solar cars and wind turbines.

Now in its sixth year, the program receives more applicants at the 8^th grade entry level than it can accommodate. Of the over 60 current participants, many students are the first members of their families planning to attend college. Upon graduation, successful students receive scholarships to pursue a science-related degree at Iowa State University.

Larry Pope, president and CEO of Smithfield, believes sound education is the bedrock for building strong communities. “Everyone deserves a fair shot to pursue excellence, but some students face extraordinary challenges that interfere with their dreams,” he says. “That’s why Smithfield will keep investing in quality education for the deserving youth of Denison and other communities.”

To learn more about the students in Denison, Iowa, visit http://www.sciencebound.iastate.edu/denison/index.html.

“On behalf of Smithfield Foods and our employees, I thank Congressman Forbes for championing the causes that will help manufacturers thrive in Virginia and across the United States,” said Smithfield Foods Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer Dennis Treacy. “We’re fortunate to have Congressman Forbes in our corner, advocating policies that will enable us to grow, create jobs, expand internationally, and stay ahead of our global competition.”

“Congressman Forbes supports common-sense policies that will enable manufacturers to create and maintain good high-paying jobs in Virginia and throughout America,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “A vibrant manufacturing base is vital to getting our economy turned around and ensuring quality of life for all Americans. It is critical to have lawmakers like Congressman Forbes whose actions consistently match their words when it comes to a pro-manufacturing agenda for economic growth and job creation.”

After the presentation of the award, Congressman Forbes held a question and answer session with many of our company’s executives, as well as other key members of the National Association of Manufacturers. During the session, Congressman Forbes discussed his views on many political and economic issues affecting manufacturers in the United States, including the situation in Libya and the production of corn ethanol.

The topics of the presentations allowed investors to gain insights about many aspects of the company, ranging from our sustainability initiatives to marketing strategies to hedging and risk assessment strategies, and other subjects. The themes of the day were Smithfield’s new strategy as a packaged meats company and its new coherency, acting as one large $11 billion company rather than a grouping of several subsidiaries.

All food used for display during the event was donated to the Food Bank of the Virginia Peninsula.

Here are some highlights of the events sponsored:

• Animex sponsored events at eight different locations which included over 350 participants.
• The Farmland Monmouth plant has participated every year, and this year (as in years past) they sponsored two events at local middle/junior high schools.
• The John Morrell/Armour-Eckrich plant in Junction City had a program for over 20 teachers and 80 kids! They had a water-monitoring station, a water analysis station, a leaf rubbing station, a nature station, and an environmental scavenger hunt. All this was followed by grilling out some of their product and handing out WWMD t-shirts.

Thanks to Ferme, AgriPlus, Animex, Stefano’s, Murphy-Brown, Smithfield Packing, Farmland, and John Morrell for sponsoring events this year. We think it was a great success, and look forward to next year’s sampling.

Three President’s Awards and eleven Environmental Excellence Awards were presented for a wide range of projects addressing Processes/Packaging, Resource Conservation, Pollution Prevention, and Environmental Management. Environmental Excellence Awards are given to specific people (or a team of people), and a President’s award is given when the project was the combined effort of too many folks to name. In total, over 137 projects were submitted.

In combination, the projects submitted resulted in a savings as follows:

• 378 million gallons of water
• 138,044 decatherms of natural gas
• 5,014,193 kWhs of electricity
• 34,689 tons of solid waste materials
• 1,575 tons of additional cardboard recycling
• 65,900 gallons of diesel fuel
• 15,000 trees planted

All the above was realized at a capital expenditure of $10.5 million and an annual cost reduction of $9.94 million.

The awards also resulted in donations to many charities, including Ronald McDonald House, National FFA, American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and more.

Carter Hanson of the John Morrell Patrick Cudahy facility in Cudahy, Wisconsin, was selected as this year’s “Zero Hero.” Carter was recognized for his preparedness and ongoing management of the environmental issues that were encountered as part of the fire that took place at the Cudahy facility in July of 2009.

“These kinds of results and cost reductions are the product of a corporate social responsibility program that is embedded throughout the company and supported at all levels,” noted Bill Gill, assistant vice president for environmental affairs. Dennis Treacy agreed, adding that “All those receiving awards and submitting projects are to be congratulated on the efforts and results they bring to the company year after year.”

Please direct any questions or comments regarding the Awards program to Robert ‘Buddy’ Harris (robertharris@smithfieldfoods.com).