JOYCE BUPP York Co. Correspondent RED LION (York Co.) “Without purebreds, all you’re going to have someday will be mongrels,” said York County pork producer Greg Innerst Innerst, an outspoken advocate of retaining the value of purebred animal genetics, is the newest president of the American Berk shire Association (ABA). He was elected head of the ABA at the July annual meeting in Beatrice, Neb., held in conjunction with the breed’s national summer type con ference show and sale. The Innerst family, which includes Greg, his wife Beth, and their daughters Lane and Jesse, maintain a 20-sow Berkshire breeding operation on their Deer Road farm. He is employed in the retail meat business and also serves as president of the York Oust m C m~s T Us N^tur^lly E rs E KIPE STEEL 1-800-432-4797 3791 Church Rd, Chambersburg, PA 17201 FAX: (717)267-1580 Dealer Inquiries Invited Animal Housing Expo A quality show of animal housing products, services November 18-19 - Lebanon Fairgrounds Swine teakers Dr. Larry D. Jacobsen University of Minnesota Wean-to-Fimsh John Chapman White Oak Mills Off-Site Nurseries Swine Finishing on Dairy Farms Hatfield The Auto Farm Producer Panel Innerst Heads National Berkshire Group County Pork Producers. One of nine national directors, Innertst was elevated to the head post by his peers after serving just a year on the board. But even before his election to the breed presidency, he was tireless in promoting the value of the black and white hog that has become gold in some meat cases around the world. “It was the Japanese who told us what we had,” said Innerst, of the island nation where Beikshires are highly regarded for both their meat quality and genetics. “They’ve been a favorite there for years. Japanese began exporting from here about 1970.” As the U.S. pork industry focused on consumer trends tow ard low and no fat, Berkshire popularity in the U.S. faltered. The breed has wrestled over the years with a reputation as a meat E B E Come to the John W. Ferry Dairy Consultant Belleville, NY Dairy Expansion Preparations Working the Expansion Plan Managing the New Facility Animal and Worker Performance Producer Panels Commercial Exhibits: Builders Contractors Call Dah McFarland Machinery Equipment Phone: 717-840-7408 Consultants Advisors E that tends toward fattiness. But while Berkshire hogs were domes tically out of the pork industry fa vor, oriental gourmet cooks tuned their tastebuds to the breed’s meat of higher Ph level, brighter red color, and tenderness. “Consumers want a quality pro duct that tastes good,” said Innerst, who makes it a point to sample pork dishes when he dines out “But they’ve been told it must be lean, lean that can make pork tough. Berks have just a little fat marbled through the meat what it needs to give it tenderness and flavor.” The American Berkshire Asso ciation, organized in 1875 and the oldest official swine registry in the world, has taken another lead in the industry with its Berkshire Gold program. Berkshire Gold is a standard of meat measurement and quality. To qualify to be graded and sold as Berkshire Gold, animals must be at least 50 percent purebred ;dUC ion Food Free Parkim Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 20, 1907-A23 Berkshire, backed up with a “pap er trail” of pedigrees and breeding. But just having the right pedi grees does not automatically put a Berkshire or Berk-crossed hog in the Gold program. The carcass must also meet the program’s rigid quality criteria. Only a few packers in the Mid- West are certified to participate in the Berkshire Gold export pro gram. Eastern producers of Berk shires who meet the Gold stan dards and quality for the carcass premium payments of $3 to $lO per hundredweight must now net work. To take advantage of the Beth and Greg Innerst, right, accepted a plaque for their national champion boar at the Berkshire summer type con ference. Making the presentation was Berkshire Associa tion Vice President Randy Tuthill. EXTENDED PARTS DEPT. 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