By Matt Reese
We knew going into this basketball season that it was going to be a tough year for my daughter’s 7
th grade team. They were stepping up in the level of competition in their league and the wins were not going to come as easily as they had the previous season, if they came at all.
There were a handful of wins, but also some losses by substantive margins. As a former coach and dad watching from the stands, I couldn’t help but notice a trend develop as the season of tough losses played out. Our girls would play well for a quarter or so, then start to make a few mistakes. A few errant passes in a row would lead to sudden panic, which would lead to more mistakes, a run from the opposition and, within a few moments, the whole team would collectively lose hope and fall far behind. This would happen until a couple of things would go right, then they’d re-group and play fine after that, usually too late to have a shot at winning the game.
• Pork Industry Excellence Award Duane Stateler
• Ohio Pork Council Service Award Todd Price
• Ohio Pork Council Swine Manager of the Year Travis Stahl (of Hord Family Farms)
• Ohio Pork Council Friend of Ohio Pork Industry Award Ohio Dairy Producers Association
• Ohio Pork Council Pork Promoter of the Year Award Lauren Schwab Eyre.
Here is more about each of the award winners.
Pork Industry Excellence Award: Duane Stateler
Duane Stateler has made many contributions to the pork industry both at the state and national level.
Stateler Family Farms spans six generations and agriculture has always been an integral part of Duane’s life as a fourth-generation pig farmer. Growing up on the family farm, Duane worked alongside his father to raise pigs farrow-to-finish and grow crops. However, in 1984, Duane and his wife, Margie, made the difficult decision to phase out of pork production in order to prioritize Duane’s health.
Matt, Kolt, and Dusty are joined by Meghann Winters from the Ohio Pork Council. She talks about the upcoming Ohio Pork Congress, where Matt will be M.C’ing their luncheon on Wednesday. You can also find Kolt behind the camera running the livestream of the event! Good luck to them and the Ohio Pork Council on their event! Matt talked to Dr. Todd Price, he is the Ohio Pork Council Service Award winner this year. Dusty brings audio from Hans Kok, on factors of a successful cover crop establishment. Kolt talked to Stacie Anderson, the winner of the 2021 Ohio Farm Bureau’s Young Ag Professionals Discussion Meet.