While it seemed logical that the checkoffs could whet consumer appetites, with the checkoffs came a need for a new bureaucracy staffed by promoters, not farmers. The money that comes back to the states should pay for staff to help build State Fairs and educate consumers about the benefits of the checkoff product. To fund the PAC, the Council threw a dinner as part of the annual meeting. This annual pass the hat event raises money to make campaign contributions without the inconvenience of keeping a file of donor names. At the same time, the National Councils set up offices in Washington, D.C., and staffed themselves with professional promoters and lobbyists.
Councils are now big business.
The Big Pigs, on the other hand, put butcher facilities on their grounds. In their own butcher plants, where they butcher and cut up their own hogs into cuts for local markets, they also make cuts preferred by export consumers. The foreign-market pork is trucked directly in giant reefer trucks to the airport and shipped out. To try to help farmers like Joe save his family farm. So, the Big Pig thrives, Joe's market disappears.