Creating a Playbook for Animal Welfare | Mallory Strickland

About the Guest Mallory Strickland is a graduate of Ohio State University and NC State University. She joined Smithfield Hog Production in 2010, as a production trainee from Cardington, Ohio, where she grew up raising her own breeding stock along with 4-H and FFA show pigs. Currently, she is the animal care program manager for Smithfield Hog Production and oversees the Animal Care Management System for the company and contract farms across the nation. Mallory is responsible for the internal and third party/external animal care audits on company and contract sites. She is the lead for the Animal Care pillar of Smithfield’s Sustainability Impact Report. She serves as Smithfield Hog Production representative on the National Pork Board Common Swine Industry Audit Task Force, PQA Task Force. Mallory also serves on the NC Pork Council conference and producer education committee and scholarship committee. She was a participant in the 2024 Pork Leadership Institute class (PLI). The PLI program is a year-long collaboration hosted by The National Pork Board (NPB) and National Pork Producers Council (NPPC)  Mallory resides in Warsaw, NC with her husband, and dogs. What can you expect to learn from this episode of Popular Pig? Why a game plan is essential when responding to animal welfare concerns—and how gathering facts before reacting can set the tone for a thorough and fair investigation. What goes into the “practice before game day”—from reviewing video footage to prepping logistics and getting the right team aligned (vets, translators, experts, etc.). How “boots on the ground” visits actually work, including walking every barn and pen, verifying claims, and ensuring full transparency throughout the process. Why documentation and teamwork matter—especially in defining key terms like group housing and building new tools like flowcharts to help others respond the right way. Mallory’s “Golden Nugget”