The North Carolina Pork Council Board of Directors announced Roy Lee Lindsey of Oklahoma will become the next chief executive officer of the NC Pork Council. Lindsey has headed the Oklahoma Pork Council for more than 20 years. He will join the NC Pork staff in January 2021.

“The search committee had many excellent candidates,” said NCPC Board President Jim Lynch. “But Roy Lee’s leadership experience in the industry made him an obvious choice and we are thrilled he will be coming to North Carolina. We know the industry will face many challenges in the coming years and I think he will provide excellent leadership.”

Lindsey grew up in western Oklahoma on the family farm raising wheat, cattle and alfalfa. He also worked at his family's farm equipment dealership.

He attended Oklahoma State University where he earned his undergraduate degree in agricultural communications and a master’s in agricultural education. Lindsey worked as a 4-H youth educator before joining the Oklahoma Pork Council in 1998 as executive director.

He replaces Andy Curliss, who departed the organization in September.

As you know, Smithfield Foods and Dominion Energy have pledged to invest $500 million to capture methane from hog farms and convert it into renewable natural gas through a partnership known as Align Renewable Natural Gas. The project’s initial efforts involve hundreds of farms in three states. Their first project (called the “BF Grady Road” project) will involve 19 farms in Duplin and Sampson counties.

A few nights ago, the NC Department of Environmental Quality held a virtual public meeting on the proposed air quality permit for the BF Grady Road facility. A number of farmers, lawmakers, economic development professionals, and other citizens of Duplin and Sampson Counties spoke in favor of the project.

But representatives of groups like the Waterkeepers and Southern Environmental Law Center were also there to speak in opposition. These groups refuse to support any innovations that help our farmers and make our industry more sustainable — no matter how much they will help the environment. They would rather kill the project and hold out hope that one day we will just go away.

One of the activists claimed that they would be delivering a petition to DEQ with more than 1,300 names of people who are opposed to the project.

And on Wednesday, the Natural Resources Defense Council sent out an action alert across social media urging people to send in comments to DEQ on the proposed Align permit saying, “Help NC residents who are being targeted by Smithfield Foods and Dominion Energy’s latest environmentally racist project.”

We need folks who support the pork industry and our efforts to put methane-capture technology on our farms to let DEQ know of that support.

Contact: Eve Honeycutt 252-521-1706