McDonald’s partners with Indiana ag

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — McDonald’s, Purdue University and other partners celebrated the return of the popular McRib sandwich, which will be available through Nov. 20.

The sandwich includes a pork patty, homestyle bun, McRib sauce, pickle slices and onions.

“McDonald’s is a huge buyer of Indiana agricultural products, a lot of different types of meat, but here today pork,” said Jordan Seger, deputy director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.

“So, McDonald’s put together this group today, and what we were specifically here for at Purdue was to see the future of pork production.”

McDonald’s has purchased approximately $15 million in raw products from Indiana suppliers, according to the ISDA. This includes around 6.52 million pounds of pork from Indiana farmers.

The logistics, science and culinary skills that it takes to get high quality pork to the dinner table was highlighted during a tour of Purdue’s Swine Unit.

The new Swine Environmental Research Building is unique and capable of conducting environmental research on a large scale.

Researchers focus on the nutrition, physiology, genetics, management, behavior and welfare of swine.