FRANKLIN—A Courtland businessman has received the 2010 Virginia Pork Industry Service Award.

J.L. Rose Jr., proprietor of the J.L. Rose Hog Market in Courtland, received the award at the Virginia Pork Conference, which was held Friday at Paul D. Camp Community College’s Workforce Development Center.

Rose has been in the pork industry for more than 45 years. His father, J.L. Rose Sr., originally established the hog-buying station in Courtland in 1939.

“During the 1960s and 1970s, many farms had small hog operations as secondary farm enterprises and the J.L. Rose market built a reputation as a reliable and fair place to sell market hogs from both small and large farmer lots,” said the nomination form. “What hog producers would expect and always get from J.L. Rose was a fair, honest price within the current market conditions and steady reliable service with their hogs. This type of trust is built on the type of day-in, day-out reliability that is typical of the way J.L. Rose has always run his hog marketing and trucking business.”

The Virginia Pork Industry Association represents all facets of the industry including producers, feed producers, packers, extension agents and more. With its 1,000-plus members, the Association is the voice of the industry, in the state of Virginia.

The association presents the Service Award to someone who is dedicated to furthering the industry throughout the state and beyond.