RADIO 'CRUSADE' GIVES A LIFT TO PORK SALES

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A 12-hour "Great Pork Crusade" radio promotion helped boost pork sales for several area retailers here.

tion of their efforts.

Mr. Bill's Country Market, an independent in Grimes, Iowa, reported it sold out of pork the day of the broadcast, with movement of some 4,000 pounds of the product. It usually sells between 200 and 300 pounds a day.

The Iowa Pork Producers Council gave away free ground pork burgers at two locations in the city as part of a campaign to stimulate trial. The council also sold pork gift certificates, which consumers can redeem for pork dinners at restaurants or pork items at retail stores.

The station broadcasts in an area that is home to numerous pork producers. Its effort were to help reduce the oversupply of pork, which has caused producer prices to plummet.