The Iowa Pork Producers Association is inviting the state's pig farmers to attend one of the five Iowa Pork Regional Conferences being held in February. The events are being held at different locations from Feb. 18 through 22.
In addition to the regional conference program that runs from 1-4:30 p.m. each day, a separate morning session from 9 a.m. to noon will provide Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) Plus training free to those who pre-register. The PQA Plus training is sponsored by IPPA and provided by Iowa State University Extension.
"The afternoon conferences include five speakers providing timely and relevant information," says Jamee Eggers, IPPA producer education director. "The farmer members of our producer education committee partnered with the Iowa Pork Information Center to select topics and identify exciting speakers."
The locations of the conferences are:
- Monday, Feb. 18 - Northwest Iowa Community College, Building A, Room 116/119, 603 W Park St., Sheldon, IA 51201
- Tuesday, Feb. 19 - Audubon Recreation Center, 703 Southside Ave., Audubon, IA 50025
- Wednesday, Feb. 20 - Jeff & Deb Hansen Agriculture Learning Center, 2508 Mortensen Rd., Ames, IA 50011
- Thursday, Feb. 21 - Washington County Extension Office, 2223 250th St., Washington, IA 52353
- Friday, Feb. 22 - Borlaug Leaning Center, 3327 290th St., Nashua, IA 50658.
Topics and speakers for the afternoon conferences are:
- Being Prepared for Foreign Animal Disease; Dr. Andrew Hennenfent, the state's Emergency Management Coordinator, will outline how farmers will be impacted if there is a foreign animal disease outbreak. Find out the differences between stop movements, permitting movements and what other orders would mean to your farm.
- What China Knows that You May Not about African Swine Fever; Dr. Chris Rademacher of the Iowa Pork Industry Center will provide an overview of ASF, a review of clinical signs of the disease, and a discussion of the feed biosecurity issue.
- Trade and Tariffs Update; ISU Extension Livestock Economist Dr. Lee Schulz will talk about how current foreign tariffs are impacting the swine market.
- Using Maintenance to Extend Building Longevity; Brian Blumhagen of New Modern Concepts will talk about proven approaches to slow-down natural degradation. And, if you have experiences that worked for you, you'll be asked to share.
- A review of decision-making tools that Iowa State University Extension Swine Specialists can provide for you to solve production problems and other issues on your pig farm.
The regional conferences are free for those who pre-register two business days before the meeting at their regional location; otherwise the cost is $5 at the door. Check-in starts 30 minutes before the start of the conference. To pre-register for the conference and/or certification training, contact IPPA's Carla Vanderheiden at (800) 372-7675 or cvanderheiden@iowapork.org.