The American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) is sponsoring two related conferences in mid-March in Kansas City, MO.

The AMIF and the Animal Transportation Association will host its second annual Livestock Transportation Conference March 17, 2009 at the Westin Crown Center.

Highlights include:

--Alberta Livestock Industry’s Proactive Approach to Transportation with Susan Church, manager, Alberta Farm Animal Care;

--Transportation Audits with livestock handling specialist Jennifer Woods of Alberta, Canada;

--Cross-Border Collaboration: How the United States and Canada have teamed up on animal welfare enforcement during transportation with Joey Astling of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service;

--Pig Transportation Research with Cate Dewey, University of Guelph, Canada; and

--Trailer Design and Transport Losses with Matt Ritter of Elanco Animal Health.

AMIF’s Animal Care & Handling Conference is March 18-19 at the Westin Crown Center.

Sessions March 18 include:

--The ABC’s of Pigs for Novices and First-Time Attendees with Glee Goodner, corporate manager of animal welfare and handling, Hormel Foods Corp.;

--Animal Handling – the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) Perspective with Ron DeHaven, AVMA executive vice president;

--A Look at Consumer Behavior and Attitudes with AMI’s Janet Riley; Tim Amlaw, American Humane Association; Rick McCarty, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association; and Adele Douglass, Certified Humane;

--Stunning Pigs and Determining Insensibility with Temple Grandin of Colorado State University, Chuck Bildstein of Bunzl Distribution USA, Inc., and Colette Kaster of Farmland Foods, Inc.; and

--Handling Challenges: Slows and Fatigues with Jen Greiner, DVM, National Pork Producers Council and Barb Masters, DVM, Olsson, Frank and Weeda.

Sessions March 19 include:

--Animal Handling Problem-Solving in Beef and Pork Slaughter Plants with Temple Grandin;

--Transportation Audits – Review of New Audits with Jennifer Woods;

--Fitness to Transport with Susan Church;

--New Research: Lactate Levels in Pigs under Stress with Lily Murray of Colorado State University; and

--Systematic Approaches to Animal Handling with Jerry Karczewski, Cargill Meat Solutions; Dean Danilson, Tyson Foods; and Craig Morris, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.