This year, more than ever, pork producers will have a lot to experience when they visit World Pork Expo, June 3-5 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, IA.

With some 20,000 producers attending each year, World Pork Expo has grown to become the premier venue for suppliers and industry leaders to rollout their latest pork-related products, technology and animal health research, giving producers the opportunity to be face-to-face with the experts.

Show Starts a Day Earlier

The event's sponsors have moved the dates forward this year, kicking off on Wednesday, June 3, and culminating on Friday, June 5, although the purebred breeding stock sales and Great BarbeQlossal judging will take place on Saturday.

The Wednesday-to-Friday schedule gives attendees the opportunity to experience the whole event, while keeping their weekend open for family activities.

“Producers and exhibitors have told us that they prefer a mid-week show,” says Don Butler, National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) president, who works for Murphy-Brown LLC, in North Carolina. “We're glad to be able to make that happen beginning in 2009.

“World Pork Expo has always been a place where producers and allied industry can get together to find new ways to improve pork production and to learn about what's going on in the industry from a global standpoint,” Butler says. “Given the unprecedented global economic concerns, this year's World Pork Expo will be an especially important opportunity to come together as an industry.”

World Pork Expo trade show hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday.

Entertainment

Musical entertainment will be presented street-dance style on the fairground's Grand Concourse on Thursday afternoon and early evening, featuring Des Moines favorite, Tony Valdez and the Retro Rockets; also performing will be national top-10 country act, Confederate Railroad, and '60s great Sonny Geraci and the Outsiders.

Registration

Attendees can register online at a reduced cost, which will also speed entry into the event.

“Last year's introduction of online registration was a huge success,” Butler explains. “Producers could just pick up their name badge upon arrival — or have it sent to them in advance — and it served as their admission pass for the entire show. We encourage producers and visitors to complete their registration online to make their entry into World Pork Expo easier.”

PQA Plus, TQA Certification Offered

The Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) is partnering with Iowa State University Extension swine specialists to offer Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) Plus and Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) certification sessions free of charge during World Pork Expo.

The sessions will be offered Thursday, June 4 at the Walnut Center on the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The PQA Plus session will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon and the TQA training will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. Registration begins 30 minutes prior to each session or pre-registration is available by contacting IPPA Producer Education Director Tyler Bettin at (515) 225-7675 or tbettin@iowapork.org.

Pre-registration is encouraged, as the number of participants is limited to the first 100 persons.

Swine Handling and Transport Forum

Producers can begin learning even before World Pork Expo starts this year. A new seminar, “Swine Handling and Transport Forum,” will be held on Tuesday, June 2, at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Des Moines.

Sponsored by National Hog Farmer magazine, the National Pork Board and NPPC, the industry forum will provide pork producers, swine handlers and transporters with information about handling, transportation and marketing of pigs.

The forum will address the importance of stockmanship, animal welfare expectations throughout the pork supply chain and preventing transport losses to increase producers' economic return.

The pre-Expo program runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. More detailed information is available.

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