Conferences

Owners, growers, controllers, lenders, accountants, risk managers and CFOs are all invited to learn more about the financial issues, trends and future challenges to address, while networking with industry leaders and creating a vision for the pork industry.

Chris Novak, CEO, National Pork Board, kicks off the morning session June 20 with an update of the Pork Checkoff from Pork. Be Inspired data, U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance, the proposed Fair Oaks Pig Adventure Center in Indiana, Pork Quality Assurance Plus verification results and We Care.

Dallas Hockman, National Pork Producers Council, provides a legislative/regulatory update from Washington, DC.

A look at the political landscape and a global economic outlook conclude the morning sessions, following by lunch and an afternoon golf outing.

The conference opens June 21 with an optional 6 a.m. producer roundtable, followed by three producers discussing protecting the farm business including Country View Family Farms, Murphy-Brown, Iowa Select Farms and Bill Winkelman, National Pork Board.

Coverage of farm security, animal care and the fallout from the MF Global financial meltdown round out the morning presentations.

Concurrent afternoon sessions provide a tax update, property risk management, hiring and retaining the right people, pens vs. stalls, accounting, teambuilding on the farm, reducing opportunity cost risk, nutrition economics and grain outlook.

The final session the morning of June 22 covers market outlook, capital investment and a lender panel discussion.

Find out more at the Pork Checkoff Service Center at (800) 456-7675 or visit www.pork.org.

Sponsorships and golf registrations are now being accepted for the 2012 Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open. The annual event, set for Tuesday, July 24 at Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames, benefits the Lauren L. Christian Endowment which provides financial support for students and continued swine and pork educational opportunities through Iowa State University (ISU).

Iowa Pork Industry Center (IPIC) director John Mabry said hole sponsorship and golf registration prices are the same as the past several years, and that’s drawing a lot of attention.

“Already we have close to a half dozen teams registered and we encourage people to register soon because there’s a limit of 32 teams for the tournament,” he said. “Cost is $85 per person which includes golf, refreshments, noon lunch, and post-tournament reception and meal.”

Hole sponsorships also are in demand at $250, with other sponsorship options available. Those who want to attend only the post-tournament activities may register for $25 per person.

The event brochure includes sponsor information and registration forms and is available on the IPIC Web site. Golf registration deadline is July 10 or when the field of 32 teams is reached.

The 18-hole best ball tournament will begin with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. Following the tournament, players and others are invited to attend a reception, meal and awards program. Winners of the 2012 Lauren Christian undergraduate and graduate scholarships also will be honored during the program.

According to John Mabry, IPIC director and former student of Christian, this event is a way to bring together those who knew and admired Christian.

"Lauren was a great teacher and mentor, and the Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open provides a social occasion for people to remember him and help increase the Lauren Christian endowment fund at ISU," Mabry said.

The 73rd Minnesota Nutrition Conference is scheduled for September 18-19, 2012, at the Holiday Inn in Owatonna, MN.  The Minnesota Nutrition Conference is a forum for feed industry professionals to update their knowledge of beef, dairy, poultry, swine and equine nutrition, and to learn about current research being conducted at the University of Minnesota.  Topics of this year's conference will focus on the theme, "Feed Efficiency Challenges".
 
Danisco is proud to sponsor this year's Pre-conference Symposium, "Improving Utilization of Feed".  The symposium will provide information on the use of new feeding technologies and concepts including applications and uses of feed enzymes, anti-nutrients, substrates, gut health, and microflora-host interactions.
 
Alltech is hosting an evening reception again this year.  Last year's reception by Alltech was a huge success and very popular among conference participants.
 
The conference planning committee is busy working on the program agenda, which will be posted on the conference website soon.  Watch for registration to open by June 1, 2012.
 
Mark your calendars now and plan on attending the 73rd Minnesota Nutrition Conference on September 18 and 19.  Please visit the conference website at http://www.ansci.umn.edu/mnc.html for program updates, registration information, and more details to be posted as they become available.

Nov. 29-30, 2012:International PRRS Symposium, held in conjunction with the National Swine Improvement Federation Annual Meeting, Marriott Hotel Kansas City Downtown, Kansas City, MO; contact: http://www.prrssymposium.org.

The joint meeting looks at pig genetics and breeding; porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome vaccines of the past, present and future; and the host response to PRRS virus infection. There is also a meeting of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians PRRS Task Force and a general session addressing PRRS virus genetics, immunology, diagnostics and epidemiology.