Three Iowa agricultural groups are sponsoring a series of free livestock biosecurity conferences in late February and March to stress to producers the importance of having biosecurity plans for their operations.

The Iowa Beef Council, the Iowa Farm Bureau and the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) are co-sponsoring the “Biosecurity Basics for Livestock Producers Conference” at five locations in Iowa.

“I think producers need to be exposed to this information,” says Leon Sheets, Ionia, IA, pork producer and chairman of IPPA’s Producer Education Committee. “Most livestock producers have either written or unwritten security procedures, but this training provides a whole new level of understanding of what would happen during a disease outbreak.”

Patrick Webb, DVM, of the National Pork Board will discuss “Biosecurity at the Producer Level.” Bruce Spence of Training with Toys will conduct an interactive agricultural tabletop exercise, which walks participants through a highly contagious animal disease outbreak.

Conference sites and dates are:

• Feb. 16 at Northwest Iowa Community College Building “A” in Sheldon;
• Feb. 26 at the Marr Park Conservation Center in Ainsworth;
• Feb. 27 at the Hawkeye Community College Tama Hall Auditorium in Waterloo;
• March 9 at the Wallace Learning Center in Lewis; and
• March 16 at the Ag Information Center in Nevada.

Each conference will run from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Register for the meeting by calling (515) 225-5431 or visiting www.iowafarmbureau.com.