Each year an estimated 20,000 producers and industry professionals attend World Pork Expo, the world’s largest, pork-specific trade show. This year’s event will be June 8-10 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, IA. To receive a $10 early registration discount off the $15 ticket, which is good for all three days of the show, and free Expo alerts by e-mail, go to www.worldpork.org and click on the “Register Now” tab.
Trade show hours on Wednesday, June 8 and Thursday, June 9 are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Friday, June 10, are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The breeding stock sales will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, June 11.
World Pork Expo is sponsored by the National Pork Producer’s Council (NPPC). Producer Doug Wolf of Lancaster, WI, president of NPPC, says: “World Pork Expo is ‘where it’s at.’ You’ll meet people who are as dedicated to pork production as you are, and who enjoy sharing what works in their operations and what doesn’t. It’s a great atmosphere that’s unlike any other, featuring the latest information, along with good food and fun.”
Show Highlights
There will be about 450 exhibitors at the trade show.
Two special events have become a must for Expo attendees. On June 9, the World Pork Open Clay Target Championship will take place at the New Pioneer Gun Club in Waukee, IA. Contact Craig Boelling (boellingc@nppc.org). On June 10, 144 people will golf in the World Pork Open Golf Outing at the Legacy Golf Club in Norwalk, IA. Contact Bryan Humphreys (humphreysb@nppc.org).
Other activities include hog shows, National Hog Farmer’s new products tour (see pages 52-54), musical entertainment, farm toy show and sale and daily free lunch at the Big Grill.
Pork Academy, the producer educational sessions, offers seminars on new technologies and management techniques, and presentations on carbon footprint, euthanasia, feed costs, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome and nutrition labeling.
For the full program of events at World Pork Expo, go to www.worldpork.org.
Industry Tours
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is offering three tours for a chance to enjoy midwestern agriculture prior to the opening of World Pork Expo.
On June 6-7, the Midwest Agriculture Highlights Tour will visit the locks-and-dam system that enables farmers to cross the Mississippi River, a local soybean farm and the John Deere Pavilion agricultural museum.
The group will also visit the popular Cinnamon Ridge Farms, which features 4,000 acres of corn and soybeans, wean-to-finish swine facilities, a beef operation and a dairy.
Two, one-day tours are also available. On June 6, Iowa Agriculture Tour participants will go to a Christensen Farms feedmill and one of the Midwest’s largest food distribution companies. Stops at Iowa State University include the newly remodeled College of Veterinary Medicine and the Meat Laboratory, a federally inspected, state-of-the-art facility for complete processing of livestock and poultry.
The Iowa Agribusiness Tour on June 7 features stops at Swine Genetics International’s boar reproduction facility; Kemin Industries, a nutritional ingredient manufacturer; and Pioneer Hi-Bred, the world’s leader in the development of advanced plant genetics. Lunch will be at The Machine Shed restaurant.
All three tours start and end in Des Moines. The two-day tour includes four meals and one night’s hotel on June 6, and costs $300/person.
The two, one-day tours cost $125/person, or both can be enjoyed for a total price of $200/person. Each tour includes a midday meal.
To register for any of the tours, contact Humphreys at humphreysb@nppc.org or call (515) 864-7980. For more details, visit www.worldpork.org and click on the “producer” tab, then select “industry tour.”
Certification Sessions
The Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) is partnering with Iowa State University Extension swine specialists and the National Pork Producers Council to offer Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) Plus and Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) certification sessions free of charge at World Pork Expo.
The PQA sessions will be offered June 8 from 9-11 a.m., and the TQA training will take place from 1-4 p.m. Register 30 minutes prior to each session. The sessions will be held in Room A-2 of the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, IA.
Sessions are limited to the first 25 pre-registrants. To pre-register, contact Tyler Bettin, IPPA producer education director, at (800) 372-7675 or tbettin@iowapork.org.