The COVID-19 pandemic has altered plans for the 2021 Iowa Pork Congress.
According to Iowa Pork Producers Association communications director Dal Grooms, the IPPA Board of Directors have decided to cancel the Iowa Pork Congress trade show, which would have been January 27th and 28th. The trade show and educational sessions held during the two days typically attract 4,000 to 5,000 people involved in pork production from Iowa and the Midwest.
?Our board of directors has been discussing what we will do with the Iowa Pork Congress that happens in January 2021 for a while now because they wanted to be mindful of health concerns and what was going on in our communities,? Grooms said. ?This week they decided to cancel the trade show, and then to go forward with the educational sessions. Those will be held virtually. We are trying to put details together for those. We also will be holding our annual meeting in person. That usually preceded Pork Congress by a day.?
Grooms adds the Taste of Elegance restaurant event and the youth swine judging contest have both been postponed until later in 2021.
?The Taste of Elegance event usually kicks off Iowa Pork Congress the night before it officially starts,? Grooms said. ?It?s been a great event in the past. We invite different restaurants to come in and prepare a pork dish. There is usually about 15 restaurants that participate. These are restaurants from across the state. It?s just a great time for pork producers and others in the industry to talk to each other, catch up from the year that has happened before, and of course there would have been a lot of discussion this year because there has been so many things that have happened in 2020 that have impacted the pork industry.?
As more details on the virtual programs are developed, Grooms says the information will be shared on IowaPorkCongress.org. The 2022 show is scheduled for January 26-27, 2022.
