Iowa Pork Congress will Celebrate 50 Years at 2023 Event
(Clive, Iowa) December 20, 2022 ? The 2023 Iowa Pork Congress will be held Jan. 25 and 26 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. It will be the 50th pork congress that involves a trade show, educational sessions, and the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) annual meeting, which will be held Jan. 24. IPPA organizes the event, which is North America?s largest winter swine trade show and conference.
IPPA President Kevin Rasmussen of Goldfield said pork producers from around the country have attended many of the Iowa Pork Congress events through the years. ?I first attended as an FFA student when I was in high school,? he noted. At that time, his supervised ag experience project was a purebred swine operation, and he took the opportunity to try his sales pitch on other producers.
Through the years, Rasmussen noted, ?My wife Lisa and I have made great friends and strengthened business relationships at the Iowa Pork Congress. Many of these professionals have been mentors to us as we established and grew our operation.?
In addition to the great networking opportunities and the large trade show, the Iowa Pork Congress includes several educational sessions, including keynote presentations for each day. On Wednesday, Jan. 25, Elizabeth McCormick, a former Black Hawk Helicopter Pilot, will talk about building a team approach on your farm, and teach you how to fly a helicopter!
Other educations sessions on Wednesday will cover economic outlook on crops and hogs for 2023; pork marketing success in retail and foodservice channels; and legal challenges pig farmers and the pork industry have been through recently, including an update on the Proposition 12 case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Wednesday will conclude with the Master Pork Producer Awards banquet.
On Thursday, Jan. 26, David Horsager, a well-known business author, will be the keynote speaker. He will talk about how top leaders and businesses drive successful results by building trust.
Other educational sessions on Jan. 26 are a swine health panel that will give an overview of six swine health topics that producers should be aware of, and an update on measuring sustainability efforts on farms and why the marketplace cares about those.
On both days, there will also be certification sessions for Pork Quality Assurance Plus with the Thursday session being conducted in Spanish. On Wednesday, Transportation Quality Assurance certification training will also take place.
Registration
Pre-registration to attend the Iowa Pork Congress is available online. IPPA members can attend the trade show and conference at no cost by using their registration code which has been emailed to them.
Non-IPPA members pay just $5 for online registration up until the day of the show. Early online registration is highly encouraged to provide a quick and easy check-in to the event.
For more information about events and registration, contact IPPA at (800) 372-7675 or visit www.iowaporkcongress.org.
