Listen Here: Agribusiness Matters 6-9-16
by Ken Root and Whitney Newman
Iowa is the nation?s largest pork producing state. You may never see them but 20 million hogs are in breeding and feeding facilities across the state. The swine industry is consolidating into fewer owners but a large infrastructure to support all aspects of pork production.
The World Pork Expo is underway in Des Moines this week. Cindy Cunningham is spokesperson for the big event at the State Fairgrounds explains, ?World Pork Expo is the world’s largest pork specific event. It has everything from pork production to pork consumption. There is a lot of BBQ being consumed out here, but also a lot of knowledge and information is being consumed.
Recent issues caused by Animal Rights activists and swine diseases have prompted the National Pork board to use producer funds to provide training and guidelines for producers. Jan Archer, a pork Producer from North Carolina is the incoming President says, ?I am very passionate about the pork quality assurance program. This program has evolved, expanded, and grown to be apart of our pork producers commitment to demonstrating their continuous improvement on education every day. ?
