Columbia, Mo.,—The Missouri Pork Association welcomes producers, suppliers and distributors to the 2018 Missouri Pork Expo. The two-day event promotes the pork industry, educates youth and adults and distributes information from current research. The Expo begins the morning of Tuesday, February 6 and runs through Wednesday afternoon, February 7 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia.
The Educational Series and One-Day Swine Trade Show are feature attractions for the 2018 Expo. Participants may also attend events including the FFA Pork Speaking Contest Finals, Pork Industry Banquet and Pork Leadership Breakfast.
The largest swine-specific Trade Show in Missouri will include 93 agricultural businesses on February 6. The show registration, sponsored by WIN-WIN, LLC, opens at 8 am Tuesday and includes a Silent Auction, sponsored by the Missouri Agribusiness Association, as well as the Trade Show Hospitality Area, sponsored by The Parks Companies. Registration bags are being sponsored by CSC, and lanyards provided by Protect the Harvest. Live auction items to be sold during the Pork Industry Banquet will also be on display. The trade show closes at 5 pm that evening.
More than 100 youth are expected to complete Show Me Quality Assurance (SMQA) certification, beginning at 9:30 am, during the 2018 In the Show Ring educational workshop, sponsored by Heimer Hampshires and Lindner United. The Tuesday workshop prepares young people to show swine at the local and state levels. Youth attending will learn more about Swine Nutrition 101 from Kade Hummel with Lindner United, and Breeding Basics on the Farm. Attendees will also hear about the National Junior Swine Association, NJSA Junior Board Secretary Lindsey Robinson, and Team Purebred, Team Purebred Adult Board Secretary Jesse Birkenholz. Participants will enjoy lunch and a scavenger hunt, sponsored by FCS Financial.
The Missouri Pork Expo will host a Barbecue Lunch on Tuesday, provided and sponsored by Lynch Livestock, Inc. The lunch is $8 per person, and is free to youth. This will follow the FFA Pork Speaking Contest finals, sponsored by Alltech.
The 2018 Expo Educational Series kicks off February 6 at 9:00 am with a PQA Plus Certification training, sponsored by the Missouri Pork Association. Dr. Tim Safranski and Corinne Bromfield, DVM, both with the University of Missouri, will present the session.
At 11:00 am, JBS Live Pork will sponsor Integrated Pest Management of Rodents in Swine Facilities. The guest speaker is Dr. Danny McDonald with MWI Animal Health.
The afternoon sessions will cover many topics important to producers. Two concurrent sessions will begin at 1:00 pm:
Trends and Conditions in the U.S. and Global Pork Market, Sterling Liddell,
Rabo AgriFinance, sponsored by Purina Animal Nutrition and Rabo AgriFinance;
and
Cost Share Opportunities for Nutrient Management, sponsored by More Than
Manure. The panel will be moderated by Jerry Foster with JBS Live Pork, and
include Jim Plassmeyer, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and Lauren
Cartwright, Natural Resources Conservation Service.
At 2:00 pm, two more concurrent sessions will begin:
Why Social Media Matters & How to Make it Count for Your Farm,
Josh Flint, The Maschhoff’s, sponsored by Wiechman Pig Company; and
New Technologies: Video Monitoring and Web-Based Learning, Earl Dotson, K Coe
(formerly Praedium), sponsored by the Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of
Monsanto.
The Reception, sponsored by Ecodrum, will begin at 5:30 and include a wine and spirits tasting, courtesy of the Missouri Wine and Grape Board and the Missouri Distillers Trail. The reception will lead up to the Pork Industry Banquet, co-sponsored by the Pork Checkoff and Smithfield, and end with the Missouri Pork Association’s live auction. Tickets for the banquet are only $35 prior to the Expo and $40 on site.
The Educational Series continues February 7 with the Pork Leadership Breakfast, featuring Jim Wiesemeyer with Informa Economics in Washington D.C. Mr. Wiesemeyer will discuss the current issues in our nation’s capital and how they will affect Missouri’s pork industry. There is an additional $50 fee to attend the breakfast prior to the Expo, $60 on site, which is sponsored by Enterprise Bank, the National Pork Producers Council, Missouri Corn Growers Association and Smithfield Hog Production Division Midwest Region.
Stay after breakfast for the University of Missouri Commercial Agriculture Program’s Pork Industry Hot Topics, sponsored by MFA Oil. Faculty from MU will cover topics including:
Land Values, Antibiotics and Environmental Benefits with Corinne Bromfield, DVM, Dr.
Ray Massey and Dr. Marcia Shannon;
Diet Formulation (Without Antibiotics) for Gut Health in Growing Pigs,
Corinne Bromfield, DVM and Dr. Marcia Shannon;
Manure Land Application and Soil Health, Dr. Teng Lim;
Precision Genetic Editing and Pig Production, Dr. Kevin Wells; and
3 Keys to Expanding Fresh Pork Sales, Dr. Steve Larsen with the National Pork Board.
The Expo concludes with a Missouri Pork Association Board lunch (invitation only), sponsored by the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, and followed by a board meeting on Wednesday afternoon, which is open to all producers.
Additional sponsors for the 2018 Missouri Pork Expo include Boehringer Ingelheim, Central Power, Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Maximum Ag Technologies, Nedap Livestock Management, and The Law Firm of Haden & Haden.
Registration for the Expo trade show and educational sessions is free. There is a non-exhibiting supplier fee of $50. More information regarding the 2018 Missouri Pork Expo is available at http://www.mopork.com/events/missouri-pork-expo/.
The Missouri Pork Association represents the state’s pork producers in the areas of promotion, research, education and legislation. For more information about this or any other programs of the Missouri Pork Association, go to www.mopork.com, or call the Missouri Pork Association office at (573) 445-8375.
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