Missouri Pork Association to Host Annual Swine Health Symposium
The Missouri Pork Association, in conjunction with the University of Missouri Extension, will host the 11th annual Swine Health Symposium on July 31, 2024, at Bradford Research Farm in Columbia. The program will be held from 8:45 am to 3:50 pm, and include many educational speakers, a pulled pork lunch, and a trade show from our sponsors. Attendance is free to the first 200 applicants.
Topics will include: Planning for a New Strain of Influenza, Rapid Access to On-Farm Biosecurity and Between-Farm Animal Movements, Disease Monitoring, Gene Editing, Swine Nutrition and Health, Financial and Economic Health, a veterinary panel, and updates on the swine industry.
CEU credits have been requested through the Missouri Veterinary Medical Board. Please visit https://www.mopork.com/education/missouri-swine-health-symposium/ to view the full agenda and register for the event. Registration is required to attend. Bradford Research Farm is located at 4968 S. Rangeline Road in Columbia.
Thanks to the generous support of sponsors, there will be no fee to attend. The event is co-hosted by the University of Missouri Extension Commercial Agriculture Program, National Pork Producers Council, National Pork Board, and the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association.
Iowa Pork Welcomes Summer Interns
Lauren Meier of Bondurant and Kirby Cook of Winthrop are spending their summers interning with the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA). Both are Iowa State University students interested in a career in agriculture.
However, their family backgrounds are quite a contrast. Kirby Cook’s family is deeply involved in the pork industry. Lauren Meier’s path to IPPA started a little differently. She did not grow up with an agricultural background, nor did her parents.
“My dad moved into an old farmhouse when I was 13,” Meier says. “We had some empty barns and I convinced him to put them to use. So, I started raising chickens.”
She enjoyed raising chickens so much that her small farming operation eventually expanded to raising goats.
“By the time I graduated high school, we had over 50 chickens, ten goats and three horses,” Meier says. “I did everything myself from the accounting part of it, vaccines, and chores. Literally everything.”
Meier is this year’s promotions and communications intern for the Iowa Pork Producers Association. She is a junior at Iowa State University majoring in Animal Science, with a minor in Agricultural Communication.
Meier has been busy this summer helping with IPPA at summer grilling events, BBQ & Brew at the Ballpark, assisting counties with Bacon Buddies, and preparing for the farrowing display and Animal Learning Center at the Iowa State Fair. Meier interned with the Iowa State Fair last year. “I just want to make a difference,” she says.
Kirby Cook is the son of Aaron and Trish Cook. His mom was the first female president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, and she currently serves on organization’s board of directors as past president. Kirby grew up helping on his parents’ farrow-to-finish sow farm in Buchanan County. His sister is an economist for the National Pork Producers Council and his brother is a market analyst for CIH.
“The passion that I have is not only for raising pigs but working with the people that are in the industry,” Cook says. “I think it’s a lot of great, hard-working people that I find myself aligning with. My current goal is to go home and farm and raise pigs after graduation. If not that, I’ll definitely do something that would keep me tied to the industry.”
Kirby Cook is a rising junior at Iowa State, majoring in Agricultural Studies. He is serving as IPPA’s legislative intern this summer. Cook is spending six weeks of his internship in Senator Joni Ernst’s Washington, D.C., office. The second half of his internship will focus heavily on preparing for the Pork Tent at the Iowa State Fair. Cook was already a familiar face at the IPPA office before beginning his internship.
“I had the opportunity to serve as an IPPA Youth Ambassador in 2021 and really loved that experience and I feel like the pork industry is what I’m most passionate about so I’m very happy to be serving in this role,” he says.
Randall Named Program and Events Manager for Iowa Pork
Addison Randall is the newest member of the Iowa Pork Producers Association team. She was hired to fill the Program and Events Manager vacancy after Brielle Smeby’s promotion to Producer Outreach Director. Randall graduated from Iowa State University in May with a double major in Animal Science and Ag Communications.
Hailing from Letts, Iowa, Randall grew up on a diversified crop and livestock operation. She served as an intern with Elanco Animal Health, Iowa Corn Growers Association and Kent Nutrition Group prior to joining the staff at the Iowa Pork Producers Association.
Randall’s passion for the pork industry began at a very young age when she would accompany her dad to the farrowing unit to catch a glimpse at the newborn piglets. From there her time spent showing livestock, helping manage her family’s cow-calf herd, and working in a wean-to-finish unit all encouraged her decision to pursue higher education in animal science and a future career in the livestock industry.
“I’ve done a bit of it all,” Randall says. “from sorting pigs and vaccination days to hanging heat lamps and daily walkthroughs. I think my experiences both in the barn and the classroom have given me a respect for the knowledge and hard work people in our industry do daily. Livestock have always held my interest but it’s the people that work every day to feed the world that are my passion, and I am proud to start my career serving and supporting them.”
A recent study abroad trip to Japan and Thailand gave Randall some unique perspectives on the pork industry, and she’s anxious to put her experiences and education to use in her new role with the Iowa Pork Producers Association.
“Addison has a good background in production agriculture. Her enthusiasm and passion to help the organization and the industry will be big benefits to the team,” CEO Pat McGonegle says.
Enke and Howerton Awarded 2024 Youth Pork Institute Scholarships
The 2024 University of Missouri Youth Pork Institute, sponsored by the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the Missouri Pork Association, was held June 10 through June 12 in Columbia. High school students interested in the pork industry spent three days at this educational event.
Students toured the Mizzou campus and attended several educational sessions focused on areas such as biosecurity, pork processing, nutrition, breeding and market hog evaluation, meat evaluation, biomedical pigs, ultra sounding, and artificial insemination. They were also introduced to a variety of career opportunities within the pork industry. At the end of the three-day long institute, students took an exam covering all the information learned. The top two scoring students were each awarded a scholarship.
On June 12, Isabelle Enke and Gavin Howerton each received a $1,000 scholarship to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia as long as they enter with an agriculture-based major upon completion of high school. Isabelle Enke just graduated from St. Clair High School, and Gavin Howerton will be entering Clinton High School as a junior this fall.
Other students attending the event included Natalie Foster of Drexel High School, Addison Vlach of Stockton High School, and Donnie Laut of Fredericktown High School.
Also attending were the 2024 Missouri Youth Pork Ambassadors: Nicholas Van Schyndel of Mexico, Lena Stricklin of Rolla, Leah Thompson of Fredericktown, and Emma Robinson of Republic. The event was organized by the Missouri Pork Association 2024 Summer Intern Laci Fuhlage of Fayette.
