Meet the New President of the Iowa Pork Industry

Kevin Rasmussen IPPA President

Kevin Rasmussen, a pig farmer from Humboldt County, Iowa, took over the reins as the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) president last week during the Iowa Pork Congress. I sat down with him to find out more about IPPA's new leader. From what you can expect from Rasmussen as president to how he is focusing his goals in the year ahead, he shares his thoughts on a variety of topics.

Q. Tell us a little about yourself.
A. I farm with my wife Lisa and son Joel. We farm around 1,100 acres of corn and soybeans and we finish about 8,000 pigs a year. We recently sold our 1,000-sow herd in 2020. Kevin and Lisa have two other children, and four grandchildren.

Q. Why did you decide to step up to this challenge?
A. I served on the Rural Electric Coop Board for 15 years. I spent one year on the National Rural Electric Co-op Association 21st Century Committee in a strategic planning role. When I finished with that, I wanted to focus my efforts that I had been spending on the rural electric industry to a product I had even more passion for – pork production. I had the opportunity to become involved a little over five years ago on the state board which has led to the position I am in now.

Q. How would you describe yourself in a few words?
A. A forward-thinking, hands-on pork producer that has a ton of passion for pork production and his family.

Q. If you could only accomplish one thing this year, what would it be and why?
A. My goal for the year is two-fold. The first part is to help the two national organizations and state organization accomplish some of the goals the task force identified – working together closely, collaboration and communication. The second part is to be better prepared for foreign animal disease (FAD). We will be focusing on the U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). The No. 1 thing is make sure your premise IDs are up to date with current information, including the current owner of the property, current caretaker and current owner of pigs. I encourage producers to make sure records are current and to use AgView as a vehicle to transport that information to the Department of Land and Stewardship so in the face of a FAD, we can reassure our foreign customers that we have identified and isolated the FAD so we can get back on track for exporting our product.

Q. What’s one thing people may not know about you?
A. I started my pork career raising purebred Landrace and selling breeding stock as an FFA project in the 1970s.

Kevin Rasmussen was named president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

Q. There have been many victories in the pork industry lately. What stands out as the biggest one in your mind?
A. To me, it's that we came through the last two years as well as we came through the last two years. We used every tool in our toolbox to keep our plants open, to keep product flowing, to keep trucks moving, to keep feed delivered and to keep propane in the tanks through a time when most industries closed their doors and just said 'no.' We understand as producers how the flow of food works – it doesn’t just end up on the grocery store shelf. It’s a product that moves through the food chain fairly rapidly. Pigs don’t stop growing. We learned how to slow pigs down, but that still didn't stop them from growing and we still had to find ways to move them.

Q. Why are you optimistic about future of swine industry in Iowa?
A. Pork is still the No. 1 protein in world. You look at where we’ve come in last 10 years on the successes of production and I just think it’s really exciting to see the opportunities that are out there to become even more efficient.

Q. What do you like to do for fun?
A. I like to spend time with my family going camping. I also like to play with the grandkids. I’m getting really good at Uno.

Q. What kind of leader is the IPPA getting?
A. I look at myself as a good communicator and I love strategic planning. I like to think of the options and be forward-thinking in planning. Communication and talking to people is my strong suit.

Other changes on the IPPA board include:
•   Selecting a new president-elect, who is Trish Cook of Winthrop. She formerly was the Northeast Region director on the board. An interim director for that position will be appointed by the board at their March meeting.
•   Linda Schroeder, Remsen, is the new District 1 director. She replaces Dwight Mogler, Alvord, whose board term had expired.
•   Rod Leman, Fort Dodge is the new District 2 director. He had previously served in a Stakeholder role on the board and is now filling a position that Gregg Hora, also of Fort Dodge had held as an interim director.
•   Dean Frazer, Conrad, is the new District 3 director. He was elected by those in his district to fill the position formerly held by Lowell Busch.
•   The District 4 position will be held by Clark Wikner, McGregor. He replaces retiring board member Jim Hogan of Monticello.
•   Ryan Pudenz of Ames was re-elected to his position as the District 6 director. He was also elected to the board’s executive committee as the Vice President of Resources.
•   Doug Gruver, Sully, is the new District 7 director. He replaces Patrick Gannon of Colfax, who chose to retire from the board.
•   Matt Gent, Wellman, was elected to his second term as the District 8 director on the board. He will continue to serve on the board’s executive committee as Vice President of Market Development.
•   Jeff Johnson, Dunkerton, was re-elected to the Allied position role.
•   Darin Madson, DVM, Maxwell, was elected by the board to fill a Stakeholder position.
•   Aaron Juergens, Carroll, who serves as the Southwest Region director, was elected to the board’s executive committee as Vice President of Operations.
•   Marv Van Den Top of Boyden, who serves as the Northwest Region director, was elected to the board’s executive committee as Vice President of Producer Services.