Maybe it’s happened to you, too. You’re walking down the red carpet in the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The latest and greatest advances in technology are beckoning for you to stop and explore. And then you run into a friend and visit for 5 minutes. Then you walk two feet and see another friend and visit for 8 minutes. Before long, two hours have passed, and you still haven’t made it down the first aisle.
Does this sound like your experience at World Pork Expo? There’s no question that the conversations held at the event – whether in the aisles of the trade show or in the tents under the shade trees – will lead to pivotal decisions, exciting advancements and partnership opportunities that will change the future of the global pork industry.
“There will be a lot of conversations this week,” says Brett Kaysen, senior vice president of producer and state engagement for the National Pork Board. “That’s one of the things I enjoy most about World Pork Expo – the opportunity to connect with producers and listen really what’s on their heart and on their mind.”
Barb Determan, president of Heartland Marketing Group and a past president of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), hasn’t missed a World Pork Expo since it started in 1988.
“I think conversations around swine health, especially porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome (PRRS) and foreign animal diseases will be a big topic this year,” Determan says. “Not to mention, there will be discussion around the economics of the industry. We lost a lot of money and some producers last year. This year is a little better, but there is still healing to be done.”
Scott Hays, a Missouri pork producer and executive director of the Missouri Pork Association agrees that the biggest topic of discussion will likely be around the next one to three years in the industry.
“It’s great that pigs are making money, but will there be growth? There always has been and will be conventional wisdom. But tariffs, high building cost and added production from a PRRS-resistant pig (that could be here by the time a new facility is producing pigs), will all be things to consider before expanding this time,” Hays says.
Demand is a big topic on everyone’s minds – both international and domestic, says Lori Stevermer, a Minnesota pork producer and customer success manager for Alltech’s U.S. pork business.
“With all the talk on trade and tariffs, and how it affects our exports and the demand for our products, people will be focusing on demand,” she says.
The launching of the Taste What Pork Can Do tagline and the focus on consumer demand and showing up in a space where the pork industry has been absent for a number of years will be in conversations, adds Dwight Mogler, an Iowa pork producer.
“Without a doubt, I think that’s going to be front and center on a lot of producers’ minds,” Mogler says. “A lot of producers have been asking, why aren’t we doing more? And now we’ve got a very visible strategy and launch.”
Jake Sterle, NPPC Director of Industry and Resource Development, points out that the World Pork Expo always seems to bring about the ‘What’s new?’ or ‘What’s next?’ questions from producers and allied industry.
“There are a lot of open-ended questions around trade, tariffs, the current administration, the MAHA movement, farm bill, Prop 12, and on and on,” Sterle says.
It’s a critical time in the pork industry and there’s no doubt the conversations at the World Pork Expo will have far-reaching implications. There’s no better time to listen and learn from each other than now.
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