Trade show or talks? Pork chops or pulled pork? Free pens or free candy? There are a lot of choices for producers and attendees of winter trade shows, and most will agree the choices make the shows more fun. There’s a certain lure to stepping out onto the trade show floor and looking up and down the lines of booths and vendors. The nearly 250 exhibitors at the 2025 Iowa Pork Congress didn’t disappoint. Engaging displays, fun giveaways, exciting technology and lots of smiles greeted those who journeyed to Des Moines for one of the industry’s most popular events on Jan. 22-23.
Here’s a look at some of the technologies and new products that caught our eye this week.
1. Vaxxinova Shows Off Its SRP Vaccine Technology
For the first time, Siderophore Receptor and Porin (SRP) vaccine technology is making its way into the swine industry. Vaxxinova veterinarian Andrea Pitkin says SRP technology was developed out of necessity from a poultry multiplication company years ago that was having issues with salmonella and E. coli.
“They were able to find a conserved protein across gram negatives that are referred to as SRPs. Those proteins regulate iron coming in and out of salmonella, E. coli, or any gram-negative bacteria,” Pitkin explains. “Those bacteria need iron to survive because they’re implementing their virulence mechanisms. SRP technology allows us to purify and isolate those SRP proteins from the bacterial cell wall, mix that with adjuvant, inject it into the animal, and then the animal creates an immune response just to that protein. It’s different than a whole cell killed vaccine, because you’re not just killing the bacteria and putting the whole cell in there, you’re specifically putting this one protein in.”
She says SRP vaccines are made through a patented purification process and provide more targeted antibody generation. This technology has been around the poultry industry for approximately 25 years and has been popular in the dairy business for the last 15 years for mastitis and salmonella control. With the recent uptick in post-weaning scour issues, this technology is making its way into the swine industry, Pitkin adds.
Vaxxinova’s SRP technology was discovered and developed in its laboratories, and Pitkin says they are the only manufacturer of this patented technology. Learn more.
2. Sow Magic is a Solution for Improving Sow Livability, Ralco Says
For several years, JW O’Bryan of O’Bryan Farms has been collecting data and doing research within his sow herds. He developed a new product that launched last fall and was on display at Iowa Pork Congress. The product, Sow Magic, is designed to support sow health, reduce mortality, and ultimately lead to increased sow longevity. In collaboration with Ralco, this product is now available on a larger scale and is available in a 50 lb. bag, tote bag or bulk.
“The impact of sow mortality on profitability is large from both a welfare and productivity standpoint. Sow Magic aims to mitigate the challenges associated with causing sow mortality by improving gut and overall sow health, thereby impacting profitability industry-wide,” says Chad Bierman, swine product specialist for Ralco.
Sow Magic customers have reported a reduction in prolapse incidence rates and lowered sow mortality, accompanied by overall improved physical herd health. Current field results back up these observations, Bierman adds. Learn more.
3. PIC Demonstrates Digital Phenotyping Technology
Although PIC was showing off their digital phenotyping technology on people, this technology is quickly moving from research to commercialization and showing up in more barns throughout the country, says Dan Hamilton, senior director Americas – product performance at PIC. Digital phenotyping technology can help drive sow longevity by taking precise measurements of feet and legs and use that information to make important selection decisions.
“Because sound feet and leg structure is highly correlated with longevity, we have started using digital phenotyping technology to increase the precision and pace of improvement in this category,” he says. “By capturing videos in the barn and pairing them with lifetime production data, we have evolved the standard for locomotion scoring.”
Digital phenotyping removes subjectivity in the scoring process and increases consistency. This new scoring method improves the industry’s ability to create genetic change, Hamilton explains.
This technology can estimate pig weight and be used for carcass composition evaluation, too. Hamilton says it’s easy to come up with ideas on how this camera technology can be used. The challenge is the need for better connectivity and faster computing so more decisions can be made on the spot.
“We have learned that there is no shortage of ideas of new features to be added to these digital innovations, but the difficulty has been to find a way to package these new technologies so that can be easily installed in commercial barns and provide real-time information and solutions at the farm level,” Hamilton says. “We are thankful to be at point that we have worked through many of these challenges and able to start providing these technologies across more operations.”
4. Gestal Demonstrates Novel Approaches to Feed Blending
The ability to adjust an animal’s diet depending on the animal’s needs is one way that Gestal/Jyga Technologies is seeking to help farms be more efficient and profitable. Brian Strobel, USA business development coordinator for Gestal/Jyga Technologies, demonstrated how feed blending can be used in any stage of production during the Iowa Pork Congress.
Because an animal’s nutrient requirements may change from day to day based on life stage and other factors, Strobel says the Gestal Quattro Opti feeding system allows two feed lines to be used to adjust blending to the animal’s needs.
Feed blending can be used to lessen diet costs, prevent overfeeding, and allow the ability to feed multiple phases. The technology allows for the blending of two or four feedlines over each feeder.
“We’ve been seeing more uptake in feed blending and tracking performance use to make culling decisions,” Strobel says.
5. AP Introduces All-New Agri-Alert Alarm Technology
Stop worrying about battery life. View real-time conditions. If the power goes out, you’ll know it. Those are just a few of the benefits of AP’s all-new Agri-Alert alarm technology that the company launched at Iowa Pork Congress. This updated technology enhances monitoring capabilities for producers while maintaining the trusted performance of their previous Agri-Alert Alarm Systems.
“The all-new Agri-Alert has been upgraded with next-gen 5G connectivity because hog health and producer peace-of-mind matters,” says Tom Kain, AP technical sales manager. “Now, producers can stay connected with what’s happening in their barns, ensuring they’re always in the know and allowing them to correct issues before they get out of control.”
The alarm system uses a cellular network or existing farm wifi, allowing producers to monitor up to eight zones in their barn. With new data gateway hardware, Agri-Alert offers multiple connectivity options to provide reliable monitoring and can serve as an internet access point, enabling connectivity to other products, like AP Connect. Learn more.
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