From innovative ideas and encouraging conversations to powerful networking and frank discussions, the 2024 Ohio Pork Congress in Lima, Ohio, was a huge success.
“Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect from the crowd this year with the challenging pork production environment we are in,” says Ohio Pork Council (OPC) president Nick Seger. “But it’s been positive and shows the resiliency and dedication of Ohio pork producers.”
In addition to a Swine Health Symposium, state and national updates and a trade show, OPC members also came together to raise over $38,000 in its Friends of Pork PAC Auction that supports non-Checkoff state relations and project work.
“We’re not sugarcoating what’s happened over the past 12+ months,” says Cheryl Day, OPC executive vice president. “But we are excited to look forward to a brighter 2024. This week that started at the Ohio Pork Congress with over 500 attendees supported by our great producers and exhibitors who continue to support us here in Ohio.”
Here are top takeaways from the powerful line-up of speakers at the event.
“This year is a bit unique. Instead of living with PRRS, many farms have gone ahead and depopulated and repopulated instead of living with and doing a PRRS elimination. The truth is PRRS is not new, and it is not going to go away on its own.” – Cara Haden, DVM, Pipestone, in “PRRS: What’s New in the Producer Toolbox?”
“There’s a lot of automation happening all around you right now. We’re in the early stages of adoption of these automation technologies. I believe robotic vaccination of wean pigs automatically will happen within five years. There’s a lot of work going on in this area.” – Tom Stein, DVM, Merck, in “How Can New Technology Unlock Trapped Value?”
“[HPAI] has been going on for so long, it’s easy for us to get complacent.” – Kristy Shaw, assistant state veterinarian for the Ohio Department of Agriculture
“We all have a role to play in safeguarding the role of animal ag, whether from the farm security angle or public reputation angle. We need to make sure there is nothing happening on farms or plants that we wouldn’t want livestreamed on YouTube or on the front page of the New York Times.” – Hannah Thompson-Weeman in “Safeguarding the Future of Pork: Connect, Engage, Protect”
“Traceability, biosecurity and surveillance are key to ensure continued and increased pork exports.” – Anna Forseth, DVM, National Pork Producers Council in “ASF Update: What We Are Doing to Keep It Out”
“Preparedness looks very different as we go across the farms. That means our response plans, our preparedness needs to be flexible. We need options, so that everyone can adopt these plans. Otherwise, we’re going to have folks locked out.” – Andrew Bowman in “On-Farm Depop and Crisis Preparedness”
“Before utilizing foreign labor on any visa, think about how the foreign workers will fit in with your work force and who will help them assimilate into work and everyday life here.” – Diane Bettin, Bettin Consulting in “Labor: How to Attract/Keep Employees”
“When we talk about biosecurity, it’s not just at the farm level. We need to think about it from an international travel perspective, too, that we aren’t bringing anything back.” – Patrick Webb, DVM, National Pork Board in “ASF Update: What We Are Doing to Keep It Out”
