By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

DES MOINES, Iowa — While pork producers begin to recover from the effects of swine flu’s association with the industry, the 21st annual World Pork Expo will march on June 3-5 hoping to bring some positive encouragement back into the hearts of producers.

“World Pork Expo has always been a place where producers and allied industry can get together to find new ways to improve pork production and to learn about what’s going on in the industry from a global standpoint,” said Don Butler, National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) president who works for Murphy-Brown LLC - the livestock production subsidiary of Smithfield Foods Inc., in North Carolina.

“Given the unprecedented global economic instability, this year’s World Pork Expo will be an especially important opportunity to come together as an industry.”

The NPPC will present the World Pork Expo on June 3-5, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, debuting once again as the largest pork-industry trade shows in the world, drawing tens of thousands of pork producers, exhibitors and visitors every year, according to show organizers.

The biggest change at the 2009 event will be its move from a late-week event to being a mid-week event, as requested by many of the producers and exhibitors that attend the show each year, said WPE organizers.

“We have gotten a lot of feedback from both producers and exhibitors saying they’d prefer to attend the show on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday,” said Butler. “We’re happy that we’ve been able to move things around to make that happen.”

In addition to its well-recognized and expansive trade show, the World Pork Expo will also be able to participate in a new seminar focusing on swine handling and transport.

Sponsored by National Hog Farmer magazine, the National Pork Board and NPPC, the seminar will provide pork producers, swine handlers and transporters with current information about the handling, transportation and marketing of pigs. The forum will address the importance of stockmanship, animal welfare expectations throughout the pork supply chain and preventing transport losses to increase your economic return.

This event will take place on Tuesday, June 2 at the Downtown Marriott in Des Moines.

Also, international visitors and producers with an interest in getting a closer look at businesses engaged in the Iowa hog industry will have the opportunity to attend the World Pork Expo Industry Tour.
The tour will include visits to Pioneer Hi-Bred International; Kemin Industries developers and suppliers of advanced plant genetics to farmers worldwide; a nutrient and ingredient manufacturer; and the Iowa State University Department of Animal Science. Program schedules, cost and online registration can be found at www.worldpork.org

Other activities at the Expo include additional educational seminars, a farm toy show and sale, breed shows and sales, lunch at the Big Grill daily, the BarBQlossal grilling contest, the World Pork Open Golf Tournament and the World Pork Open Sporting Clay Championship.

The Expo’s trade show hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday. Judging for the Great BarBQLossal will continue on Saturday morning.

For information about seminars, information centers and other happenings, including online registration at a reduced cost, visit www.worldpork.org