AMES, Iowa — The International Conference on Pig Survivability is planned for Oct. 27-28, in Omaha, Nebraska, at the Hilton Omaha. The conference objective is to facilitate the discussion and dissemination of the most current information relative to sow, litter, weaned pig and grow-finish mortality.
“By featuring presentations and panel discussions from industry leaders and scientific experts, we want to bring the industry together to motivate change,” said Joel DeRouchey, K-State swine extension specialist. “We want attendees to walk away with a sense of urgency toward the issue of mortality and some practical ideas of what to do about it.”
“The conference will feature speakers from an array of swine-related businesses and organizations that will discuss relevant, take-home messages to impact swine survivability,” said Jason Ross, director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center and professor of animal science at Iowa State University.
Confirmed speakers and topics to be addressed include:
- Lee Schulz, associate professor in economics and livestock economist at Iowa State; economics of swine mortality.
- Ron Ketchem, Swine Management Services LLC, a MetaFarms Company; Trends of U.S. swine survivability.
- Bill Christianson, Genus PIC; Trends of international swine survivability.
- Cassie Edgar, McKee, Voorhees, and Sease, PLC; Advancing technology — regulatory, advocating, and future.
- Gustavo Pizarro, Pipestone Veterinary Services; Industry successes and failures in pre-weaning survivability.
- Chris Rademacher, clinical veterinary professor and extension swine veterinarian at Iowa State; Industry successes and failures in post-weaning survivability.
- Karine Talbot, HyLife; Wean to finish biosecurity – a need for change.
- Valerie Duttlinger, Summit Smart Farms; The right people for the right job.
- Sara Probst Miller, Ag Create Solutions; Effective training: what works and what does not.
- Noel Williams, Iowa Select Farms, and Mike Tokach, Kansas State University; Conference impressions: now, what should we do to capture value in academics and industry.
- Numerous industry panels for interactive discussions.
For a full list of speakers and to learn more, visit the conference website. Registration for the conference is now open. To receive other updates from the Improving Pig Survivability project, visit and subscribe to project updates at www.piglivability.org.
The International Conference on Pig Survivability is part of the Improving Pig Survivability project. This five-year, interdisciplinary, multi-university project is funded by the National Pork Board and FARR, aimed at reducing mortality in the U.S. swine industry by 1% or more per year of the project. The project is being organized as a collaborative effort by Iowa State University, Kansas State University and Purdue University.
— Jason Ross, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
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