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World Pork Expo is worth a look

Event ranks as the world’s largest pork industry trade show

The 2017 incarnation of the World Pork Expo gets underway in Des Moines Wednesday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and runs through Friday. This annual event brings together pork producers, exhibitors and visitors not just from across Iowa, but also from throughout the nation. Among the 20,000 to 30,000 people the Expo is expected to draw will be a great many pork producers and pork industry professionals from abroad. In 2016, there were attendees from 48 countries. This event has a truly international following.

Educational and marketing programs will appeal to many of those who attend this important pork industry event. For others, the more than 350 commercial exhibits will be the draw. The Expo also offers ample opportunities for recreation and camaraderie.

“Anyone involved with pork production, including owners, managers, veterinarians, employees and allied industry, should attend World Pork Expo,” said John Weber, National Pork Producers Council president and Iowa pork producer. “Expo is truly an international show and offers a great opportunity to interact with producers and companies from other countries, which helps us better understand the global reach of U.S. pork production.”

The NPPC, an entity that conducts public outreach on behalf of 44 affiliated state organizations, owns the Expo and orchestrates this popular show. The organizers say this is the largest pork-industry trade show in the world.

The Expo offers a particularly welcome opportunity to learn more about the pork industry’s future and its importance to the Hawkeye State.

It’s unlikely that anyone who lives in Iowa does not already know that pork production is exceptionally important to the economic vitality of our state. It may come as a surprise, however, that hogs raised in Iowa account for more than 30 percent of U.S. hog production. Iowa ranks as the nation’s top hog-producing state.

According to the Iowa Pork Producers Association:

n Hog farming contributes $7.5 billion to the Iowa economy each year.

n The total production value for Iowa hog farming exceeds $6.5 billion.

n Several billion dollars in economic activity is generated annually from pork processing.

n Annual Iowa pork exports are valued at more than $1.4 billion.

These statistics underline just how major a factor pork production is to Iowa’s prosperity.

The World Pork Expo, now in its 29th year, offers an exceptional opportunity to learn a great deal more.

The Daily Freeman-Journal congratulates NPPC on more than quarter century of remarkable expositions.

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