Iowa Swine Day - Industry Focused Event on June 30.

Apr 27, 2016

Iowa Swine Day showcases nationally recognized speakers on topics of vital interest to the pork industry

Iowa State University News

Ames, Iowa — Join Iowa State University, the Iowa Pork Industry Center and the Iowa Pork Producers Association in celebrating the 5^th anniversary of Iowa Swine Day. Iowa Swine Day is an industry-focused event with a very high quality program designed specifically for the pork industry.

Scheduled for Thursday, June 30^,on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, the morning plenary session features nationally recognized speakers addressing topics of urgent interest.

During the morning plenary session, national experts will address up-to-the minute issues in pork production.

Dr. Peter Davies, a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Minnesota whose findings have been published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, will discuss how antibiotic use in animal agriculture impacts human health.

Sean McMahon, Executive Director of the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance, will describe the increasing pace and scale of farmer-driven efforts to improve water quality in today’s highly charged atmosphere.

The ever-popular Joe Kerns, a risk management specialist whose firm Kerns and Associates works with livestock producers and suppliers in 13 states, will delve into financial prospects for pork producers in in the coming year in the context of the larger U.S. economy.

Sandra Vijn, Director of Food Sustainability with the World Wildlife Fund will address the issue of sustainability in future pork production.

There will also be concurrent afternoon sessions on topics such as the new regulations governing swine feed and emerging technologies that will become available in the future to control serious diseases in swine. Other sessions will address housing topics and the latest research from Iowa State University.

Iowa Swine Day 2016 will be held from 9:00 am until 4:35 pm on Thursday, June 30 in the Scheman building on the Iowa State University campus. Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. Lunch and refreshments are included in the registration fee, which is $60 until midnight, June 17, and then increases to $80. Students of all ages may register at no cost until June 17^th, paying $45 thereafter. To register and view the full program, visit our website at www.aep.iastate.edu/iowaswineday.

Following Iowa Swine Day, there will be a barbecue catered by Smokey D’s, ranked 10^th in the US out of more than 4,000 competition BBQ teams. In 2014, Smokey D’s won both the Jack Daniels World Championship BBQ competition and the King of the Smoker BBQ competition.

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.