Why You Should Get Out and Attend Pork Industry Events

As an Iowa pork producer, Trish Cook is quick to realize she is fortunate to have many opportunities to talk with her peers at events and meetings nearby. But for Cook, the current president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, one of the reasons she looks forward to attending the National Pork Industry Forum each year is to grow her circle even wider. 

“What's great about Forum is we have pork producers from across the country all here in one place,” Cook says. “Although our farms don't look exactly the same, we have a lot of the same common interests.”

She believes it’s critically important that everyone from across the country has input into what the national organizations do with producer dollars. It gives producers the opportunity to visit directly with organization leaders to share their thoughts and concerns to make the industry better. 

“It's really easy to want to stay amongst the people that you know at these events, and coming from Iowa, we have the most delegates here so almost everywhere you turn, there's somebody from my state. But it's really awesome to get other perspectives.”