The World Pork Expo opens today at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The 22nd annual event draws thousands of pork producers from across Iowa, the nation and around the globe. Sam Carney, of Adair, is president of the National Pork Producers Council. Carney says he’s expecting positive attitudes to abound for the first time in a few years.
“Last year, of course, we were right in the height of H1N1 and prices were really down,” Carney says. “The year before, we had good prices but we had extraordinary high input costs.” He says this year’s gathering should be significantly more “upbeat.” Carney says the World Pork Expo’s trade show is enormous, as would be expected for the nation’s top pork-producing state.
There will be more than 400 exhibitors along with a “huge” swine show, with more than 1,700 entries. He says there were far fewer foreign visitors last year, due to the H1N1 scare, but he expects the international numbers to be much higher this time around. The event in Des Moines runs through Friday. For more information, visit: “www.worldpork.org“.
By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City
