NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
January 27, 2000
Marketing and nutrition will be key topics as the state's pork producers gather in Fargo for the North Dakota Pork Producers Council State Convention on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 10 and 11.
"Nutrition for pigs and marketing hogs are two areas that are seeing dramatic change in the pork industry," says Tom Socha, a North Dakota State University Extension swine specialist and convention organizer. "Our speakers will bring a national perspective to those topics."
The convention opens at 4 p.m. on Feb. 10 and will conclude about 4 p.m. on Friday. Registration is $10 at the door and includes the Thursday night banquet and lunch on Friday.
The first item on the agenda is the North Dakota Pork Producers annual meeting. A social begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by a banquet at 6:30 p.m. The banquet speaker is Gary Machon, vice-president of Pork Procurement at IBP Inc. in Sioux City, Iowa.
Machon coordinates the purchase of hogs for IBP's six pork production plants from more than 200 hog buyers across the Midwest. He'll discuss IPB's buying program and how it is incorporating muscle-quality standards. The evening will close with a fund-raising auction at 8:30 p.m.
The convention continues on Friday, Feb. 11, beginning with a continental breakfast at 7 a.m. and a trade show at 8 a.m. At 9:15 a.m. Tim Hore, hog procurement manager for Maple Leaf Foods, Brandon, Man., Canada, will discuss his company's hog buying programs and how it affects North Dakota pork producers.
The afternoon will feature Fred Madsen, vice president and nutritionist for Suidae Feed Company in Highland, Ill. Madsen will discuss feeding strategies that are designed to improve muscle quality in swine. Ernie Hanson, a swine nutrition specialist with Hubbard Feeds Inc. of Mankato, Minn., will outline the importance of developing wean-to-finish nutrition programs.
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Source: Scott Birchall (701) 652-2951
Editor: Tom Jirik (701) 231-9629