Washington swine information day, Feb. 3

The Washington Swine Information Day will be held on Feb. 3 from 9 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. at the Pillar Rock Grill in Moses Lake.

The educational seminar is designed for progressive pork producers and stakeholders.

Swine producers of all sizes; 4-H/FFA youth producers; agency representatives; agriculture educators; and fair/show representatives are invited to participate.

The Washington Swine Information Day features an array of presentations that have been organized to meet the diverse and unique needs of Pacific Northwest Swine.

The morning session will start with an outlook on the hog and grain market and managing risk during volatile market times, which will be followed by a presentation from WSDA’s State Vet’s office.

The morning session will conclude with multiple presentations on the new Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) to start Jan. 1, and what management practices producers can implement to improve performance and to minimize the need for a VFD.

The afternoon session will focus on safe pork production and good production practices for producers to implement on-farm.

Producers of all sizes and stakeholders will be able to certify in the National Pork Board Pork Quality Assurance Plus program and receive information on preparing for an on-farm audit.

The afternoon will conclude with an update on Washington State feral pig concern and need for control by USDA Wildlife Services and an update from Washington Ag in the Classroom about their agriculture advocacy efforts with school kids.

This year’s featured speaker will be Dr. David Madsen, DVM, from Dillion, Montana. Dr. Madsen has over 46 years of full-time professional experience and a lifetime of pig savvy growing up in a family of purebred pig producers.

He has worked as a veterinary pig specialist, and finished his career as Director of Health Services with Smithfield Farms where he oversaw the care of 105,000 sows producing nearly 2,000,000 pigs annually.

In his semi-retirement, Dr. Madsen serves Montana Pork Producers and swine exhibitors with educational outreach on swine health, management, and PQA training.

Registration for the day’s event is $25 per person and includes seminar, handouts, lunch and break refreshments. A $20 all-day youth registration is available to 4-H and FFA members.

Individuals may also attend just the afternoon session for $10. There is a $15 per person late charge for registrations postmarked after Jan. 27.

A complete seminar agenda and registration brochure is available at http://extension.wsu.edu/grant-adams/event/washington-state-swine-information-day or by contacting Sarah M. Smith, WSU Extension Regional Specialist at [email protected] or 509-754-2011, Extension 4313.

To register with a credit card, visit http://www.BrownPaperTickets.com and enter event number 2737946.