September 2011 - Iowa Pork Producers Association

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2011 Iowa State Fair Summary Pork Tent enjoys steady state fair business You could say that business at the Iowa Pork Tent during the 2011 Iowa State Fair was comparable to what U.S. domestic demand has been over the years: steady. The weather was pleasantly cooler during the fair and people started lining up just before 10 a.m. each day to feed their pork appetites and it was pretty much a steady stream of customers each day. Business was brisk from the first day to the last night. “The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for this year’s Fair. The beautiful temperatures brought people to the tent to enjoy some of Iowa’s best pork products,” said Alison Swanson, Iowa Pork Producers Association marketing and program director and Pork Tent manager. “The Pork Chops on a StickTM were another fair favorite.” members and all of the county volunteers, allied organizations and IPPA staff for contributing to this year’s success.” With 2012 being a presidential election year, there was no shortage of political candidates stopping by the Pork Tent to help out on the grills for photo opportunities. The Pork Tent also had its usual share of celebrity chefs and volunteers. A crew from cable television’s Travel Channel stopped by the Pork Tent to get footage for a state fair special to be aired later this year. The Pork Tent menu included Iowa Chops, loin sandwiches, BBQ sandwiches, pork burgers and pork sliders that could be purchased individually or as a dinner. Led by the ever popular Iowa Chop and the Chop on a Stick, preliminary figures indicate total meat servings over the eleven-day fair were 87,527. That compares favorably with the 87,819 total servings in 2010. The Pork Tent sold 12,560 Iowa Chops this year and 54,639 Chops on a Stick were sold. The most popular sandwiches appeared to be the BBQ pulled pork with more than 7,800 sold and the grilled loin sandwich with 6,749 served. Dinners were another favorite of fairgoers with 22,640 sold. “It was a successful fair and we’re pleased with the results,” said IPPA Pork Tent Committee Chairman LeRoy Raabe of Hartley. “I want to thank the committee The Pork Tent has been an institution at the Iowa State Fair for the past 31 years and Swanson attributes its success to a group of individuals that works throughout the year to promote the pork industry. “The Pork Tent Committee really needs to be commended for the hard it puts into making the state fair a success every year,” she said. 24 SEPTEMBER 2011
2011 Iowa State Fair Summary IPPA broadens scope at Animal Learning Center The people who visited the Animal Learning Center at the Iowa State Fair were able to learn more about pork production in 2011 than in year’s past. A new display was developed by the Iowa Pork Producers Association this year to show fairgoers more stages of the production cycle. The exhibit featured two model barns representing the farrowing and finishing stages of pork production. Visitors could watch sows farrow on one side of the model barn and see feeder pigs on the other side. At the front of each exhibit was a banner containing pertinent information about that production stage. The normal, although scaled back, farrowing display was located on the south side of the building. A few days after the sows had given birth, a new group that was close to farrowing was brought in. Southeast Polk High School FFA members and other producer/ volunteers were on hand at the exhibits throughout the fair to visit with consumers about pork production and answer their questions. Each pork exhibit also featured production videos that were shown continuously. A miniature scale model hog farm gave visitors a look at what a typical pork operation may look like. The ag education center also features live births of other farm animals, including cows, nanny goats and ewes. A key feature of the Animal Learning Center is the Christensen Farms Stage. A wide-range of ag-based presentations were held each day by several different groups and individuals. IPPA helped sponsor Rhonda Renee’s educational Thank a Farmer Show that was presented four times daily. Model barns representing the farrowing and finishing stages of production were added this year. SEPTEMBER 2011 25
Page 1 and 2: IOWA Pork Producer www.iowapork.org
Page 3 and 4: September Highlights 04 2012 IPPA A
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Page 7 and 8: IPPA contacted the Tama County Pork
Page 9 and 10: funding was provided for voluntary
Page 11 and 12: For your pigs, your sows, your soil
Page 13 and 14: The Iowa/Texas Pork Youth Leadershi
Page 15 and 16: RAGBRAI riders get taste of Iowa ag
Page 17 and 18: Iowans join together to celebrate f
Page 19 and 20: Iowa Select Farms enhances animal w
Page 21 and 22: Journey time also affected the pig
Page 23: Food and farming celebration featur
Page 27 and 28: 2011 Iowa State Fair Summary Swine
Page 29 and 30: 2011 Iowa State Fair Summary Story
Page 31 and 32: • Heat stroke • Long work perio
Page 33 and 34: Conduct a presentation for elementa
Page 35 and 36: Tama County Four hours are all it t
Page 37 and 38: investigations of the egg industry.
Page 39 and 40: The DVD is accompanied by a wall ch
Page 41 and 42: Pork: Delicious in so many ways! Pe
Page 43 and 44: P r o D u c e r S ’ M A R K e t P

September 2011 - Iowa Pork Producers Association

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