Pork Congress 2012 - Iowa Pork Producers Association

New IPPA president says industry needs to
keep telling its story
The new president of the Iowa Pork
Producers Association believes the
industry’s most pressing challenge
this year is maintaining the right to
operate.
Bill Tentinger of Le Mars in
Plymouth County was installed as
the 2012 president at the conclusion
of IPPA’s Annual Meeting in Des
Moines Jan. 24. He succeeds Leon
Sheets, a pork producer from Ionia
in Chickasaw County.
“It is becoming increasingly more
important for the pork industry to
be open and vocal about what we
do,” he said. “We need to not only
tell the story about feeding the
world and producing a safe product,
but also that we can be good to the
environment while we provide jobs
for our communities.”
One of Tentinger’s biggest
concerns as a producer is increased
government regulation. He hopes
that 2012 will mean continued
profitability for the industry and he’d
like to see progress made toward
managing or eradicating Porcine
Reproductive and Respiratory
Syndrome (PRRS) from the herd.
Tentinger is a long-time IPPA
member and has served on the board
for the past seven years, chairing and
serving on numerous committees
as well. He says the thought of now
being the president of the state
association is both exciting and
sobering.
“First of all, it is exciting to know
that I am following in the footsteps
of some of the most dedicated
leaders in the pork industry in
Iowa,” Tentinger said. “Secondly,
it’s exciting to be able to be a
spokesman for and lead a very
important segment of the rural
economy of Iowa. It is sobering
to realize that I am at the helm
of an organization that is so well
organized and staffed with great
professionals.”
His goals for the coming year are
to “continue to have a board of
directors that can work together,
discuss issues brought
before it and find common
ground to better serve the
pork industry in Iowa.”
Tentinger has farmed and
raised hogs in northwest
Iowa for 43 years. He has
350 sows that produce
7,200 pigs each year.
He also purchases an
additional 3,000 iso pigs
that he finishes to increase
his total number marketed
annually to 10,000.
He also grows corn and
soybeans and is a member
of the state corn and
soybean associations, as
well as Farm Bureau.
2012 IPPA President Bill Tentinger (left) accepts the gavel from Leon Sheets,
2011 IPPA president.
18 March 2012