PORK QUALITY ASSURANCE PLUS™

PQA Plus™ was developed by the Pork Industry Animal Care Coalition to be a continuous improvement program. The coalition, made up of pork producers, packers/processors, restaurants and food retailers, dedicated itself to finding a food-industry solution that would give confidence to consumers that U.S. pork is produced in a way that respects animal well-being. PQA Plus™ merges the food safety and animal well-being concepts of the original PQA program into three steps: individual certification through education, farm site assessment, and the opportunity for audit that gives customer credibility. For more information on PQA Plus™ contact the National Pork Board at 800-456-PORK, or go to www.pork.org/Producers/PQA/PQAPlus.aspx pdf

PROGRAM GUIDELINES, ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION
Pork producers with current Pork Quality Assurance™ (PQA) Level III certification should be aware that the PQA™ program has been revamped and expanded to include an animal well-being assessment. Because of this new structure and the renaming of the program to PQA Plus™, all existing PQA™ certifications will not be renewed at the end of the certification period. The Iowa Pork Industry Center and Iowa State University Extension are teaming up to provide necessary certification training for producers.

NEWS and INFORMATION
A special rate is available for group training sessions. Please contact the ISU Extension field specialist in your area for more information. Check the ISU Extension swine field specialist page for links to your respective field specialist's contact and other information.


PQA PLUS™ TRAINING SESSIONS
Each session is two hours long with a registration fee of $25 per person, payable at the training session. Preregistration is strongly encouraged to ensure that adequate materials are available for all in attendance. See the individual meeting entries below for appropriate contact information.

Please check back for additional listings.
This page is updated as new program dates and information are received.

January 2008
Jan. 15. Jones County Extension Office. 605 East Main Street, Anamosa. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Larry McMullen by e-mail at lkmcmull@iastate.edu or by phone at 319-462-2791.
Jan. 15. Marion County Extension Office. 1445 Lake Drive, Knoxville. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Terry Steinhart by e-mail at tsteinha@iastate.edu or by phone at 641-622-2680, or call the Marion County Extension Office at 641-842-2014.
Jan. 15. Washington County Extension Office. 2223 250th Street, Washington. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Tom Miller by e-mail at tmiller@iastate.edu or by phone at 319-653-4811.
Jan. 29. Greene County Extension Office. 104 West Washington Street, Jefferson. 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. To preregister contact Jerry Weiss by e-mail at weissj@iastate.edu or by phone at 712-335-3103, or call the Greene County Extension Office at 515-386-2138.
Jan. 31. Shelby County Extension Office. 906 Sixth Street, Harlan. 7 to 9 p.m. Sponsored by the Shelby County Pork Producers, so the per-person fee does not apply to this meeting. For more information or to preregister, contact Jerry Weiss by e-mail at weissj@iastate.edu or by phone at 712-335-3103, or call the Shelby County Office at 712-755-3104.

February 2008
Feb. 11. Boone County Extension Office. 603 Story Street, Boone. 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. To preregister, contact Rich Wrage by e-mail at rwrage@iastate.edu or by phone at 515-432-3882.
Feb. 14. Fayette County Extension Office. 201 East Clark, Suite 101, Fayette. 3 to 5 p.m. To preregister, contact Mark Storlie by e-mail at mstorlie@iastate.edu or by phone at 563-425-3331.
Feb 21. Chickasaw Extension Office, New Hampton, 7 to 9 p.m. Preregistration is requested. Walk-ins are welcome, but adequate commitments are necessary for this event. To preregister, contact Fred Hall by e-mail at hallfred@iastate.edu or by phone at 641-394-2174.

Feb. 28. Cass County Extension Office. 805 West 10th Street, Atlantic. 10 a.m. to noon. To preregister, contact Dave Stender by e-mail at dstender@iastate.edu or phone at 712-225-6196, or Steve Olsen by e-mail at swolsen@iastate.edu or by phone at 712-243-1132.

March 2008
March 6. Fayette County Extension Office. 201 East Clark, Suite 101, Fayette. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Preregistration is requested. Walk-ins are welcome, but adequate commitments are necessary for this event. To preregister, contact Mark Storlie by e-mail at mstorlie@iastate.edu or by phone at 563-425-3331.
March 11. Hawkeye Community College. Waterloo.6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Preregistration is requested by calling Amanda Everts by phone at 319-293-2320, ext. 1084. For more information, contact Mark Storlie by e-mail at mstorlie@iastate.edu or by phone at 563-425-3331.
March 13. Northwest Iowa Community College. Room 119, Building A, Sheldon. 10 a.m. to noon. To preregister, contact Dave Stender by e-mail at dstender@iastate.edu or by phone at 712-225-6196.
March 18. Pocahontas County Extension Office. 305 North Main, Pocahontas. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Jerry Weiss by e-mail at weissj@iastate.edu or by phone at 712-335-3103.

March 18. Jones County Extension Office. 605 East Main Street, Anamosa. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Larry McMullen by e-mail at lkmcmull@iastate.edu or by phone at 319-462-2791.
March 18. Marion County Extension Office. 1445 Lake Drive, Knoxville. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Terry Steinhart by e-mail at tsteinha@iastate.edu or by phone at 641-622-2680, or call the Marion County Extension Office at 641-842-2014.
March 18. Washington County Extension Office. 2223 250th Street, Washington. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Tom Miller by e-mail at tmiller@iastate.edu or by phone at 319-653-4811.
March 20. Chickasaw Extension Office, New Hampton, 7 to 9 p.m. Preregistration is requested. Walk-ins are welcome, but adequate commitments are necessary for this event. To preregister, contact Fred Hall by e-mail at hallfred@iastate.edu or by phone at 641-394-2174.

April 2008

April 2. Carrollton Inn. 1730 N US Highway 71, Carroll. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Jerry Weiss by e-mail at weissj@iastate.edu or by phone at 712-335-3103, or call the Carroll County Extension Office at 712-792-2364.
April 28. Kossuth County Extension Office. 1121-B Hwy 18 E, Algona. 9 to 11 a.m. To preregister, contact Jerry Weiss by e-mail at weissj@iastate.edu or by phone at 712-335-3103, or call the Kossuth County Extension Office at 515-295-2469.

May 2008
May 20. Jones County Extension Office. 605 East Main Street, Anamosa. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Larry McMullen by e-mail at lkmcmull@iastate.edu or by phone at 319-462-2791.
May 20. Marion County Extension Office. 1445 Lake Drive, Knoxville. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Terry Steinhart by e-mail at tsteinha@iastate.edu or by phone at 641-622-2680, or call the Marion County Extension Office at 641-842-2014.
May 20. Washington County Extension Office. 2223 250th Street, Washington. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Tom Miller by e-mail at tmiller@iastate.edu or by phone at 319-653-4811.


June 2008
June 12. Fayette County Extension Office. 201 East Clark, Suite 101, Fayette. 3 to 5 p.m. To preregister, contact Mark Storlie by e-mail at mstorlie@iastate.edu or by phone at 563-425-3331.

 

July 2008

July 15. Jones County Extension Office. 605 East Main Street, Anamosa. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Larry McMullen by e-mail at lkmcmull@iastate.edu or by phone at 319-462-2791.
July 15. Washington County Extension Office. 2223 250th Street, Washington. 7 to 9 p.m. To preregister, contact Tom Miller by e-mail at tmiller@iastate.edu or by phone at 319-653-4811.