2026 Impact

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IPIC offered a series of biosecurity workshops for producers and daily caretakers involved in swine production. Funding for these workshops was provided by the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

Participants learned about common swine diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) and porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), reviewed strategies to prevent disease spread, and applied this knowledge in barn entry and animal handling simulations. 

Survey results from a workshop held in Howard County indicated that 90% of participants had a better understanding of how swine pathogens can enter a swine facility, and 87.5% felt they were better prepared to execute biosecurity protocols following the workshop. Respondents were asked to rank their knowledge before and after the workshop on a variety of topics on a scale of 1 to 5. Participants indicated the greatest change in knowledge for implementing McRebel glove management protocols (an average increase in knowledge of 1.5), followed by increased knowledge of biosecurity risk events associated with disease outbreaks (average increase in knowledge of 0.9). 

McRebel stands for “Management Changes to Reduce Exposure to Bacteria to Eliminate Losses.” Practices such as minimizing cross-fostering, changing needles and gloves between litters or pens, and decreasing piglet handling by farm personnel can limit the spread of pathogens in suckling pigs. At this particular workshop, participants were asked to simulate how they handle piglets and change gloves between litters, and observe opportunities for cross-contamination. GloGermTM was sprinkled on surfaces to represent pathogens, and participants were asked to switch gloves and check for cross-contamination using ultraviolet light. 

Each January, IPIC collaborates with the Iowa Pork Producers Association to host a research poster contest at the Iowa Pork Congress. In 2026, 12 graduate student researchers in the areas of animal science, agricultural engineering, and veterinary science were selected to share their findings with attendees and compete for a cash prize. Pork producers and other attendees interacted with students to learn about new research being done at Iowa State University and opportunities to incorporate these findings in their own operations.

IPIC also hosted its fourth Swine Industry Experience, an immersive, week-long program for Iowa State University undergraduate students to be exposed to swine production. Students interacted with over thirty swine industry professionals representing production, risk management, nutrition, advocacy, animal health, and swine technology companies. The goal of the ISU Swine Industry Experience is to help meet the need for future pork industry leaders by exposing students to hands-on farm learning, classroom lectures, and industry networking opportunities.

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Each year, IPIC collaborates with the Iowa Pork Producers Association to offer the Iowa Pork Regional Conferences, a series of one-day conferences that provide relevant information and research to producers and allied industry. 

In February 2026, four regional meetings were held in northwest, north central, northeast, and southeast Iowa. Each session addressed the topics of facility valuation, water line management and disinfection, foreign animal disease preparation, disease and disease management tools, and managing foam and potential dangers related to foam in manure pits. 

Based on results from a post-meeting survey, a majority of participants indicated they would adopt of plant to adopt practices learned about at the meeting in their own operations. In addition, participants had the most significant knowledge change in the areas of potential water line issues and best practices for water line management and cleaning. Survey results showed that 34% of respondents estimated the knowledge gained from the conference would provide a value of $5 - $9.99 per head, and 59% indicated a value of $.01 - $4.99 per head.  

In a digital world, it's important to meet pork producers where they are. With a goal of reaching more producers through educational content on social media and online platforms, IPIC social media platforms gained 133 new followers and IPIC's YouTube channel had over 570 hours of watch time during the first three months of 2026. Additionally, renewed efforts to reach news media outlets resulted in IPIC content being shared by 19 news organizations, providing the swine industry across Iowa and the U.S. with new resources and research updates from the Iowa Pork Industry Center.

IPIC content can be found on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.