The premier poultry event in Iowa returns to West Des Moines Sept. 18-20. The 48th annual Iowa Poultry Association Fall Festival will be held at the Marriott Hotel, featuring educational programs for poultry producers.

The membership gathering kicks off the afternoon of Sept. 18 with a preconference leadership session. Members and guests will hear from an official of Iowa Select Farms about how to have the best relationships with neighbors. In addition, members will hear a communications consultant discuss how to handle day-to-day conversations about poultry and egg farming.

Educational program for poultry producers
Sept. 19 is a day of industry camaraderie and relationship building on the golf course and in other meetings, followed by the annual IPA recognition banquet. The 2018 annual meeting offers an educational program on Sept. 20.

IPA executive director Kevin Stiles says, “This year’s educational program is more diverse and in-depth than ever. More topics, more presenters and more poultry community issues will be represented and discussed. We’re eager for our members and other attendees to have access to this knowledge and apply it to their operations.”

Animal welfare and other issues discussed
This year’s program features IPA’s first-ever broiler educational breakout session. A panel will discuss animal welfare from the animal husbandry perspective (broiler and egg production). There will be updates regarding the ISU Poultry Research Farm, biosecurity best practices, salmonella control, cage-free production, water quality, litter management, brooding best practices and more. The full educational agenda is available online .

The traditional omelet breakfast is Sept. 20, and registration for the 2018 annual meeting is at iowapoultry.com. The IPA’s mission is to actively raise confidence in the poultry community through leadership, support, advocacy and education.

Source: Iowa Poultry Association