South Dakota State University (SDSU) Extension will commemorate the fifth anniversary of the SDSU Swine Education and Research Facility at this year’s Swine Day. The annual event will be held at McCrory Gardens in Brookings on Tuesday, Nov. 2.
“The SDSU Swine Education and Research Facility continues to play an integral role in exposing students from South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and surrounding states to real-world swine industry teaching and research experience,” says Ryan Samuel, Assistant Professor and SDSU Extension Swine Specialist. “Swine Day is an opportunity for producers, allied industry members and stakeholders to get an update on the latest groundbreaking research being conducted at the swine units and connect with these future industry members.”
The event begins at 9 a.m. CDT with a poster session highlighting graduate research projects from the past year. Attendees are invited to enjoy a continental breakfast and visit with graduate students about their projects. The formal program will follow at 10 a.m.
Dr. Steve Meyer, Partners for Production Agriculture, is this year’s keynote speaker and will deliver an engaging presentation on swine industry economic data and analyses. Meyer has worked in the hog industry in a number of roles. As Vice President of Pork Analysis for EMI, he conducted ongoing analysis of hog and pork markets. As President of Paragon Economics, which he founded, he monitored and analyzed cattle, beef and poultry markets. Prior to Paragon Economics, Meyer served as Director of Economics for the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC ) and the National Pork Board (NPB) from 1993 to 2002. In that capacity, he provided economic counsel to producers and NPPC/NPB staff while coordinating staff and consultants’ activities regarding meat industry production. Since leaving the NPB staff, Meyer has served as the organization’s consulting economist.
Below is the schedule for this year’s Swine Day:
- 9 a.m. CDT — Continental breakfast and poster session with graduate students
- 10 a.m. — Welcome, Dr. Joe Cassady, Professor and Head of the Department of Animal Science at SDSU
- 10:15 a.m. — Keynote, Dr. Steve Meyer, Partners for Production Agriculture
- 11:30 a.m. — African Swine Fever (ASF) surveillance and diagnostic updates from Dr. Jane Christopher-Hennings, Department Head, South Dakota Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (ADRDL)
- Noon — Lunch
- 1 p.m. — SDSU swine faculty and graduate student research program highlights
- 2:55 p.m. — Discussion and closing
This event is open to the public. To register, please visit the SDSU Extension Events page.
For more information, contact Samuel at 605-688-5165 or Ryan.Samuel@sdstate.edu.