Members of the Real Pork Trust Consortium convened at the 2024 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, to learn about the latest research in swine health and pork production while conversing with colleagues about important industry updates.
We were proud to have many RPTC representatives presenting research and practical applications at the Leman Conference which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. Conference attendees included veterinarians, nutritionists, farmers, producers, and allied industry professionals.
Dr. Gerald “Jerry” Shurson, Professor of Animal Science at the University of Minnesota, presented at the Carlos Pijoan SDEC Symposium during the morning session on Sunday, September 22. Shurson shared his expertise in his presentation “Things are not always as they seem: A roadmap to evaluate potential virus transmission and mitigation in feed.”
Shelby Krebs, a master’s student at the University of Minnesota, presented a research poster titled “Impact of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae infection on efficient and sustainable swine” during the opening reception and poster session on Sunday, September 22.
On Monday, September 23, Dr. Pedro Urriola, Assistant Professor of Animal Science at the University of Minnesota, chaired the session “Industry Updates” during which conference attendees learned about industry trends for the year.
During the "Industry Updates" session, Dr. Fallys Masambuka-Kanchewa, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Communication, and Ph.D. student Sidney Schnor from Iowa State University shared an interactive presentation about how pork industry professionals can connect with consumers to build trust.
Masambuka-Kanchewa and Schnor began their presentation by asking participants to read through various hypothetical scenarios created to put session attendees in the shoes of consumers. These scenarios were designed to help attendees empathize with and understand the consumer audiences with whom they might be communicating about the pork industry.
The RPTC science communication team members then delved deeper into the dynamics of gaining consumer trust. The team provided practical methods to relate to consumers including facilitating meaningful conversations and listening to consumer questions. After the presentation, RPTC team members enjoyed entertaining questions from attendees.
Thank you to the organizers of the Leman Swine Conference for planning another wonderful conference and space for sharing pork industry research and updates.
To learn more about what our RPTC team members are doing, visit our latest news page.