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 Mission:
"The Iowa Pork Producers Association
mission is to provide leadership in areas related to the industry
in order to enhance Iowa pork producers' opportunity, profit,
success and stewardship."
 History
The IPPA organization was originally
known as the Iowa Swine Growers Association, with meetings dating
back to the early 1930's. The ISGA began meeting regularly to
find solutions for management problems, disease control and how
to improve the hog through genetics, breeding and nutrition.
 By the early 1960's, pork
production evolved into an industry where more producers raised
hogs only for market, while breeding stock producers became more
specialized. Producers also began to recognize the growing number
of factors that were impacting the profitability of the operations.
A small group of producers was determined to push pork's message
of a delicious, versatile product beyond the farm.
  As the excitement
caught on, county groups were formed, meetings held, and in April
1968, the Iowa Pork Producers Association was formed.
What is the
IPPA today?
The IPPA serves as a unified voice for Iowa's pork producers.
The IPPA is a grassroots organization that consists of over 80
structured county associations across the state, with over 5000
affiliated and associate members. Every producer, regardless
of size, has a voice in the IPPA through a county-elected delegate
system.
  County pork producer organizations
Local pork producers join forces at the county level and fund
the organization through a membership fee, which also provides
them with membership to the IPPA and to the National Pork Producers
Council.
County organizations support their local communities
in a variety of ways, including classroom visits, grilling events,
sponsoring local programs and partnerships with retailers and
restaurants to promote pork and pork products. County organizations
also play an important role in representing their local pork
producers to key elected officials and opinion leaders in their
community.
 During the annual meeting in January,
county delegates have the opportunity to identify their own priorities
by developing and changing policy on behalf of Iowa's pork producers.
IPPA Leadership
The IPPA Board of Directors oversees leadership and direction
for all IPPA Pork Checkoff Programs, public policy and general
direction. The board consists of producers in the following positions:
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President |
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President-elect |
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Past president |
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Eight district directors |
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Four region directors |
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One allied director |
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One Iowa Purebred Swine Council representative |
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One National Pork Board representative |
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One National Pork Producers Council representative |
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Each November, all members vote by ballots for the candidate
of their choice in their own district. A three-member nominating
committee selects director candidates.
 The Pork Checkoff in Iowa
The present checkoff rate is .40 percent of the market value
of each hog, or 40 cents per $100 of value. Iowa, the largest
pork producing state in the nation, with over 25 million hogs
produced annually, contributes 25 percent of the nation's pork
supply. As expected, Iowa generates about one-fourth of all checkoff
revenue in the United States.
The IPPA receives 16.5 percent of all checkoff
money collected on sales of hogs in the state. The other 83.5
percent of the funds are invested in national programs developed
by the National Pork Board.
How are Pork
Checkoff programs planned by the IPPA?
New programs are developed by county delegates during the IPPA
Annual Meeting or by the board of directors. An official IPPA
committee oversees each program.
Currently, the IPPA has 14 working committees
that bring together almost 200 producers, allied industry associates,
specialists and experts to discuss and improve the areas of promotion,
research, producer education and consumer information.
 IPPA
Checkoff Expenses
| 19% |
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Research |
| 40% |
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Consumer Information and Promotion |
| 4% |
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Foreign Market Development |
| 37% |
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Production Technology and Producer Education |
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| * Percentages based on Pork Checkoff 2003
allocation |
 The
IPPA and Public Policy
The IPPA serves as the voice of Iowa pork producers on the state
and national level. The IPPA plays an active role in the rule
making process for livestock environmental regulations, air and
water quality issues and numerous advocacy efforts.
 How
are policy decisions made by the IPPA?
Public policy decisions are made by the delegate body during
the IPPA Annual Meeting, by the IPPA Public Policy Committee
and the IPPA Board of Directors.
Congress prohibits the use of checkoff funds
for legislative issues. Therefore, government affairs programs
are funded primarily in three ways:
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IPPA Membership dues |
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Producer Consent Program |
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Revenue generated from the Iowa Pork Tent
at the Iowa State Fair and Iowa Pork Congress. |
IPPA Membership dues vary by county and usually
range from $25 to $45 annually. Producers and allied businesses
join their county pork producer organization, which guarantees
them membership with the IPPA and the National Pork Producers
Council.
The Producer Consent Program is a voluntary
funding program to support public policy and advocacy programs
in Iowa and on a national level. The assessment is 10 cents per
$100 of value.
 How
does the IPPA communicate to producers?
The IPPA communicates to over 17,000 Iowa pork producers, educators
and industry professionals through the Iowa Pork Producer magazine,
Headlines newsletter, the Leadership Update and via the IPPA
website, www.iowapork.org.
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