Travel the country. Meet farmers from other states. Develop your leadership skills. If those sound like goals you want to accomplish in 2020, then the Iowa Pork Leadership Academy (IPLA) may be for you.

The Iowa Pork Producers Association is now accepting applications for its 2020 IPLA class. Applications are due Nov. 30, 2019.

IPLA was created to support Iowa’s pork producers who are committed to the pork industry. It provides them with tools  to succeed as leaders. These tools include:

• a working knowledge of the Iowa Pork Producers Association and other key organizations that work with IPPA;
• understanding and defining leadership styles and how they impact people working together in a group;
• a deeper understanding of the pork industry and its economic contributions to Iowa, and how that impacts Iowa’s place in the world; and
• sharpening written and verbal communications and messaging about pig farming and pork.

The academy will meet four times in 2020, starting with an introductory session in February 2020, which culminates with the group’s graduation at the January 2021 Iowa Pork Congress.

IPLA is for men and women who want to contribute to a better future for Iowa’s pig farmers by connecting with their communities, and supporting the long-term profitability of the pork industry in Iowa.

Online applications and details about the program can be found at http://www.iowapork.org/iowa-pork-leadership-academy/.

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