Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The Midwest Organic Pork Conference held in March 8-9,2019 in Waterloo, Iowahad 121 attendees representing 10 states. Attendees included certified organic farmers, pork producers,transitioning farmers, consumers, processors, researchers, organic seed company representatives and students. The majority of attendees were from Iowa (55) however, other states included: Attendees were fromCalifornia,Illinois,Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. April 2019-August 2021 (extended award period) IOA continued to focus efforts on delivering organic pork resources and expertiseto atarget audience of livestock producers, businesses, ag service providers, state and federal agency field staff and others to address barriers in the organic pork industry and expand awareness about organic pork production and opportunities.IOA reached an additional 904of participants with ninewebinars, as in-person events were discontinued to due to COVID. The webinars prevented in-person networking and connections; however, the online education programs provided an opportunity to reach a broader geographic audience and provide archive recordings for continued access to the information presented. Changes/Problems:IOA requested a no-cost extension at the end of the first grant period, as award funds were underutlizied due to presenters volunteering their time and expense to participate in the conference. Through conference evaluations we identified some key barriers and needs in the organic industry and requested to utlizethose funds to expand education and outreach on those topics. The work conducted in 2019-2020 to plan and deliver a half-day workshop, relevant topics and content for the 2020 MOPC and three 2020 Spring/Summer field days were completely disrupted due to COVID-19. The workshop and conference were planned for March 13-14, 2020 - literally the weekend that cities across the U.S. started to shutdown. IOA made the decision to cancel the workshop and MOPC on Thursday, March 12 before presenters and participants started to travel for the conference. The interest and plans for developing a 2020 Summer/Spring field day series focused on organic pork topics were also postponed. Furthermore, after two years of coordinating and leading organic pork activities for IOA, our conference coordinator, Kris Winter resigned in May 2020 to pursue a new business venture. IOA hired staff in mid-August to continue leading IOAs education program. Without the interruption from COVID-19, we are confident we would have fulfilled our goals and priorities developed through the first no-cost grant extension. We are beyond grateful for NIFA's considceration of a second no-cost grant extention to allow IOA to fully maximize the award benefit and reach a larger population of our target audience with organic pork education and outreach. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Based on discussions during and after the conference, evaluation responses and Advisory Committee follow-up, a need for a forum dedicated to organic pork production is desired. New and transitioning farmers are looking for more resources and best practices tips. Advanced farmers are looking for more marketing opportunities, increased accessibility to organic processors, additional research, improved relationships with grocers and access to breeding stock. Additionally, challenges caused by the 2020 pandemic have considerably affected and altered agriculture and food systems in the U.S., and notably the meat processing industry, causing a shift in focus and priorities for IOA to best support the organic pork industry. We plan to utilize remaining grant funds to address an emerging need of organic pork producers, which is finding access to small and mid-sized processors. As it stands, the pandemic has created an upsurge in demand for direct sales from our livestock farmers that has far outpaced our local processing capacity. IOA has continued to connect individuals intersted in local, organic pork production with resources and information desired by coordinating and delivering both in-person and virtual program content. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Conference results have been shared: With participants, IOA members and supporters through e-news, programs and field days, website and social media. Through conversations with Advisory Committee about resources, programs and information desired to assist the expansion of organic pork. In outreach with new partners and stakeholders about outcomes and the industry demand for information and resources With organic pig producers during field day events. Archived on YouTube and the Midwest Organic Pork Conference web page. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1 Kristine Winter of M2K Marketing Group was hired as the conference coordinator in September 2018 and provided 20 hours of time each week through June 2019. Kristine and Rosalyn Lehman, IOA executive director, conducted outreach to identify Advisory Committee members to provide information, research and resources to help expand opportunities for organic and natural pork production and distribution. IOA convened a diverse, eighteen-member group of the Midwest's leading experts on organic pork production to serve on the Midwest Organic Pork Conference Advisory Committee. The committee met monthly between September 2018 and April 2019. The committee make-up included: Organic Farmers: 6; all of which have or were participating in on-farm research; 5 were advanced organic pork farmers and 1 was just getting started Academic Researchers: 2 Iowa State University Extension: 1 Iowa Organic Association Board Members: 3 Practical Farmers of Iowa Swine Specialist: 1 Large Animal Veterinarian: 1 Organic Feed or Seed Representative: 4 Conference Coordinator: 1 Conference priorities included determining conference logistics, identifying conference topics and finding experts to address topics that included Housing Options, Heard Health, Nutrition, Organic Certification, Soil Health and Marketing A Call for Proposals was developed, in addition to Advisory Committee outreach to determine the slate of conference listed below: Bertel Hestbjerg, Denmark's largest producer of organic pork Christie Zimmerman, Product Standards Manager for Natural Grocers Chris Barnier, organic farm inspector with nine years of experience Dan Wilson, farrow-to-finish hog, beef and crop farmer since 1970 and who has been featured on NPR an in newspaper and magazine articles Dave Stender, Animal Scientist with Iowa State University Extension James Frantzen, owner of Riverside Feeds producing organic and non-GMO feed Jude Becker, owner of Becker Lane Organic since 1999 and consults with other organic producers world-wide Kate Mendenhall, Director of the Organic Farmers Association and organic farmer Kurt Van Hulzen, veterinarian with Suidae Health and Production Dr. Lee Johnston, professor, Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota Mike Robertson, Agricultural Program Coordinator teaching Animal Science at Iowa Central Community College and an organic hog farmer Ron Rosmann, owner of a 700-acre certified organic and livestock farm since 1994. A founding member of Practical Farmers of Iowa and named Organic Farmer of the Year by MOSES. Shelby Dukes, Animal Husbandry Coordinator with Rodale Institute Tom Frantzen, owner of 320-acre certified organic grain and livestock farm since 1974. Named Farmer of the Year by MOSES in 2009 Dr. Yuzhi Li, associate professor of Swine Behavior/Welfare and Alternative/Organic Swine Production with the University of Minnesota Objective 2 A Call for Proposals was developed and published on the conference web site. Links were emailed out to Advisory Committee and stakeholder groups, list serves, community college and university contacts, and published on social media. A press release was also sent to the organizations listed above. Ads were placed in both print and on-line publications. Nine (9) RFP's from individuals representing researchers and service/product providers were completed and submitted to the Advisory Committee. Final conference speakers were selected by a combination of submitted RFP's and by individual requests to potential presenters by members of our Advisory Committee. Objective 3 Developed a conference logo and branding for conference. Created social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. Established and designed a conference website: MidwestOrganicPorkConference.org that provided information about the conference, topics, speakers, agenda and on-line registration information. Developed and published a press release Outreach materials also included flyers, postcards and inserts. The conference was publicized to farmers, researchers, students and the general public in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri. Tactics used included: Facebook posts and promoted Facebook ads targeting farmers and organic farmers. Google Ad Display campaign targeting farmers and organic farmers. Print advertising in Wallace Farmer, Missouri Ruralist, Wisconsin Agriculturalist, Illinois Prairie Farmer, The Farmer, Farm Bureau Spokesman, Iowa Farmer Today On-line advertising in the Morning Ag Clips Newsletter, Farm to Ranch Newsletter, MOSES Newsletter, Iowa Pork Producers Association Newsletter, Rodale Institute Newsletter, Practical Farmers of Iowa Newsletter, Oregon Tilth Newsletter. Two postcards mailed to members of the Iowa Organic Association and all organic certified operations in Iowa. Press releases sent to publications listed above and to every local media outlet in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Advisory Committee members sent flyers in printed newsletters to their customers who included both conventional and organic farmers/producers. Information and updates were added to the Iowa Organic, Sustainable Agriculture and other agriculture and stakeholder list serves. Face-to-face outreach was done at MOSES, Practical Farmers of Iowa and the Iowa Organic Conference. Conference marketing efforts produced 121 attendees. Objective 4 Conference registration on Day One opened two hours before the first scheduled event to allow for attendee networking. Two 90-minute workshops with a 20-minute break during Day One. Fifteen (15) exhibitors were on-hand for attendees to visit with before, during and after the workshops on Day One and Day Two. A Friday night reception on Day One was hosted where attendees got to meet one another and spend time discussing topics. Breakfast on Day Two was hosted for a one hour prior to the opening keynote presentation and was well-attended. During lunch on Day Two, attendees were given 20 minutes to visit at their tables before the luncheon keynote presentation. A printed conference program included a schedule of sessions, speaker bios, exhibitors and sponsors. Collected and published audio and PowerPoint presentations from each conference session and published them on the MidwestOrganicPorkConference.org website. Social Media networking and interaction among followers. Conference Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages continue to provide a forum for attendees and others to connect, to share information and to highlight best pork production practices. Objective 5 Evaluations were provided in-person during the conference after each session and at the end of the conference; additionally a follow-up email was sent to every registered attendee asking for additional comments and suggestions for future topic and programs. In April 2019, the Conference Advisory Committee met to debrief, review the conference and evaluations and provide input for next steps and future programs. IOA utilizes online survey tools as an ongoing source to identify resoruces used and topics of interest from IOA membersand project participants.
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Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The Iowa Organic Association (IOA) expanded expertise, resources and information to further grow a network of academia, organic farmers, non-organic farmers, ag professionals, businesses and others from across the Midwest interested in advancing organic hog production, research and best production practices in the U.S. IOA continued to work with an Advisory Committee of industry experts to further develop information and resources that address emerging needs within the organic pork industry. The committee is comprised of organic hog farmers from Iowa and Wisconsin, an academic researcher from Minnesota, Iowa State University Extension swine specialist, wholesale food companies, organic seed and feed companies, Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) swine specialist and IOA staff and board of directors. Marketing and outreach efforts included direct mail, e-newsletters, IOA website, Midwest Organic Pork Conference website, social media, outreach at conferences, farmer listservs, stakeholder calendars, and traditional media. The target audience was Midwest non-organic pork producers, organic pork producers, organic farmers looking to transition or diversify production practices, new and beginning farmers, community college and university instructors, ag students, companies supplying products and services to organic hog farmers, publishers of agriculture publications, and the general public. Changes/Problems:The work conducted in 2019-2020 to plan and deliver a half-day workshop, relevant topics and content for the 2020 MOPC and three 2020 Spring/Summer field days were completely disrupted due to COVID-19. The workshop and conference were planned for March 13-14, 2020 - literally the weekend that cities across the U.S. started to shutdown. IOA made the decision to cancel the workshop and MOPC on Thursday, March 12 before presenters and participants started totravel. Plans for developing a 2020 Summer/Spring field day series focused on organic pork topics wasalso postponed. Furthermore, after two years of coordinating and leading organic pork activities for IOA, our conference coordinator, Kris Winter resigned in May 2020 to pursue a new business venture. IOA hired staff in mid-August to continue leading IOAs education program. Without the interruption from COVID-19, we are confident we would have fulfilled our goals and priorities developed through this no-cost grant extension. Through a second, no-cost grant extention, IOA is working with partners to deliver some of this 2020 content in a virtual capacity and will continue exploring how to best support small- to mid-size producers. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Based on discussions during and after the 2019 conference, evaluation responses and Advisory Committee collaboration, a need for a forum dedicated to organic pork (and other meat) production is desired. New and transitioning farmers are looking for more resources and best practicetips. Advanced farmers are looking for more marketing opportunities, increased accessibility to organic processors, additional research, improved relationships with grocers and access to breeding stock. Consumer are demanding more local, organic products.The organic meat sector grew 29% between 2016 and 2019 demonstrating a strong, growing demand for local, organic meat products and practices. Additionally, challenges caused by the 2020 pandemic have considerably affected and altered agriculture and food systems in the U.S., and notably the meat processing industry, causing a shift in focus and priorities for IOA to best support the organic pork industry. We plan to utilize remaining grant funds to address an emerging need of organic pork producers, which is finding access to small and mid-sized processors. As it stands, the pandemic has created an upsurge in demand for direct sales from our livestock farmers that has far outpaced our local processing capacity. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?IOA plans to execute the following objectives to complete the second, no-cost extension of the Upper Midwest Hog Conference grant project by August 31, 2021: Conduct a needs assessment survey to measure if the information gained during the first conference and input on what topics we should be covering during future conferences. Continue to meet regularly with the Advisory Committee to assess future conferences and other ideas for advancing the organic pork industry. Convene a group of livestock stakeholders to discuss processing and marketing barriers and opportunitiesfor organic meat. Deliver a field day or webinar providing information and connections with farmers, researchers and industry service providers. Develop educational programs and partnerships to provide information andresources and address barriers to support industry growth.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
IOA has met the goals and objectives outlined in the original grant proposal,Upper Midwest Organic Hog Conferencewithin the initial grant period ending August 31, 2019. On July 1, 2019, IOA submitted a letter requesting a no-cost extension to utilize a significant amount of unused grant funds to expand upon the outcomes of the original proposal. The objectives listed below outline the workconducted during the last year of this extension. Objective 1: Continue Midwest Organic Pork Conference (MOPC) Advisory Committee meetings to develop priorities and build high-quality presenters and content to address needs, barriers and challenges learned from inaugural conference. IOA staff, Kris Winter, conference coordinator, and Roz Lehman, executive director met bi-monthly to coordinate Advisory Committee agenda and project priorities. Advisory Committee, includes a diverse, fourteen-member group of the Midwest's leading experts on organic pork production,meets on a regular basis. Organic Farmers: 4; all of which have or were participating in on-farm research; 3 were advanced organic pork farmers and 1 was just getting started Academic Researchers: 1 Iowa State University Extension: 1 Iowa Organic Association Board Members: 2 Practical Farmers of Iowa Swine Specialist: 1 Organic Feed or Seed Representative: 3 IOA Staff: 2 Objective 2: Develop programming, information and/or resources to build upon intended project outcomes. IOA partnered with Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) to develop and deliver a half-day intensive workshopprior to the 2020 MOPC. These workshops specifically addressed some of the challenges and barriers for organic hog / meat industry identified during the 2019 MOPC, specifically the lack of processing resources and profitability and marketing for this small, but emerging industry. The partenrship with PFI also provided access to a broad network of project stakeholders. The Advisory Committee made recommendationsfor workshop and conference presenters and IOA staff coordinated participation. Additionally, a Call for Proposals was developed and published on the conference web site. Links were emailed out to Advisory Committee and stakeholder groups, list serves, community college and university contacts, and published on social media. A press release was also sent to the organizations listed above. Ads were placed in both print and on-line publications. Final conference speakers were selected by a combination of submitted RFP's and by Advisory Committee recommendations. Field Day Coordination. Through Advisory Committee discussion, outreach at conferences, and in network development,staff identified partners to deliver on-farm field days about organic pork priorities, including a look at a local organic processing facility, profitability and marketingand a diverse organic operation with integrated livestock. Objective 3: Deliver education programs The work conducted in 2019-2020 to plan and deliver a half-day workshop, relevant topics and content for the 2020 MOPC and three 2020 Spring/Summer field days were completely disrupted due to COVID-19. The workshop and conference were planned for March 13-14, 2020 - literally the weekend that cities across the U.S. started to shutdown. IOA cancelled the workshop and MOPC on Thursday, March 12 before presenters and participants started to travel for the conference. The interest and plans for developing a 2020 Summer/Spring field day series focused on organic pork topics were also postponed. Objective 4: Evaluations of educational resoruces delivered No evaluations were collected because ofthe cancellation of all planned actviites due to COVID-19.
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The Midwest Organic Pork Conference held March 8-9, 2019 in Waterloo, Iowa brought together researchers, organic farmers, conventional farmers, ag professionals, businesses and others from across the Midwest to share relevant organic pork research, best production practices andresources to help expand opportunities for organic and niche pork production and distribution. An Advisory Committee was formed that included organic pork farmers from Iowa and Wisconsin, academic researchers from Minnesota and Wisconsin, university extension staff from Iowa, wholesale food companies, organic seed and feed companies, Practical Farmers of Iowa and the Iowa Organic Association staff and board of directors. ?Marketing and outreach efforts targeted conventional pork producers, organic pork producers, organic farmers looking to transition or expand into organic pork, new and beginning farmers, instructors at the community college and university level, ag students, companies supplying products and services to organic farmers, publishers of agriculture publications, additionally the general public was targeted through website and social media content. The Midwest Organic Pork Conference attendee demographics included: State California -1 Iowa - 55 Illinois - 6 Indiana - 3 Minnesota - 23 Missouri - 3 Nebraska- 2 Ohio - 3 South Dakota - 1 Wisconsin - 12 Occupation:certified organic farmer, farmer (transitioning and conventional), gardener, farm/food business, seed/feed company, processor, distributor, consumers, researchers and students. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The conference featured the following topics during presentations by the following experts: The Future of Organic Meat Production -Bertel Hestbjerg, Denmark's largest producer of organic pork Meeting Consumer Demands -Christie Zimmerman, Product Standards Manager for Natural Grocers Introduction to Organic Certification - Chris Barnier, organic farm inspector with nine years of experience Starting anOrganic Pork Operation -Dan Wilson, farrow-to-finish hog, beef and crop farmer since 1970 and whohas been featured on NPR an in newspaper and magazine articles Starting an Organic Pork Operatoin -Dave Stender, Animal Scientist with Iowa State University Extension Facility Options for Organic Pork Production -James Frantzen, owner of Riverside Feeds producing organic feeds Advanced Organic Pork Production & Best Practices for Marketing Organic Pork -Jude Becker, owner of Becker Lane Organic since 1999 and consults with other organic producers world-wide Starting an Organic Pork Operation -Kate Mendenhall, Director of the Organic Farmers Association and organic farmer Proper Vaccination Protocols -Kurt Van Hulzen, veterinarian with Suidae Health and Production Nutritional Needs of Healthy Pigs - Dr. Lee Johnston, professor, Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota Starting an Organic Pork Operation - Mike Robertson, Agricultural Program Coordinator teaching Animal Science at Iowa Central Community College and an organic hog farmer Starting an Organic Pork Operation -Ron Rosmann, owner of a 700-acre certified organic and livestock farm since 1994. A founding member of Practical Farmers of Iowa and named Organic Farmer of the Year by MOSES. Rodale Organic Pork Research Study -Shelby Dukes, Animal Husbandry Coordinator with Rodale Institute Pros & Cons of Pasture Production & Improving Performance with Small Grains -Tom Frantzen, owner of 320-acre certified organic grain and livestock farm since 1974. Named Farmer of the Year by MOSES in 2009 Reducing Piglet Pre-Weaning Motality -Dr. Yuzhi L, associate professor of Swine Behavior/Welfare and Alternative/Organic Swine Production with the University of Minnesota ?Based on discussions during and after the conference, evaluation responses and Advisory Committee follow-up, a need for a forum dedicated to organic pork production is desired.New and transitioning farmers are looking for more resources and best practices tips.Advanced farmers are looking for more marketing opportunities, increased accessibility to organic processors, additional research, improved relationships with grocers and access to breeding stock. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Conference results have been shared: With participants, IOA members and supporters through e-news, programs and field days, website and social media Through conversations with Advisory Committee about resources, programs and information desired to assist the expansion of organic pork In outreach with new partners and stakeholders about outcomes and the industry demand for information and resources With organic pig producers during field day events What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Conduct a post-conference survey to measure if the information gained during the first conference was put into practice and how.We will also ask for input on what topics we should be covering during future conferences. Continue to meet regularly with the Advisory Committee to plan a second conference and share other ideas for advancing the organic pork industry. Deliver a field day providing information and connections with farmers, researchers and industry service providers. Develop programs and partnerships to address barriers for growth. Coordinate Second Midwest Organic Pork Conference.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Assemble the Advisory planning team, set conference priorities and select high-quality presenters to address learning goals at conference. Kristine Winter of M2K Marketing Group was hired as the conference coordinator in September 2018 and provided 20 hours of time each week through June 2019. Kristine and Rosalyn Lehman, IOA executive director, conductedoutreach to identify Advisory Committee members to provide information, research and resources tohelp expand opportunities for organic and natural pork production and distribution. IOA convened adiverse, eighteen-member groupof the Midwest's leading experts on organic pork productionto serve on the Midwest Organic Pork Conference Advisory Committee.The committee met monthly between September 2018 andApril 2019.The committee make-up included: Organic Farmers:6; all of which have or were participating in on-farm research; 5 were advanced organic pork farmers and 1 was just getting started Academic Researchers: 2 Iowa State University Extension: 1 Iowa Organic Association Board Members: 3 Practical Farmers of Iowa Swine Specialist: 1 Large Animal Veterinarian: 1 Organic Feed or Seed Representative: 4 Conference Coordinator: 1 Objective 2: Solicit workshop and research proposals A Call for Proposals was developed and published on the conference web site. Links were emailed out to Advisory Committee and stakeholder groups, list serves, community college and university contacts, and published on social media. A press release was also sent to the organizations listed above. Ads were placed in both print and on-line publications. Nine (9) RFP's from individuals representing researchers and service/product providers were completed and submitted to the Advisory Committee. Final conference speakers were selected by a combination of submitted RFP's and by individual requests to potential presenters by members of our Advisory Committee. Objective 3: Publicize the Conference to the Midwest Organic farming community to achieve 150 attendees. Developed a conference logo and branding for conference. Created social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. Established and designed a conference website:MidwestOrganicPorkConference.org that provided information about the conference, topics, speakers, agenda and on-line registration information. Developed and published a press release Outreach materials also included flyers, postcards and inserts. The conference was publicized to farmers, researchers, students and the general public in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Missouri.Tactics used included: Facebook posts and promoted Facebook ads targeting farmers and organic farmers. Google Ad Display campaign targeting farmers and organic farmers. Print advertising in Wallace Farmer, Missouri Ruralist, Wisconsin Agriculturalist, Illinois Prairie Farmer, The Farmer, Farm Bureau Spokesman, Iowa Farmer Today On-line advertising in the Morning Ag Clips Newsletter, Farm to Ranch Newsletter, MOSES Newsletter, Iowa Pork Producers Association Newsletter,Rodale Institute Newsletter, Practical Farmers of Iowa Newsletter, Oregon Tilth Newsletter. Two postcards mailed to members of the Iowa Organic Association and all organic certified operations in Iowa. Press releases sent to publications listed above and to every local media outlet in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Advisory Committee members sent flyers in printed newsletters to their customers who included both conventional and organic farmers/producers. Information and updates were added to the Iowa Organic, Sustainable Agriculture and other agriculture and stakeholder list serves. Face-to-face outreach was done at MOSES, Practical Farmers of Iowa and the Iowa Organic Conference. Conference marketing efforts produced 121 attendees. Objective 4:Create multiple scenarios for information exchange during conference Conference registration on Day One opened two hours before the first scheduled event to allow for attendee networking Two 90-minute workshops with a 20-minute break during Day One Fifteen (15) exhibitors were on-hand for attendees to visit with before, during and after the workshops on Day One and Day Two. A Friday night reception on Day One was hosted where attendees got to meet one another and spend time discussing topics. Breakfast on Day Two was hosted for a one hour prior to the opening keynote presentation and was well-attended During lunch on Day Two, attendees were given 20 minutes to visit at their tables before the luncheon keynote presentation Collected and published audio and PowerPoint presentations from each conference session and published them onthe MidwestOrganicPorkConference.org website. Conference Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages continue to provide a forum for attendees and others to connect, to share information and to highlight best pork production practices. Objective 5:Measure the Outcomes and Learning Objectives Each conference attendee was provided an evaluation at the end of each presentation and at the end of the conference.Unfortunately, we received only 42 evaluations. This number was due, in part, to the heavy snowstorm that hit in the lasthours of theconference.Of those responding to the question, 'How would you rate the overall conference?'; 15 rated the conference Excellent; 15 rated the conference Good; the categories of Fair and Poor did not receive any responses. ?Objective 6:Overall Conference Evaluations disseminated following the event Evaluations were provided in-person during the conference after each session and at the end of the conference; additionally a follow-up email was sent to every registered attendee asking for additional comments and suggestions for future topic and programs. In April 2019, the Conference Advisory Committee met to debrief, review the conference and evaluations and provide input for next steps and future programs.A follow-up survey to conference attendees to be distributed four months post conference has not yet been conducted.Staff will be distributing in September to measure knowledge gained and change in behavior/practices, and to provide insight about information resources desired to support the organic pork industry.
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