AMES, Iowa – The application deadline for Iowa Pork Industry Center's next Pork Quality Assurance Advisor certification session is approaching, and those interested in attending should submit their application soon. The session date is Friday, April 21, and the application deadline for this virtual session is Friday, April 14. Iowa State Extension swine veterinarian Chris Rademacher organizes these sessions, and said the session, including exam, will take approximately six hours to complete.

"Anyone whose certification has expired or who is a first time advisor must do an in-person training like this virtual offering," he said. "Interested and qualified people should complete and return the application form soon."

Qualification requirements are listed on the two-page application form, available as both a fillable pdf document and a word document from the PQA page on the IPIC website. Applicants may use either version.

Rademacher, who also is IPIC interim director, said no individual spot is guaranteed until the application is approved and specific payment is accepted by IPIC. The cost is $85 per person and includes all materials and online access.

Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. Central time on April 21 and the session begins at 9 a.m. Connection information will be shared with approved applicants closer to the session date.

Two more sessions are set for 2023: July 18 and October 2. Applications for these close one week prior to each date, and can be submitted at any time prior to then. Forms for all sessions are available on the IPIC’s PQA webpage. Five hours of CE credit have been approved by the Iowa Board of Veterinary Medicine for each session.

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IPIC was established in 1994 as a coordinated effort of the colleges of Agriculture (now Agriculture and Life Sciences) and Veterinary Medicine at ISU. Its mission is to promote efficient pork production technologies in Iowa, maintain Iowa's pork industry leadership and strengthen rural development efforts. IPIC focuses its efforts on programs that are integral and complementary to ISU Extension and Outreach. Through IPIC, Iowa producers receive accurate and timely information to make their operations more efficient and profitable.