To help meet industry need, Iowa Pork Industry Center (IPIC) at Iowa State University has added one more Pork Quality Assurance Plus 3.0 advisor certification session on Wednesday, December 14. With the introduction of this new program by National Pork Board earlier this year, all PQA Plus advisor certifications done under the former 2.0 program – expired Aug. 31. Attendance at an all-day session and passage of an exam at the end of the session is now necessary for recertification. A maximum of 30 spots are available for this session.
Iowa State University Extension swine veterinarian Chris Rademacher said those who want to become certified for the first time are welcome to submit applications for this session. The Iowa Board of Veterinary Medicine has approved seven hours of CE credit for the session.
“All previous PQA Plus advisor certifications expired on August 31 regardless of when the advisor most recently certified through the 2.0 program,” Rademacher said. “This also means everyone needs to complete the two-page application form and be approved to attend this session.”
Rademacher is coordinating this training session, which will be held at the Hansen Ag Student Learning Center on the Iowa State campus in Ames. There is a 15-person minimum with the application deadline of Dec. 1 or whenever the 30-person maximum is reached. No walk-ins are allowed and no individual spot is guaranteed until the application is approved and specific payment is accepted by IPIC. The cost is $75 per person and includes refreshments and the noon meal. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the session starting at 9 a.m.
“Those who wish to attend need to submit their application soon to ensure receipt in time for approval and payment,” Rademacher said. “The form is available as a fillable pdf document and as a word document at www.ipic.iastate.edu/certification.html. People can choose the format that best suits their needs.”
Those who qualify and are interested in the program should download the application form from the IPIC website, then complete and submit it soon.