The fourth annual Swine Industry Symposium was recently held in Beijing, China.  The event was co-hosted with the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) and was attended by more than 150 pork industry representative, agricultural policy makers, animal health experts and university researchers.

Joel Haggard, USMEF senior vice president for the Asia Pacific region, explains that the symposium is designed to allow the U.S. and Chinese industries to exchange information on such issues as food safety, food security and sustainability. Along with USMEF, the event was co-hosted on the U.S. side by the U.S. Grains Council and the U.S. Soybean Export Council. This year’s participants included National Pork Board CEO Chris Hodges and Dr. Craig Morris, USDA deputy administrator for the Agricultural Marketing Service’s Livestock Poultry and Seed Program. John Hagenbuch, a soybean and hog producer from Utica, Illinois, who serves on the USMEF Executive Committee, also addressed the symposium.

You can listen to Haggard’s radio interview on the Symposium to learn more. Joe Haggard on Swine Industry Symposium