It is time for the 2023 edition of the World Pork Expo.

The Expo begins today and continues through Friday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines.

The annual event brings together pork producers, exhibitors and visitors not just from across Iowa, but also from throughout the nation. More than 10,000 people are expected to attend. Visitors from 50 nations have come to the Expo in the past, giving it a truly international following.

Educational and marketing programs, such as business seminars and the Pork Academy, will appeal to many of those who attend this important pork industry event. For others, the roughly 400 commercial exhibits will be the draw. There will be up to 700 booths in the trade show. The Expo also offers ample opportunities for recreation and camaraderie.

The National Pork Producers Council, an entity that conducts public outreach on behalf of 44 affiliated state organizations, owns the Expo and orchestrates the popular show. The council has conducted the Expo since 1988. The organizers say this is the largest pork-industry specific trade show in the world.

The Expo offers a particularly welcome opportunity to learn more about the pork industry’s future and its importance to the Hawkeye State.

It’s unlikely that anyone who lives in Iowa does not already know that pork production is exceptionally important to the economic vitality of our state. It may come as a surprise, however, that hogs raised in Iowa account for more than 30 percent of the U.S. hog production. Iowa ranks as the nation’s top hog producing state.