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New Iowa Pork Producers president is an industry veteran

The new president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA), Curtis Meier of Clarinda, has been in the business of producing pork since the early 1970’s.

Meier now farms with his son and son-in-law.  They raise 160 sows and market about 2,500 head per year in their farrow-to-finish operation in southwest Iowa.

Meier, who received a Master Pork Producer Award back in 1974, says they’re happy with the size of the hog operation.

“I probably was 60 or 70 sows back when I got my award, so we’ve grown a little bit,’ Meier says. “But we’re just a nice size. We’ve got our building sized accordingly and everything’s geared up to that size.  So that’s probably where we’ll stay.”

Meier Family Farms also feeds cattle and just last year added a new monoslope barn to expand the cattle side of the business.

“The last couple days, with all the mud, that building looks pretty doggone nice,” he says. “We’ve got cattle indoors and cattle outside yet, so we get to see both sides of it. But the building is working real good.”

The Meiers also grow 4,000 acres of corn and soybeans.

This is actually Curtis Meier’s second time around as president of IPPA.  He also served in that position in 2003.

Meier spoke with Brownfield at the recent annual meeting of IPPA.

AUDIO: Curtis Meier