Jan. 23, 2014
Contact:
Tyler Bettin, Producer Education Director
(800) 372-7675,
For Immediate Release!
Iowa City farmer picks up 2013 Master Pork Producer Award
(CLIVE, Iowa) — A Johnson County hog farmer has been honored with a 2013 Master Pork Producer Award by the Iowa Pork Producers Association.
IPPA presented Tom Wall of Iowa City with the brass Master Pork Producer belt buckle, emblematic of the award, at the Iowa Pork Congress Banquet in Des Moines last night. A brief multi-media presentation of his pork production business also was shown.
Wall comes from a long line of pork producers and has been raising pigs in Johnson County for 31 years. His father, John, and uncle, Larry, were named Master Pork Producers in 1963.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in farm operations from Iowa State University, Wall returned to the family farrow-to-finish operation. He later became part owner of an Illinois sow coop and now receives 525 weaned pigs every nine weeks. He finished 3,150 head in 2012 and sells directly to JBS Swift.
Tom is responsible for all care, management and sales decisions in the operation. He makes all the feed and hauls the manure. As a certified crop advisor, he has learned the value of spring manure application and prefers to inject manure on his 900 acres of crop ground in the spring.
Wall is certified in the pork industry’s PQA Plus program and he has undergone the PQA Plus site assessment.
He and his wife, Anita, have three adult children.Both have a long history of service to their church and community. Tom has been active in the local pork producer and soybean associations for 30 years. He served as Johnson County Fair Swine Committee chairman for 25 years. Currently, he is an Iowa Soybean Association ag ambassador where he advocates for the Iowa livestock industry.
Nominated by their neighbors and peers, Master Pork Producers are recognized for their innovation, attention to quality, efficiency and production records within their farm enterprise. They are considered industry leaders who are committed to producing the highest quality pork products. Their operations are environmentally sound, they care about the livestock, are good neighbors and active in their community.
IPPA and Iowa State University have annually presented the award to Iowa hog farmers since 1942.
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