Pork Quality Assurance Plus is the pork industry's program to assure the world that U.S. producers are delivering a safe and wholesome product and that they are caring for their animals in a socially responsible manner.

Since its introduction in 1989, PQA has been the pork industry's flagship educational and continuous improvement program. Created through the Pork Checkoff to promote food safety, the program was expanded several years ago to include animal handling practices and renamed PQA Plus.

Pork Quality Assurance Plus training begins Thursday

To attain PQA Plus certification, a pork producer must meet with a trained Advisor once every three years to review the 10 Good Production Practices that promote pork safety and animal well-being practices. To achieve site status, a pork operation must have an on-farm assessment of its animal handling practices by a trained assessor.

The Illinois Pork Producers Association and the University of Illinois Extension have teamed up again to offer training opportunities for individuals wanting to become PQA Plus advisors or for those needing to re-certify. Training will be held on April 9th (Thursday) at the Illinois Pork Producers Association office in located at 6411 S. 6th St. Rd. in Springfield.

The PQA Plus Advisor training sessions will begin at 9:30 AM and conclude by 2:30 PM. Cost is $20/person and includes lunch and all training materials. Registration fee can be paid the day of the training. The training session will be limited to the first 25 people.

Dr. Rob Knox, Associate Professor at the University of Illinois, will be conducting the training. "We expect our advisors to adhere to strict ethical principles," Knox says. "The industry is constantly changing and evolving to improve pork production practices. Our advisors must be extremely knowledgeable about these advancements. They serve an important role to help our industry improve and maintain its high standards."

Knox notes those who qualify and are interested in the program should download, complete and submit the two-page application form available online at www.ilpork.com.  The form also is available by fax by calling Dr. Knox at (217) 244-5177.

To be eligible as a PQA Plus advisor, people must meet the following qualifications:

1. Be a veterinarian, extension specialist or ag educator (defined for this program as a person who spends full time in adult education or at least half time in production training) AND

2. Have a D.V.M. or B.S. in animal science or an equivalent combination of education and swine production experience as determined by the PQA Plus trainer reviewing the application AND

3. Have two years of recent documentable swine production experience.

So far in Illinois, there have been 3,683 individuals who received certification and 673 farms that have achieved site status.

Pork producers who have yet to become certified or site-assessed can obtain information about the PQA Plus program by contacting the IPPA office at (217) 529-3100 or by visiting www.pork.org.

Source: IPPA