After storms made their way through much of the country, perfect Iowa weather prevailed as more than 10,000 pork producers and supporters convened in Des Moines for our industry's "family reunion" known as the World Pork Expo (WPX). Each June, WPX serves as an amazing opportunity for Oklahoma Pork's staff and several of our members to learn from industry experts and connect with strong partners like our allied industry sponsors, national organization colleagues, and more.

The 2025 WPX trip included several highlights, including road tripping with one of our impressive summer interns Ethan Drake during his very first week on the job. After only one day to get settled in the Oklahoma Pork Council office on Monday, Ethan jumped straight into team bonding with the staff and board member Dr. Scott Carter as we trekked north to Iowa for an eight-hour drive avoiding flash floods.

Our crew had meaningful discussion on all four of Oklahoma Pork's four strategic intentions while in Des Moines, including Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) preparedness, Workforce at All Levels, Image Enhancement, and Freedom to Operate. We also celebrated Matti Carlile's three-year anniversary serving Oklahoma pork producers, a milestone that feels extra special when surrounded by so many friends and role models across the pork pipeline. We also want to give a shout out to our talented Shay Stegmann who captured the WPX fun with beautiful images throughout the trip. We often talk about our "Dream Team" at the Oklahoma Pork Council, and this week provided a beautiful example of each of us serving well and truly enjoying our "pig gigs" together.

Thank you to our production companies who participated in WPX in any way, and thank you to the allied industry partners who helped make the week a worthwhile experience. If you were not able to visit Iowa yourself this year, keep reading to enjoy a few highlights of the week and click here to see more photos from Oklahoma Pork's time in Des Moines.