DES MOINES – More than 100 Iowa pork producers are expected to be on hand to debate several key resolutions at the Iowa Pork Producers Association annual meeting in Des Moines on Tuesday.

A total of eight resolutions have been submitted for consideration by county pork organizations.

One resolution that will be certain to draw considerable discussion is the call for IPPA to support allowing the ethanol blenders tax credit to expire in 2011.

In a prepared news release, IPPA said that its producer members believe this is an appropriate move considering that corn-based ethanol’s established infrastructure, its continued growth, increasing consumption of corn and ethanol’s position in the corn market.

A companion resolution being offered seeks to have IPPA and the National Pork Producers Council support legislation that develops and implements a contingency plan based on a stock-to-use ratio for corn.

The plan also could address graduated or indexed ethanol subsidies and tariffs if corn supplies fall below a predetermined stocks-to-use ratio.

Many pork producers today use marketing agreements to deliver hogs to packers in an effort to reduce their financial risk, IPPA said, an approach that has led to fewer negotiated sales of hogs on the open market.

Another resolution asks delegates to encourage all producers to negotiate the sale of 20 percent of their production on a monthly basis.

Delegates also will consider resolutions on lean hog contracts and mandatory price reporting.

NPPC would be asked to petition the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to revert the lean hog contract back to a live hog contract with a delivery period to packing plants from the 6th to the 20th of each month.

Members also want IPPA and NPPC to support changing mandatory price reporting to reflect a projected net price paid rather than just a base price for lean hogs.

Other resolutions to be considered include having IPPA develop policies to encourage more and younger sow, pig and hog owners, coordinate and staff pork promotional activities for the annual RAGBRAI event, and establishment of a pork promotion board.

IPPA delegates will meet at 10 a.m. at the Des Moines Marriott. IPPA President John Weber, a producer from Dysart, will deliver his “state of the association” address to the delegates.

The annual meeting will also feature IPPA financial and committee reports, an economic forecast by Dr. Steve Meyer of Paragon Economics, national reports and other business.

The annual meeting will conclude with the passing of the gavel from Weber to 2011 IPPA President Leon Sheets, a producer from Ionia.