It’s hard to miss the massive tents that are now standing on Central Campus and at the Iowa State Center.

A herd of pig veterinarians, producers and animal scientists will come to Ames this weekend for the bi-ennial International Pig Veterinary Society (IPVS) Congress.

This year will be the first time the congress has returned to a city that has played host in the past, according to Tom Burkgren, congress secretary.

“It’s a gathering of global proportions,” Burkgren said. “This is the international meeting for swine veterinarians.”

The meeting will consist of close to 2000 participants from over 50 countries.

“About half the people are from outside the United States,” said Tracy Raef, communications specialist for the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine.

In addition to the residence halls, the congress attendees will require sixteen hotels from as far away as Ankeny and Boone.

“Over the course of the meeting we’ll use about 50 buses [for transportation],” Burkgren said.

The meeting will run from June 2-5 and will have three keynote speakers, fifteen featured speakers and oral presentations from many others, with Spanish translation available.

Speakers will cover topics ranging from “Optimum Strategies in Artificial Insemination” to “Minimizing the Environmental Impact of the Pig Industry” and “Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome.”

“Pretty much anything that has to do with swine will be talked about here,” Burkgren said.

Planners have included a variety of social events for the conference, including a rodeo and a pork barbeque. Music will also be provided by the Barn Owl Band, which has been featured on National Public Radio’s “Prairie Home Companion”.

The showpiece of the social program is the banquet on Tuesday evening, Burkgren said.

To hold all the participants, the banquet will be held under 30,000 square feet of tent on Central Campus. Event organizers had to place a cap on the number of attendees.

“This group is always on the leading edge of pig management,” Raef said.