Untitled - Pork CRC

WELCOME FROM THE INTERNATIOIYAL ORGANIZING
COMMITTEE
It is a pleasure to welcome you, on behalf of the International Organising Committee (IOC),
to the 81h International Conference on Pig Reproduction in the fabulous venue of the Banff
Conference Centre. We hope that you will find the meeting scientifically stimulating, that you
will enjoy interacting with friends and colleagues (old and new!) and that you will leave inspired
affer a very worthwhile meeting.
As programme chair, Heriberto Rodríguez-Martínez together with the rest of the IOC put
together a scientific programme that brings together state-of-the-art approaches to reproductive
biology in the pig with an awareness of current knowledge gaps and potential solutions. The
structure of the meeting, with parallel sessions addressing both contemporary approaches and
practical applications, reflects this focus. We would like to thank the invited speakers for
accepting our invitation and for the timely production of abstracts and manuscripts. Another
depafiure from the previous format of these meetings is that the authors of some abstracts
describing particularly novel research were invited to extend their abstract and to give a short
oral presentation. Again, we would like to thank these authors for agreeing to speak at the
meeting and for providing extended abstracts in a timely manner. Huge thanks are due to the
editors of the supplement: Heriberto Rodríguez-Martínez, Jeff Vallet, and Adam Ziecik for their
commitment to the timely publication of 'Control of Pig Reproduction VIII', which will be
published by Nottingham University Press as a supplement of the Society for Reproduction and
Fertility.
We would also like to thank all the commercial sponsors who have contributed to this
meeting. The generosity and foresight of organisations who invest in a meeting such as this is
much appreciated.
This conference would not be taking place without the superb efforts of the Local Organising
Committee, chaired by George Foxcroft. I am confident that their careful planning and attention
to detail will ensure that we all enjoy a memorable and inspiring conference.
Cheryl J. Ashworth
Chair, International Organizing Committee