Race to the Finish...Complete Your CE Journey at Winter Conference

Registration is now open for the 2026 Winter Conference on February 12-13, 2026, at Prairie Meadows Event Center in Altoona.

It's a race to the finish as the 2026 license renewal deadline approaches. You may earn 12 CE hours by attending both days of Winter Conference. Register today to make sure you have the CE hours you need by the deadline.

Register here by January 29 for the best rate!

Hotel information:

The IVMA has a block of hotel rooms at Prairie Meadows. Book your room today! Cutoff date for the room block is January 29. Reserve online or call 515-957-3000. 

Group code IVMA0226A & Password 863000119

Nominate Your Special Patient for the Iowa Animal Hall of Fame

Now is the time to nominate for the 2026 Iowa Animal Hall of Fame Awards! The awards are sponsored by the IVMA and Hill's Pet Nutrition and highlight animals and their owners who demonstrate an exceptional human-animal bond.

If you have a special client with an outstanding pet, we would love to hear about them! 

The deadline for nominations is January 15, 2026.

Iowa Animal Hall of Fame nomination forms can be found on the IVMA website at www.iowavma.org , click on “About Us” then “Awards” or you can call the IVMA office at 800-369-9564 to have one sent to you. Only IVMA members may nominate. 

Upcoming Webinars: Navigating the LVMC Referring DVM Portal

At Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center (LVMC), exceptional patient care depends on strong partnerships with referring veterinarians (RDVMs). To streamline communication and improve outcomes, LVMC introduced the Referring DVM Portal—a secure, centralized platform that replaces email-based coordination with a faster, more organized process.

To help referring veterinarians make the most of the LVMC portal, they are offering a series of webinars designed to walk through key features, answer common questions, and share best practices for submitting referrals, consults, and follow-ups.

Webinar Topics:

1. Referring DVM Portal Basics – How to register, log in, and submit cases efficiently
2. Emergency vs. Non-Emergency Referrals – What to expect and how to prioritize
3. Advanced Features & Troubleshooting – Autosave, attachments, shared credentials, and more

Each session will include a live Q&A and will be recorded for on-demand viewing.

Register for one of three dates for: “Your Guide to the LVMC Referring DVM Portal: Features, Functions, and Q&A”

January 13, 2026, 10:00 am - Register

January 23, 2026, 1:30 pm - Register

January 28, 2026, 3:30 pm - Register

Volunteers Wanted for AVMA Accreditation Site Visit 

The AVMA Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities (CVTEA) will be conducting an accreditation site visit to the following veterinary technology program in 2026.

• Iowa Central Community College; Fort Dodge, IA January 28-29, 2026

The AVMA CVTEA is searching for a veterinarian within Iowa to serve on the site team. Only one veterinarian per site visit is needed.

Potential volunteers can sign-up online using this CVTEA Site Team Form.

Signing up does not obligate the volunteer or guarantee a spot on a site team. This form is designed to collect a pool of interested volunteers.

Please note, volunteers must not have the following conflicts of interest with the program:

• Be a member of the program’s advisory committee or IACUC
• Past or present employment by the institution or program being evaluated.
• Service as a consultant for the institution/program being evaluated.

View a flyer that explains the work involved here.

View a sample agenda here.

Travel, food, and lodging expenses incurred in connection with the site visit are reimbursed; however, honorariums are not paid.

Now Available: No Cost RFID

Eartags for Swine

APHIS is offering no-cost radio frequency identification (RFID) eartags to eligible swine producers. This program will enhance the speed and accuracy of disease response efforts across the swine industry.

Tags are shipped directly from Merck Animal Health to your premises—no middle step, no delay.

Originally announced in August 2025, this initiative—modeled after the successful no-cost RFID cattle tag program—aims to strengthen national swine disease traceability. While traceability does not prevent disease, it significantly reduces the time needed to respond to outbreaks, helping to limit the number of affected farms and animals. This, in turn, minimizes economic impacts on producers and their communities.

To place an order, producers must have a valid premises identification number and provide shipping and contact information. They must also report the number of sows onsite (for commercial sow farms) or the number of show pigs (for exhibition swine). State animal health officials may order tags based on the number of sows in their State.

Note: RFID tags must be applied using a compatible tag applicator, which is not provided through this program.

For full program details—including eligibility, ordering instructions, and tag quantity guidelines—visit Swine Identification.

Registration Open for SowBridge Educational Series

The Iowa Pork Industry Center is offering a swine educational series, SowBridge. The program is a distance educational series for those who work with sows, boars, and piglets, and with genetic and reproductive issues, begins its next program year in early February 2026, and registration is now underway.

SowBridge provides all participants with the opportunity to hear directly from experts, and to contact those experts following the individual sessions. 

Get more information.

Remember the IVMA Foundation with a Qualified Charitable Distribution

A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) allows individuals age 70½ or older to donate directly from their IRA to a qualified nonprofit while satisfying all or part of their Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). The donated amount is excluded from taxable income, making it one of the most tax-efficient ways to give.

Beyond the tax advantages, a QCD offers something much more important: the chance to support the profession that has given so much to others. The IVMA would love for you to consider donating to the IVMA Foundation for your QCD. By directing your QCD to the IVMA Foundation, you will help fund scholarships for future veterinarians.

For more information about Qualified Charibale Distributions, contact the IVMA Office at 515-965-9237 or ivma@iowavma.org.