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Better Pork
December 2016
What contributed to your decision to become
a pork producer?
Mainly the fact that my parents are
pork producers.
I’ve worked with pigs since I was
young, and I’ve always loved working
with animals.
Describe your role on your farmoperation.
Right now, my role is mostly in the
office.
But I just passed my AZ drive test,
so hopefully I’ll be in the office less.
(I’ll hopefully be) driving pigs and
hauling feed as well as (helping) raise
the hogs.
Hours you spend in the barn per week?
About two or three right now. I’m
hoping as of this weekend and (for-
ward) it will be about 20.
Hours you spend in the office per week?
About 30 – too many.
Howmany emails do you receive per day?
Give or take, 10. It’s mostly business
(documents) and invoices – that sort
of stuff.
Howmany text messages do you receive per
day?
Farm-related texts? About five – I
mostly get phone calls.
Not farm-related? It’s hard to say,
maybe about 50 or 60.
Do you currently use any swinemanage-
ment software? If so, howdo you think this
technology has helped your operation?
We do – it sends the herd’s informa-
tion right to our vet, and they keep
an eye on the herd health.
Hours a day on a cell phone?
About two to three.
What type of smartphone do you have?
Samsung Galaxy.
Email or text?
I prefer both. For the farm, I like the
paper trail of email. (Although) text
is definitely faster and easier.
Any favourite apps?
The only farm(-related) one I have
would be the weather app.
I also use Spotify – music is always
on in the background.
Hours a day on the Internet?
About three or four.
Howoften do you travel?
Not too often – unless day trips count!
(Day trips include going) to the
beach or on adventures with friends.
Where did you last travel to?
The last place I went with the farm
was Iowa for the World Pork Expo
last June.
What do you like best about farming?
Every day is different – you never
know what your day will include.
And the animals!
Pigs each have their own personal-
ity and they’re intelligent.
What do you like least?
The harsh winter days – I’m not a fan
of the cold.
What is the singlemost important advice
you’ve received or lesson you’ve learned?
Always run the numbers forwards
and backwards. It’s better to eat soup
and sandwiches than to owe your
steak to the bank.
(This is) just something my
parents have always drilled into me,
especially when going over finances.
What’s your management philosophy or
guidingmanagement principle?
You can’t expect anyone to do a job if
you’re not willing to do it yourself.
What’s your advice for working so closely
withmultiple generations?
Patience. It’s not always easy to see
eye-to-eye, especially with different
generations.
Do your siblings share your passion for the
business and pigs?
We sometimes disagree on the
day-to-day management, but we’re
definitely on the same page for our
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