Better Pork February 2017

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Better Pork February 2017 23
UP CLOSE
What’s your role on the farm?
I’ve served as the hog manager for the
last 18 years, overseeing the daily
operation and handling risk manage-
ment. I also manage the feed mill to
ensure that all of our livestock get the
feed they’ve been allotted.
Hours you spend in the barn per week?
We start at 8 a.m. sharp and work
hard until 11 a.m.
At that point the whole colony
breaks for lunch as we prepare for a
busy afternoon from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
So it’s a full seven or eight hour day.
Hours you spend in the office per week?
I average an hour a day, which works
out to seven hours per week as we
don’t take Sunday off. It’s just a
feeding day but there’s still plenty of
work to do.
Howmany emails do you receive per day?
20.
Howmany text messages do you receive
per day?
10 to 15 on average. I used to have
faxes to deal with but with all the
technology now the fax machine has
been pretty quiet.
Hours a day on a cell phone?
One. I’m too busy to do any more
than that.
What type of smartphone do you have?
An iPhone 6. I don’t need all the
bells and whistles – just texting,
phoning, emailing and, of course,
the apps.
Email or text?
I’m not fussy. I’ll use whichever is
faster for my purposes.
Hours a day on the Internet?
One.
How often do you travel?
Most of my travel is work-related. I
attend the Banff Pork Seminar,
(Alberta) Pork Congress and Alberta
Pork producer meetings.
Every four years I take in the
World Pork Expo (the world’s largest
pork-specific trade show) in the
United States.
Where did you last travel to?
I don’t get off the continent very
often, but I did attend a livestock
exhibition in Hanover, Germany that
stands out for me.
What do you like best about farming?
I enjoy raising pigs and being in-
volved in other areas of farming as
well.
It means a lot to know I am
helping not just to feed the world but
to provide the best quality of food
possible.
What do you like least?
There’s not much I don’t like, so that’s
a tough question.
What is the single most important advice
you’ve received or lesson you’ve learned?
Learn everything you can about the
farm because you never know when
you might be managing part of it!
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