The breathtaking views of Guanajuato, Mexico, weren’t easy to leave behind, but Ma Merced Yebra knew her children deserved better than what she could provide them there. Although her husband went to the U.S. often to find work, he never saved enough to help his family back in Mexico. One day she decided to take a chance on a new life in the U.S., leaving behind her roots and venturing into the unknown with her four young children.
“We didn’t have a lot growing up,” says Alma Valdez, her youngest daughter. “We were very poor. We lived in a house made of cardboard and metal sheets. We struggled a lot. My mother’s decision to leave her home in Guanajuato to come to the U.S. changed my life completely.”
This journey led them to DeKalb, Ill. At the age of 8, Valdez turned all her focus to learning English — fast. Unfortunately, very few teachers knew Spanish at the time, so it made it difficult for her to learn.
“I guess that’s where I started learning to not give up, to always try to see the best in people and to learn from everyone,” she adds.
With time, she picked up English and found herself translating for her family. Her mom took a job at a pig farm. When Valdez turned 18, she started working at the farm with her mother as a part-time power washer a few days each week. Not long after that, she began translating educational materials from English into Spanish to help other employees. Valdez says that’s how she learned how to castrate, how to care for sows, how to heat check and more.
She kept saying yes to new opportunities. She worked her way up the ranks and found herself in a manager role, taking care of the barn and the crew. Valdez moved to Minnesota to gain even more experience. A couple years later, a local veterinarian approached her to apply for a job back in DeKalb at Johnson Farms.
Her inspiring journey moving up from power washing farrowing rooms to managing a sow farm makes Valdez a barn hero in the eyes of everyone who works with her, says Cole Johnson, co-owner of Johnson Farms.
“She has a unique ability to earn credibility with people,” he adds. “When it comes to leading a crew in the barn, she’s been where they are. She will never ask anyone to do something she has not already done or is willing to jump in and try alongside them.”
The Right People in the Right Spots
When Valdez went to work for Johnson Farms a few years ago, she admits it was a little overwhelming at first.
“There was a lot of work to be done,” Valdez explains. “But that’s also what made it exciting.”
She says learning how to use new technologies at the farm such as e-tagging and electronic sow feeding made her job even more interesting. She was also eager to help get the farm more organized and build a more cohesive team.
“I think the frustrating part was not being able to be in all the places that I wanted to be in the short amount of time that I had throughout the day. As soon as I’d fix something in one spot, another area needed my attention,” Valdez adds.
The never-ending to-do list is one of the many reasons Valdez initially worked for three weeks straight before taking a day off.
“People see she doesn’t take many days off, even though I urge her to do so,” Johnson says. “You can’t come in and just be a dictator, especially when you’re asking people to make a lot of changes. Alma’s understanding that you need to have credibility with people before you can lead them is unique.”
Valdez says this was an intentional decision because she believes leadership requires an understanding of the people you are leading.
“It starts by getting to know the crew, making sure you have the right person in the right spot,” she says. “It’s like they say, ‘put your aces in your places.’ That’s exactly what I do.
When you come into a new barn, you have to find out what everybody has to bring to the table and put them where they fit. Then, you can step back and let them succeed.”
Spending time working alongside her team allows her to know what team members need to improve upon, while also helping her learn what she can improve upon by watching them, too.
“They need to know that I’m not just there to boss them around; I’m there to work with them and guide them where needed,” Valdez says. “Earning their trust has been the biggest thing, especially in this industry. Women are not looked upon with high hopes to get stuff done as a man would in this role.”
Caring for pigs should never be just about earning a paycheck, she says. Her goal is to build a team that truly cares about what they do in the barn each day, and that starts with her.
“I am nothing without the crew. Everybody has something to offer the farm,” she says. “And when it’s not the right person, they will step away on their own because they will know that they’re not fitting in. When you have a great team, like the one I have right now, it’s never about any one person. It’s about all of us working together.”
The Proof is in the Sow Pen
After a month of her leadership, Johnson noticed a change in the sows.
“Our veterinarian and I were walking the barns and he pointed out how different the sows were behaving,” Johnson says. “They were so much calmer around people — almost indifferent to us as we walked around. That was not always the case before Alma joined us. I attribute that to them getting more individual attention and being around people more.”
Patience and a love for animals is a critical part of being a caregiver, Valdez says.
“You can’t just walk in here and not care for animals,” she says. “When you spend time with them every day, you get close to them. You see them differently. You realize they depend on you to survive. Caregivers need to be willing to go above and beyond to look after the animal, make sure they see each animal individually, and have the desire to ask for help when needed.”
It’s not just the sows who revere Valdez as a barn hero, it’s the people, too.
“When Alma steps into a room, something changes,” Johnson says. “She brings positive energy wherever she goes. I rarely used to hear laughter in the break room. Now, there’s always laughter when I walk in there. She understands the importance of a positive environment and how that seeps down into the care animals get.”
Valdez says starting at the bottom of the ladder power washing made her even hungrier to learn.
“I learned from the good and bad in people around me. I learned what I did and did not want to do. I’ve molded my way up to where I am today, and I feel very proud of that,” she adds.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt that she’s a little competitive, too. She loves finding ways to get tasks done more efficiently and is never afraid to show off her skills in hopes others respond and rise to a higher level.
“No one wants to let the team down,” Johnson says. “Everyone wants to carry their weight. That stems from Alma’s example. She won’t slack off. She never hides behind a desk and does the unpleasant jobs along with her team.”
Understanding that a positive culture starts with her, Valdez chooses to lead by example. She knows that how she acts, how she treats animals, how she treats coworkers, how she responds to challenges, all rub off on her team.
Eusebio Balderrama is one of the team members at Johnson Farms. He appreciates how Valdez always considers everyone’s input when it comes to making decisions on the farm.
“She is not set on doing the same thing because that’s what’s always been done,” Balderrama says. “She always wants to improve the farm. I like to work with her because she is open-minded. Even if we don’t see eye to eye, we always find a way to work together to achieve a better result for the farm.”
Translating Success
Balderrama is one of six employees on Valdez’ team. Most of the employees only speak limited English, so Valdez’ bilingual skills are an asset to the team.
“Playing a translator helps build everyone’s confidence in your role as a leader,” Valdez points out. “Communication is critically important. I always want to make sure that the rest of the team members understand what the other ones are going through. There have been many times I have to sit and translate. We can’t let language be a barrier to doing our job right.”
She really appreciates how her team finds ways to communicate, even when language gets in the way. It’s never an excuse to not get stuff done, she says.
Patience is an important trait to have when leading a team, Valdez says. Being a caretaker is full of challenges that are often out of your control.
“Bad things happen, and it doesn’t help to blame anyone,” she says. “For example, my team watches how I respond to disease breaks. If you act like everything is over and you are overly emotional, they feed off that. I have learned to stay centered, find out what we can do different next time and keep communicating.”
But that’s easier said than done some days, she admits. That’s why she starts by taking care of herself and leaving her problems at home when she comes to work each day.
“Everybody has their issues,” Valdez says. “We try not to bring that stuff to work so we can focus better on our daily tasks. Getting our work done definitely helps us create momentum for the day and find something to be positive about.”
She’s also learned to create space during breaks and at lunch for non-work conversations.
“We all need time to unwind,” she says. “When we come to lunch, I make sure we have a positive experience so we can relieve a little stress. We don’t focus on work — we take a break from it. Just having a moment for each other helps the crew and myself.”
Her leadership style works, Johnson says. She empowers others to do their best and take responsibility.
“Alma knows when to be hands-on and when to take a step back and let the team take ownership of their specific area,” he says. “People appreciate that and feel trusted. It motivates them to take ownership of what they are doing.”
Passing It On
How does it feel to be called a barn hero? Valdez insists she’s just someone who loves what she does every day.
“It’s very rewarding to know that someone outside your barn sees the work you are putting in,” she says. “It’s nice to know that someone else cares about what you’re doing.”
Of all the praise she’s received, one person’s praise has meant the most to her, she admits.
“My son is 15. He didn’t like the idea of me working at a farm because ‘it’s smelly.’ But he started coming to help me on the weekends and noticed the care that I was giving and why I did things the way I did,” she explains.
After training him to do some tasks, her son started to like the job a little, and now he loves it.
“He told me he wants to be a manager like me,” she says. “He says, ‘I want to run a place. I want to be able to have that and know everything about the farm like you do.’ For me to be able to give that hope to my own son, to have that drive and determination to get somewhere, that’s all I could ever ask for,” Valdez says.
That’s her hope, not just for her son, but for everyone she trains and works alongside. She simply wants them to feel proud of what they do, she says.
“One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that your success is never just your success,” Valdez says. “It’s a team effort — I’m just trying to make sure we go in the same direction.”
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