With California’s agricultural land becoming increasingly more expensive and regulations tightening, some farmers are seeking new opportunities elsewhere. For the Robinson Family, the answer was Oklahoma — a place where wide-open land and a deep-rooted farming community offered a setting for a fresh start.
“We started our first hog farm in 1997 when we moved to Oklahoma,” says Tanner Robinson, farm manager at Robinson Family Farms.
Tanner’s father, Eddie Robinson, worked at a fiberglass store in California but had always loved animals, especially pigs. Eddie went to Oklahoma to see one of his uncles and toured a friend’s hog farm. He loved it and moved the family to Oklahoma when Tanner was 8 years old.
“My uncle Rich and my dad became partners and created Robinson Family Farms,” Tanner says. “Our lives completely changed.”
After graduating from high school, Tanner pursued an animal science degree at Oklahoma State University where he graduated in 2012.
“I came home after college and fell into the family plan of pig farming,” Tanner says. “I loved the family aspect of going to work every day with my dad, uncle, cousins and brothers.”
Just Like His Dad
Watching the hard work Eddie put in and his determination to never give up on himself was just the encouragement Tanner needed to follow in his footsteps.
“My dad pretty much groomed us to work alongside him,” Tanner says. “From a young age, I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It is the only thing I have ever done, and it is all I know.”
Tanner became the farm manager of Robinson Family Farms a few years after he graduated from college. The genetics and production at the farm has increased significantly since his dad started the operation, he says. The farm started with around 2,500 sows and now has about 20,000.
“It was simpler back when my dad started this,” Tanner says. “It was easier as far as animal rights and regulations. We have more audits now and requirements to make sure we are in compliance for Walmart because of our contract with Tyson Foods.”
“The goal right now for Tyson Foods’ farms is to get 30 pigs per sow per year,” Tanner says.
Tanner’s life changed because of hog farming, he says. He looks forward to what is to come for the future of his family’s operation.
Partnering for Success
Robinson Family Farms is a contract producer for Tyson, explains Luke Williams, production manager at Tyson Foods. He has been working with Tanner to oversee all of the Robinson Family Farm sites for just over two years.
Williams works with Tanner and his family to help them achieve a better paycheck by producing more pigs. Williams helps with anything from advising them on better production practices to giving advice on management and anything that helps hit the production targets.
Tanner has grown up with this lifestyle, so he is willing to work and is not afraid to get in the barn and work on being better, Williams adds. He has good ethics for pig farming, too.
“Tanner is upfront and honest with you,” Williams says. “Tanner loves what he does and is willing to put in the extra effort to be the best producer he can be.”
The agricultural industry is constantly pushing to improve, he adds.
“Being a second-generation producer, I often come across people saying they have always done it one way and they have no desire to change anything, even though there are better practices,” Williams says. “With Tanner, he is willing to try new techniques, and he is open minded to updating practices even if his father did it a different way, which I appreciate.”
A Family Affair
Eddie and his brother kept buying more pigs and were extremely eager once they moved to Oklahoma, so the production just kept growing, says Cody Robinson, Tanner’s younger brother and farm manager. Something that started small turned into something big.
“All together the Robinson family has 13 different pig farms,” Cody says. “Tanner and I run different farms, but we talk all day every day about pigs. Tanner has been my best friend since we were little kids, and I have always looked up to him.”
When the family moved to Oklahoma, their lives revolved around hog farming, and they were eager to continue to live out their father’s passion, Cody says.
“When our father died in 2024, we knew we wanted to try our best to work together to keep the operation going,” Cody adds.
One of the biggest challenges they face today is finding and keeping good employees, especially with the impact of inflation, Cody points out.
“Pig farming is not for everyone,” he says.
Their biggest struggle has been finding employees to work on the farm. Thankfully the brothers work well together.
“You would think there would be some conflict with working with your brother every day, but there isn’t for us,” Cody says, who also graduated with a degree in animal science from Oklahoma State University. “We know the ins and outs of each other, and all we have ever known is pig farming, so by this point we are able to work well together every day.”
Beyond a professional partnership, Cody has deep respect and admiration for Tanner, emphasizing not only his skills as a hog farmer but also his character as a person.
“I can’t really say enough about Tanner because of how highly I think about him,” Cody says. “I know he’s my brother and I may be biased, but he is a really good man and a really good hog farmer.”
