All Ohio Pork Council’s president Nick Seger has ever wanted to do is farm. Perhaps that’s why this 37-year-old farmer from Sidney, Ohio, is so passionate about serving the pork industry, too. Seger will be the first to admit that he’s not doing this because he wants to be in the spotlight. Instead, he wants to make a difference by bringing people together on Ohio Pork Council’s leadership team and building on their strengths to be a unified voice for pig farmers in the state of Ohio and beyond.
Seger opened up about his family, his goals as president and the type of leader Ohio pork producers are getting in their new president at the Ohio Pork Congress held on Feb. 6-7 in Lima.
Q. Describe your family’s pig farming story.
A. I farm with my dad and two uncles in west central Ohio. Seger Farms Inc., consists of a farrow-to-finish swine operation and a grain operation producing corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa. Everybody has their own area of expertise at Seger Farms. One of my uncles and my cousin oversee the sow unit. My other uncle oversees our feed mill. My dad runs some nurseries and finishers. My role is taking care of all of the contract growers – my focus is wean-to-finish.
Q. What happened when you came home from college to farm with your family?
A. We have been using group housing my whole life – we never had gestation stalls. We operated our herd using open pens and natural breeding. When I got home from college about 15 years ago, I instituted artificial insemination (AI) and converted our operation over to more of a regimented farrowing system using AI. We slowly transitioned into the modern barns we have today.
Q. What’s one thing people may not know about you?
A. My wife Lauren and I have five kids – three girls and two boys – ranging from first grade to just under a month old.
Q. If you could only accomplish one thing this year, what would it be and why?
A. Further education of the general public about the pork industry. It’s so important we are telling our story about what we are doing for the environment and animal welfare for the sake of future generations.
Q. What is one thing your farm has been focused on over the years?
A. My family has always been really strict on biosecurity – my grandpa had a purebred Hampshire SPF herd in one location and another York-cross commercial herd several miles down the road. I remember the tail end of that – way back before confinement – of my grandpa running two separate herds. Even today we have two separate herds, including a farrow-to-finish farm and then a finishing farm where we buy wean pigs and finish those out. Biosecurity is a critical part of what we do to keep our pigs healthy and is something I’m proud my grandpa had the foresight to adopt decades ago.
Q. What do you like to do for fun?
A. My fun is farming. All I’ve ever wanted to do is farm. There are sacrifices you have to make to farm full-time on a family operation as there’s only so much money to go around. But, I didn’t decide to be a farmer for the money. I did this because it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I have a small herd of beef cows as well because I enjoy spending time there when I’m not pig farming. My mom’s side of family had cattle and I enjoyed helping my mom’s father with the cows when I wasn’t helping my dad’s father with the pigs.
Q. Why are you optimistic about future of swine industry in Ohio?
A. I am excited because of all the new producers we have gained in the past 5 to 10 years in Ohio – from young producers to farmers raising hogs for the first time in their life. This grows our ability to reach more people to show communities what we are doing in the pork industry while opening their eyes to all of the job opportunities pig operations provide. It also creates benefits to the cropping industry.
Q. Why have you seen an increase in pork operations in Ohio in the past 5-10 years?
A. Ohio has great accessibility to interstate travel, with Interstate 75 and 70 providing access every direction. We also have a great feed supply here and land base with intense cropping rotations. We have a lot of corn and soybeans on the western side of state. The feed and nutrients we have here lends itself to being a sustainable site for pork production.
Q. What kind of leader are people getting?
A. I’m big on the team approach. I want to get the right people in the room and let everyone share their expertise. We get so much more done that way.
More from Farm Journal’s PORK:
First Female Takes on Presidency of Iowa Pork Producers Association
