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Q. What are the greatest opportunities in the swine industry today?
A. I believe there is great opportunity to build wealth in this industry. It’s not going to be easy, but looking back, it probably never has been easy. We’ve got a growing global population that will continue to grow and consume more product. We’ve got great demand for our product globally. The U.S. is the cheapest place to raise pigs. We’ve got abundant supplies of feed and water and the ability to move nutrients back to the soil. Dr. Tim Loula once said (and I’m paraphrasing) that those who do it best are going to get to do more of it. As good as our producers are in the heartland of the U.S., I think it’s safe to say we can continue to be global leaders and the opportunities will be very good going forward.
Q. What do you enjoy most about your job?
A. That’s really easy for me to say. It’s the clients. I’ve known and worked with some of my clients and their families for 25 years. The highlight for me has been to continue working with them and hopefully, I’ve been able to add some value. I love this industry. Working with producers in this industry, whether my direct clients or indirect clients, has meant a lot to me.
Q. Who inspires you?
A. A number of people. It’d be too long of a list to name. But one would be an uncle that I grew up around who inspired me towards the genetics end of this business. I’ve also had some great bosses over the years who were very inspiring. I would say a number of my clients have been inspiring, too.
Q. What is your business philosophy?
A. If you help enough people be successful, then you’ll be successful yourself. Just providing financing doesn’t mean that much – people can get financing in a lot of different places. But if you can help clients be more successful in their business, then you’ve got a winning philosophy.
Q. What will the business look like 20 years from now?
A. Automation and speed of business is ever quickening. I think we’ll find new ways to make the lending piece more efficient and allow those better at doing the job to do more and handle more clients. However, we’re not ready yet to give up all the personal touch that I believe makes it work for us. I don’t think we’re done consolidating this business – we probably never will be. The loans are getting larger and larger. That becomes more of a challenge, but we have to be prepared for it and in a position to help clients through it. There will be fewer players. Business will be more demanding. Tools will be available to people faster, too. Decisions will need to be made quicker. Those who can utilize those tools better are going to be more effective and more competitive. I think it’ll be fun, to be honest with you. Even for somebody who’s not that technical, like myself, it’s still fun.
Q. If you could go back and do something differently in your career, what would it be and why?
A. That’s hard. One thing I would have done is that I would have pushed the issue and forced change a little sooner to where specialists in swine lending would have started five years sooner. I think it would have been good for the industry. For a long time, I thought about going back and getting my MBA. But I just didn’t think I could justify it or make the time. So, I didn’t do it. Going back, I might have made the time.
Q. What advice do you have for someone who might like to do what you do someday?
A. The hardest thing for us to find when we’re recruiting and looking for new people to join our team is somebody with some swine production background. We feel like we can teach them the finance end of it. But for them to understand what the client is trying to do is a bigger challenge. For people that would want to get into this role, a background in production is important. Then, having some other skills to offer, whether that be in accounting, finance, succession planning or risk management, is really critical.
PORK Perspectives is a recurring column that provides business and leadership strategy tips from some of the pork industry’s finest. Opinions expressed in this column are the opinions of Kent Bang and do not represent the opinions of Farm Journal’s PORK. Watch for future columns featuring advice and insights from more of the pork industry’s leaders.
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PORK Perspectives: A Minute with Greg Simpson
PORK Perspectives: A Minute with Pat Joyce
PORK Perspectives: A Minute with John Waddell
PORK Perspectives: A Minute with Frank Brummer
