Meet Patrick Yeich, our latest addition to Farm Journal’s PORK’s Up & Coming Leaders feature. We are showcasing some of the fresh, new voices of the pork industry who combine innovative thought and work ethic with scientific savvy and a passion to make a difference.
Age: 22
Education: Bachelor’s degree, North Carolina State University; currently pursuing master’s at the University of Illinois
Hometown: Fayetteville, North Carolina
Q. How did you become interested in pursuing a career in the swine industry?
A. I am not originally from an agriculture background and certainly had no exposure to the swine industry growing up. I went into my freshman year at NC State thinking I wanted to go to vet school, but I quickly realized there were so many more opportunities and careers where you could work with animals, rather than just being a vet. This kind of led me to catching the “agriculture bug” and once I realized all the potential landing spots in animal agriculture, I quickly gravitated towards the swine industry. This was due to both its prevalence in my home state of North Carolina, but also the impact that the swine industry had on the national and global scale.
Q. How have internships provided you with direction?
A. This past summer I interned with The Maschhoffs based out of Carlyle, Ill. I worked on one of their research farms in Hoyleton, Ill., as well as working out of their main office other days of the week. This gave me good exposure to different roles within the production company and allowed me to think about what roles I could potentially see myself in moving forward in the industry. I was able to talk with members of the research team, the lead nutritionist, members of the marketing team and leaders of the genetic improvement program. It was a great opportunity to see firsthand how a production company runs day to day while also seeing what they expect from future leaders in the industry.
Q. Did you take part in undergraduate research experiences?
A. My undergraduate career is where I discovered and developed my passion for the swine industry. I was fortunate enough to be taken under the wing of Dr. Mark Knauer at the end of my freshman year. His mentorship was extremely valuable to bring me into a new industry that I really had no previous experience with. He allowed me to work on research projects that spanned all areas of production from piglet preweaning mortality to finishing nutrition to genetic selection to nursery environmental management. He even got me on several commercial production farms in North Carolina, spanning many different production systems. All these experiences allowed me to see a diverse set of opportunities early on and really developed my interests for specific areas of the swine industry.
Q. Tell us about your current research.
A. Most of my research is focused on grow-finish nutrition and looking at feed additives to improve average daily gain and feed efficiency. I also have some recent work dealing with wean-finish nutrition (nursery phase), looking at improving average daily gain and feed efficiency while also focusing on increasing survivability in that stage of production. This is important for the industry because the bulk of a producers’ cost to raise an animal is feed so if we can make that animal more efficient and grow quicker, it will not only help the producers compete in volatile markets, but also could reduce the footprint of the industry by requiring less overall feed inputs.
Q. What is your generation’s greatest challenge?
A. Being from North Carolina gave me a front row seat to watch the nuisance lawsuit attacks that were taken out on family farms across the state. This is a topic I can’t help but think about often and it leads me to believe that animal agriculture will continue to change across the country. I think animal agriculture, specifically swine production, will slowly get driven out of areas like North Carolina. The new leaders in the industry will have to find ways to adapt to the changing dynamics of how people view agriculture and how supportive they are of animals being raised for food. It will be an ongoing battle as populations increase and we need to produce more pork without using more land or building new farms.
More from Farm Journal’s PORK:
PORK Perspectives: A Minute with Lori Stevermer
