It was a big day at our house when our son brought home his Ascend One Limited Edition Gable Steveson wrestling shoes. If you follow wrestling, you know Gable. Between his talent and personality, you can’t help but be a fan. He recently led a camp that my son was fortunate to attend in Chicago and he got those beautiful new (white) shoes autographed by the legend himself.
That got me thinking about autographs. I couldn’t help but think autographs really don’t mean that much without the interaction. Sure, it looks nice. But isn’t the true value of getting someone’s autograph being able to interact with that person one-on-one, even if it’s just for a little bit?
At face value, his shoes may look more unique now. Beyond that, the true value of his experience will be seeing the autograph and remembering the interaction he had with one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, absorbing what he learned and using that to make himself a better wrestler and person.
It reminds me of data on the farm. It looks nice on paper and seems like the right thing to do these days. But without interaction, those numbers can’t do much on their own. This concept hit home after a conversation with business analyst Brad Eckberg of MetaFarms, Inc., the group that pulled together the National Pork Board’s most recent Production Analysis Summary for the U.S. Pork Industry.
Together with Chris Hostetler, director of animal science at the National Pork Board, the pair discussed when numbers require action, how to put the numbers to work and what caught their eye in this latest industry benchmarking report.
One thing that stood out to both is a continued increase in mortality across all production phases. Sow death loss continues to plague U.S. pork operations and is a highly discussed topic at pork industry conferences across the country.
The reasons are many why this problem needs tackled, but one of those reasons isn’t talked about as much: the impact animal mortality has on employees on the farm.
In this month’s Synergy on the Sow Farm series, an employee and sow barn manager weigh in on the ever-increasing pressures employees face and the resulting impact on employee emotional health.
Stacey Voight, Technical Service North America PIC, says mortality is a reality workers face every day that isn’t going away anytime soon.
“After being exposed to those (mortality) challenges, it is typical for depression to set in. Retainment of employees is more difficult because people are not prepared mentally for mortality situations. It is important that owners and managers of farms understand the emotional health of their employees is their most important asset,” Voight emphasizes.
The tools available to our industry are many. But without that up close and personal interaction with those tools – whether it’s using the numbers to drive change in the gestation barn or using mental health first aid to help an employee weather challenging circumstances – those tools can’t do much.
We have a unique opportunity in the pork industry to use these tools to make our operations better, to protect the future of our industry and to create a work environment that will draw in employees and keep them there. How will you interact with these tools to improve your farm in the year ahead?
More from Farm Journal’s PORK:
Invest in Employee Mental Health to Maintain a Successful Sow Farm
Don’t Ignore Conflict on the Farm
Employee Emotional Health: The Crisis No One Wants to Talk About on the Sow Farm
