Farmer Resilience

From Storm Ruin to 'Barn Hero': How Partnership and Family Fuel This Indiana Pig Farm

Fri, 15 May 2026 13:05:32 GMT

When the barn alarm screeches in the middle of the night, every pig farmer feels an ache deep in his gut. There was no way Kameron Donaldson could have prepared for what he saw back in 2013 when the sheriff deputy drove him up to the site of his new finishing barn.

With power lines snapping like firecrackers on the Fourth of July, he was grateful for the officer who came upon the scene after a devastating windstorm flattened his livelihood. With the patrol car’s lights beaming on the scene, all Donaldson could see were shards of glass, twisted metal and splintered wood.

All he could think was, “This is bad.” His quad buildings were in ruins.

Through the pouring rain and striking lightning, he knew he had to act fast to get the pigs moved to a better location.

“One half of one building was basically gone – no roof or even lumber on one end,” Donaldson recalls. “The other building just collapsed and basically laid down on the gates. The unbelievable part is that, of the 8,000 50-lb. pigs in the buildings, only 20 died during the storm from debris falling on them.”

(Kameron Donaldson)

A Convoy of Support

Overwhelmed doesn’t even begin to describe how Donaldson felt the next morning as the sun rose over the wreckage and revealed the true damage. But he says it wasn’t because of the cleanup and hard decisions ahead. It was because of the convoy of pig farmers, neighbors and friends who showed up with bolt cutters, trailers and food.

As a contract grower for Dykhuis Farms, Donaldson was relieved that his barn supervisor was focused on finding spaces for the pigs so he could concentrate on getting pigs out of the buildings.

“We needed to move approximately 16 semi loads of pigs to new locations until the buildings could be repaired,” he says. “In the building that collapsed, the gates had to be cut because they were pinched by the ceiling that lay on top of them. Men were literally crawling on their hands and knees to move these pigs out of the pens.”

Some people moved debris. Others loaded pigs onto trailers. Some even hooked up the barn watering system to a firetruck so the pigs could drink.

“The support of our community meant so much to our family,” he says. “Everyone understood that this was a serious situation and did anything they could to help.”

The support the Donaldsons received after the storm is unforgettable. He says that is something he appreciates about being a contract grower — knowing you have a support team who is willing to help and solve problems alongside you whatever they may be.

(Kameron Donaldson)

The Power of Partnership

This crisis solidified Donaldson’s trust in Dykhuis Farms and the partnership model he uses today. He knows he is able to do more with the support Dykhuis Farms provides than if he were raising hogs independently.

Growing up on a grain and pig farming operation in Miami County, Ind., Donaldson was no stranger to the challenges of raising livestock. In 1996, his family exited the hog business. A few years later, he married his high school sweetheart, Hayley, who also grew up on a pig farm. It came as no surprise when the young couple decided contract finishing hogs would be a wise way to use some empty barns and bring in a little extra income so they could return to the farm full time.

A friend introduced them to Dykhuis Farms of Holland, Mich., and said they were a great group to work for, Donaldson recalls.

“Once I met the president at the time, Bob Dykhuis, I knew that was the direction I wanted to go,” he says. “They are a faith- and family-based farm operation. They were easy to connect with and that was important to me as I was getting my start. I’ve been with them ever since and never regretted it.”

In addition to great health and technical support, Dykhuis Farms offers an incentive opportunity for growers who maintain a daily log of data and performance records. Examples range from recording barn temperatures to vaccinations to death loss.

“They keep numbers on virtually everything they can keep numbers on,” he says. “When you have a good group, and you’ve done your paperwork, you may receive a certain dollar amount per head bonus.”

One of the advantages of feeding hogs for a company is the number of people you meet along the way, Donaldson says. Whether it’s truck drivers other hog growers, he says it opens up your world to opportunities you never knew were possible.

(Don Green)

That incentive to reach high standards is motivating, he says. It feels good to be affirmed for doing exceptional work in the barn. He focuses attention on indicators of barn performance, including ventilation, feed and water systems, to make sure the pig has the best environment possible.

“I appreciate that they are open about numbers and share those across the company,” Donaldson points out. “It allows you to compare and see where you sit with other growers. That’s important for me to be at the top. If we are a little weak in an area, I focus on that pretty hard.”

The Discipline of Daily Care

Although many things have changed since he started feeding hogs 19 years ago, like technology and finishing weights, the most important things are still the most important things.

“A successful contract grower needs to be observant,” he says. “You need to slow down enough to take a good look at the pigs and observe them. How are they feeling? Good growers can go in a barn and get a sense real quick if something’s off.”

He says it starts with a passion to want the pigs to do well because it’s the right thing to do for the pig. But it also makes his job easier, too.

“Being a contract grower takes a lot of hard work,” Donaldson adds. “Success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes many years of doing the work, day in and day out, before you get your expenses covered. But even when you are starting to make a little money, you must always think about reinvesting because the barn is going to need maintenance.”

The Donaldson farm consists of pigs, corn, soybeans and wheat and is staffed mostly by Donaldson, Hayley and their son, Keagan. They also have two daughters, Kendra and Kayden, who put in hours in the barn when needed. His father, now 68, still works on his own farm every day and helps with the grain side of Donaldson’s farm.

“We load out most of our own pigs ourselves,” Donaldson says. “We have hired help to come in to do the sorting and the washing of the barns, but on the day-to-day chore stuff, it’s myself and family members.”

Working alongside his son, Keegan, on the farm is a privilege, Donaldson says.

(Don Green)

Working with family members means a lot to Donaldson, who views it as a great opportunity to teach his children and pass on values.

“They always say, “A family that prays together stays together.’ But a family that sells pigs together? Now that’s a challenge,” Donaldson laughs. “I’ve learned to be more patient. If our kids see that I can get it done without a forceful nature, and it’s just as effective or even quicker, they may take that approach the next time, too.”

One of his expectations in the barn is observance.

“Use all your senses when you’re in there,” Donaldson says. “Use your eyes to look for potential feeder adjustments, pig problems and things like that. Keep your ears open. Can you hear a pig breathing hard? Use every sense you can to be observant. When you do that, you’ll be able to make sure the pigs are in the best environment for growth possible.”

Securing the Future

Hayley works on the farm with her husband every day. From loading pigs to driving the tractor to handling the farm’s paperwork, Donaldson says she can do it all.

“Working with your spouse can have its challenges, and that’s mostly my fault,” he says. “There’s not much of a buffer zone. If something’s not going well when I come in for lunch, she’s the person who gets an earful.”

(Don Green)

However, their joint desire to see the farm succeed and provide opportunities for future generations to be on the farm aligns their purpose and helps cover the daily stresses of farm life. It’s also why they’ve prioritized succession planning.

“We wanted to have something in place as our operation grew,” he says. “Once we started that process, that encouraged my dad to do the same. My dad thought you had to have every detail worked out. And that’s just not true when it comes to succession planning.”

The first step is starting with something, Donaldson says. He reached out to an attorney who specializes in farm succession plans to help devise a strategy for the future of their farm business.

“Even though we knew our lawyer, she still wanted to spend time talking to us to understand the ‘heartbeat’ of our family,” he says. “She wanted to understand each family member’s role on and off the farm.”

Once his dad realized the process wasn’t that difficult, and he could make changes to the plan along the way, he softened to the idea and went through the process to set up his own trust for his farming operation.

“He has peace now knowing that the land he owns will continue, and whether it’s me or my son, we will rent off of the trust and continue to farm his land,” Donaldson says.

A True Barn Hero

Donaldson’s stewardship of the animals and the environment is noteworthy. His desire to be more efficient and make the pigs’ lives the best possible is one of the reasons why Caton Howard, a fieldman for Dykhuis Farms, calls Donaldson a barn hero.

“Kameron always does things the right way and in a timely manner, which can be a struggle with contract growers,” Howard says. “He cares for the pigs daily like they are his own and keeps his facilities in pristine condition. He also maintains the barns like they are brand new.”

Kameron and Hayley Donaldson wouldn’t be where they are today without the examples their fathers set for them to work hard and prioritize animal care.

(Don Green)

In addition, the family’s decision to do all their own loading is becoming a bit of a rarity, Howard says. He believes this shows their determination to be the best and provide the best care for the pigs.

“I really enjoy working with Kameron and cherish the conversations we have about pigs,” Howard says. “He helps motivate me to always strive to do better every day.”

Jason Klein, manager at Dykhuis Farms, says many obstacles in the pork business can be overcome by simply executing the basics really well day after day. He believes Donaldson represents a guy who does this well.

“Everything on the site works like it’s supposed to, and chores are done every day like they are supposed to be done,” Klein says. “There is never any drama or surprises with Kameron Donaldson. He owns and manages all his responsibilities really well. He takes pride in what he does. It’s obvious every time I talk with him that he’s truly glad to be a farmer.

Donaldson recognizes his success is not his alone, and without his team, including his family and the crew at Dykhuis Farms, he wouldn’t be where he is today. He is proud to be called a barn hero.

“We want to keep doing a good job for Dykhuis Farms and make sure the finished product is in line with what they started,” Donaldson says.

Hayley believes this is possible because of her husband’s superpower – making things happen.

“He’s good at doing a lot of things,” she says. “He pays great attention to detail. If something needs done, we all rally around him and do what he says we need to do.”

This system works well for the Donaldson family.

“It’s a good life,” he says. “Farming is hard to get into, but if you have an opportunity to work with somebody who is already in operation, go for it. There are always farmers looking for people willing to work on a farm, especially on the animal side. I don’t think people realize how many opportunities may be out there with farmers who don’t have a succession plan or children wanting to take over the farming operation. It takes some time to find, but it’s worth it.”

The Best Ordinary Tuesday: Finding Glimmers in the Grind

Tue, 12 May 2026 18:50:26 GMT

We are the people of the next. On a farm, the clock and the calendar are our masters, but they are also our greatest distractions. We wait all day for the end of the day so we can finally pull off our boots. We wait all year for the next year to come, hoping for better margins, better weather or a better balance of the markets. We spend entire lifetimes working for the prize 2-year-old, the record milk production or the bin-busting crop that finally justifies the sweat.

But if we are honest, when those records finally arrive, they often feel like a destination we reached while we were looking out the window at something else. Because the truth of the farm life — the goodness we praise God for — isn’t found in the record books; it’s found on an ordinary Tuesday.

The Success of the Seconds

Success on our 750-cow dairy is usually measured in pounds, percentages and bushels harvested. We track data points with precision, seeking logic in the chaos, but the real successes of a farming life don’t always happen in the margins. Sometimes they are the glimmering moments that we too often take for granted because they don’t come with a trophy or a line on a balance sheet.

Think about the last time you worked cattle together as a family. It’s a task that can easily descend into shouted directions and frayed nerves. But then, there’s that moment where it all just works. No one has to say a word; you move in a silent, practiced choreography passed down through generations. Your father knows exactly where you’re going to move the gate; your children anticipate the next cow in the chute. In that fleeting minute, the legacy isn’t a legal document or a transition plan — it’s a heartbeat.

It’s the five-minute window in between filling the planter when a football appears from the back of the truck. The dust is still settling, the sun is high and, for 60 seconds, you aren’t a manager or an operator; you’re a dad. You’re a kid again yourself. Those spirals thrown over the tongue of the planter are the things we actually long for, yet we often treat them as interruptions to the “real work.”

Community Covered in Plastic

We saw it last fall during the long stretch of chopping. The silage pile was growing, the weather was turning and the exhaustion was setting in. Then, the high school varsity football team showed up — a dozen young men with more energy than sense, ready to help pull the plastic and toss the tires.

In the grand scheme of the year’s production, that couple of hours of help was a small fraction of the labor. But in the grand scheme of life, it was everything. It was the community showing up when the always-on nature of the dairy felt like too much to carry alone. It was the realization that the farm doesn’t just produce milk; it produces the character of the town. If you didn’t stop to see the goodness in those dusty, laughing teenagers, you might have thought it was just another chore finished. But it was the best Tuesday of the month.

The Prize of the Return

Then there is the greatest glimmer of all: the conversation you didn’t dare to script. It happens in the cab of the truck or while walking back from the parlor. Your oldest son, the one you’ve watched grow up in the shadow of this barn, looks at the horizon and says he wants to do what Dad does for a living. After graduating from college this spring, he is planning to come back to the family farm.

In that moment, the low margin and crummy weather lose their power. The audacity and faith required to keep a 750-cow and 1,800-acre operation running are suddenly rewarded. Not with a record milk check, but with the knowledge that the soil you’ve tended and the cows you’ve bred have a future beyond your own hands.

Searching for the Glimmer

The thing about these moments is that they don’t happen for 24 consecutive hours. They don’t last for weeks or months. They are seconds. They are glimmers of hope that we have to actively search for.

If we aren’t careful, we can finish the day thinking it was just another grind — another ordinary Tuesday where the equipment broke or the labor was short. But if we adjust our sails and shift our gaze, we realize that the days we’ve been longing for are happening right in front of our eyes.

The prize isn’t the 2-year-old in the show ring; it’s the 2-year-old grandchild sitting on your lap in the tractor. The record crop isn’t just the bushels per acre; it’s the harvest of memories with family by your side being made while the work was being done.

Praise God for the goodness that being a farmer is — not because it is easy and not because it is always profitable, but because it gives us the eyes to see that an ordinary Tuesday can be the best day we have ever asked for. We just have to be brave enough to stop waiting for the “next” long enough to see the “now.”

Mental Health in the Pork Industry: Redefining Grit with Maddison Caldwell

Fri, 08 May 2026 18:33:05 GMT

In the stock show world, Maddison Caldwell was the blueprint of a firstborn overachiever: disciplined, organized and a perfectionist. But while she thrived in the black-and-white rules of life, the “gray areas” nearly cost her everything.

In college, she took a mandatory psychology class and realized she related to many of the topics they talked about. Caldwell sought help from her primary care physician, not knowing at the time that specialists existed for what she was feeling.

After months of increasing dosages, she reached a medical ceiling. When her doctor told her it was the maximum dose and ‘sent her on her way,’ she felt she had run out of options. Within five months, she attempted to end her life twice.

Private Pain to Public Hope

When she shared her personal battle in January 2022 , her story stopped being just hers. It became a shared common ground for others fighting silent battles.

“As soon as the article came out, it was like the floodgates opened,” she says. “All of a sudden, complete strangers – even people who weren’t involved with agriculture – of all ages from across the country reached out.”

Although it wasn’t easy to have the most painful moments of her life become table conversation, she doesn’t regret the decision to share it with others.

“This story came out right around the time I was starting my career,” Caldwell says. “I was reporting to an executive at a large company, and one of his coworkers on the executive team asked him, ‘Have you Googled her?’”

(Provided by Maddison Caldwell)

She will never forget when he asked her about it and the conversation that followed.

“He was quite a bit older than I am, and from a generation that didn’t talk about these things,” Caldwell adds. “It was a really uncomfortable and really hard conversation.”

But she believes those conversations are more important than ever.

“Doing things like that bring us one step closer,” Caldwell says. “I hope I never lose the drive to keep being uncomfortable in order to help people.”

Redefining Grit in Agriculture

Agriculture is making progress when it comes to talking about mental health and recognizing the importance of conversation.

“I don’t think we are great at sitting in that uncomfortable state,” she says. “We want to fix it and move on, or minimize it, or work harder and stay busy doing anything that allows us to avoid facing the reality of it.”

She believes it’s time to redefine “grit” in agriculture.

“In my opinion, grit means being honest with ourselves,” Caldwell explains. “I think it means coming to the realization that we need to reach out for help sometimes. It’s about the courage to be vulnerable.”

She also challenges the industry to stop equating grit with silence.

“You cannot pour from an empty cup,” she warns.

In an industry that prizes working until the job is done, Caldwell says the ultimate display of grit is the courage to admit when you’re running on empty.

Warning Signs

With one in five U.S. adults facing mental health conditions and one in five high school students considering suicide, Caldwell isn’t shy about offering advice now.

“One of the things I did was bury myself in work, in being productive, in not taking any time to just stop and ‘smell the roses,’” Caldwell says. “If you notice people withdrawing from activities that they would have once loved, pay attention. If they’re exhausted all the time, if they’re not talking as much, if they use the words ‘I’m fine’ all too often, or if they are pouring so much into other people at their own expense, those could be signs.”

Looking back, she admits it’s hard to recognize herself during those years. Her mindset is much different now. She challenges people to stop shying away from asking hard questions.

“People often think if you say the word suicide, it’s going to put that idea in someone’s mind,” Caldwell says. “Let me be clear that this thought was already in my head when I was struggling. I don’t know what would have happened if someone just blankly asked me if I was thinking about suicide, because that’s not something people talk about.”

Healing Is Not a Straight Line

Today, Caldwell lives by a quote she read early in her recovery process: “When we recover loudly, we keep others from dying quietly.”

“I will shout my story to the rooftops if it means that one person feels less alone in how they’re feeling,” she says.

Healing looks different for everyone, and everyone needs different tools, Caldwell explains. She compares it to going to Starbucks to get a cup of coffee and then realizing you don’t like it.

“Does it mean that you’re going to stop going to Starbucks altogether, or, even worse, stop drinking coffee altogether?” she says. “Absolutely not. Sometimes you just need to go to different places or add in a little sugar here and there based on personal preference. I feel like my healing journey is like that.”

Caldwell says the “gray areas” are still terrifying at times. But she’s learned that true bravery is figuring out how to thrive even when a clear plan isn’t visible. Healing hasn’t removed the stressors in her life, but it has increased her capacity to handle them.

The one thing that has changed in the past six years is her willingness to have uncomfortable conversations and ask hard questions. She is grateful for the family, friends and professionals that support her in doing this.

“Transparency looks different now,” she says. “I can text my mom to just say, ‘It’s not a good day today.’ That’s something I never would have done because I didn’t feel comfortable saying that.”

Stay Beyond the Crisis

Her message to farm families is simple: don’t just show up for the crisis; show up for the recovery.

“Stay to see them thrive,” Caldwell says. “Stay to hear people like my mom say that ‘the light has returned’ in their eyes.”

Maddison’s family members have been a key support to her in the healing journey.

(Provided by Maddison Caldwell)

On the sixth anniversary of being alive after her last suicide attempt, Caldwell lit a candle and blew it out surrounded by her inner circle.

“As I looked around at the simplest of things, I was so grateful,” she says. “I was flooded with all the beautiful moments I have had since that time that I would have missed out on.”

Discover more about Caldwell’s journey – the challenges that would have wrecked her before, the most unexpected people who helped her recover and the joy she finds in her career today – by watching “The PORK Podcast” on YouTube or by listening to it anywhere podcasts are found.

No one has to struggle alone. If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available 24/7. Call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.

Finding Color Again: A Story of Love, Loss and Healing

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 20:34:48 GMT

It’s true that the pork industry is driven by data and science, but it’s ultimately built on the strength of the people who are in it. Sometimes that strength arises out of the darkest times of our lives. Dan Hamilton, senior director for product performance in the Americas for PIC, experienced a profound tragedy in 2005.

When Hamilton was a student at the University of Illinois, he met Rachel – a dynamic powerhouse who captured his heart quickly. Always the life of the conversation, she made people laugh and brought joy to everyone she was around, he says.

“We couldn’t wait to start our storybook life together,” Hamilton says. “We were young and of the mindset that you set a goal and achieve it. Then, you just keep doing that. We both had successful careers, bought our first house, and decided it was time to have a baby.”

He will never forget the morning when it was time to go to the hospital after nine months of waiting.

“We had the bag packed in the car like you’re supposed to, and the nursery was ready,” he recalls. “We went to the hospital and they took Rachel back. I went with her and they said, ‘You know, her blood pressure is a little bit variable. Why don’t you step out?’”

They told him they were going to get her blood pressure under control before moving on to the next step of the delivery process.

“It wasn’t a few minutes later that a lot of sirens started going off, and they were having some sort of a code event,” Hamilton says. “I wasn’t sure if it was her or what it was, because they had me in the waiting room with no direction. The next thing I know, the doctors were approaching me with a very grim face.”

They sat him down and explained that Rachel died in the delivery room that morning from either an amniotic or pulmonary embolism. A rare, one-in-a-million event, there was nothing the doctors could do to save his wife. In that very same moment, he found out he was the father of a baby girl, Kaitlyn.

Stunned, Hamilton didn’t know what to do next. The doctors were talking about the duress Kaitlyn endured while his heart smashed into pieces.

Black-and-White Memories

Because Kaitlyn experienced a lack of oxygen for a period of time, doctors whisked her off to the neonatal intensive care unit for the first four days of her life to stabilize her respiratory tract.

“I don’t think any dad goes into the hospital thinking he will leave a single father,” Hamilton says. “Not only was I grieving the loss of Rachel, but the stress of how I was going to care for Kaitlyn on my own put me to the limit.”

An outpouring of support from family and friends surrounded him at that moment.

“It’s unfortunate that it takes a traumatic event to realize how many people in the world care,” Hamilton says. “And that continued for years afterward. My parents were really close and they came and spent a lot of time with me. Rachel’s mother had just retired, so she was able to help me with Kaitlyn during the day. She was a godsend for sure. Friends would come on nights or weekends and give me a break when needed.”

When he looks back, he sees that time of his life in black and white.

“Memories are usually in color,” he says. “But that first year was definitely in black and white for me.”

Although watching each step of Kaitlyn’s development was the greatest gift, he says not having Rachel to share it with him was hard. He constantly questioned how he was going to be able to raise a young lady.

“Rachel would have been so good at this,” he says. “I asked a lot of questions. Why did this happen? Why was she taken away from me?”

He learned to stop asking those questions.

“You may never find reason with those,” he says. “Focus on the positive and the good things around you. Be grateful for the people that support you, because that is what God is sending you – the help, support and strength to move forward.”

Be in the Moment

When you’ve gone through a trauma like this, Hamilton says it’s important to take time to heal and reflect.

“My grief for Rachel will always be there,” he says. “I still tear up every time I think about it and it’s been 20-some years. I just want to encourage people walking through grief that someday you can reformulate your life and have positive experiences again. It may not feel like it at first, but there are good things ahead.”

And let people help you, Hamilton adds. People want to help, but don’t always know how to help. He believes letting people in allows both parties to process and that’s a good thing.

“One thing I’ve learned is to be in the moment,” he says.

Don’t let things get out of balance that shouldn’t get out of balance, he adds. For example, your job shouldn’t compromise your relationship with your family. That’s something he takes seriously.

Three years after Rachel’s death, he met his current wife, Carrie, and her daughter. Today they are raising three daughters. Kaitlyn is now a junior at the University of Illinois and doing amazing, he says.

“Looking back at what I went through, there’s always some guilt that I could have spent more time or done this or that,” Hamilton says. “Live your life so you don’t have those regrets as you go forward. You just never know when you’ll get that next chance.”

You can listen to more of Hamilton’s personal story of resilience on “The PORK Podcast” on YouTube or follow The PORK Podcast anywhere podcasts are found.

The Identity Trap: What You Do is Not Who You Are

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 18:56:49 GMT

I will never forget how helpless I felt on Jan. 24 when I watched my son stumble across the wrestling mat. He took two major blows to the head during a match – a sound I could hear from the top of the gym bleachers. As he struggled to orient himself, I felt like I was going to throw up.

In a matter of seconds, he was on his back convulsing with trainers at his side trying to take off his shoulder brace so he could breathe. Sweat poured off his body in a way no workout ever could have done.

I held my hand over my mouth and wailed, watching nearly 13 years of hard work, sacrifice and commitment get carried off the mat on a stretcher. I knew in my heart that this was not a “shake it off” moment as they raced him to the emergency room by ambulance.

By God’s grace, the X-ray of his neck was clear. He never lost consciousness. He answered his questions correctly. Minus the uncomfortable neck brace, within an hour, our son seemed a little drowsy, but normal. We were able to leave Loyola Hospital in Chicago later that day and made it home through the snow that night. With time and rest, he was expected to make a full recovery, but it just wasn’t enough time for his brain to heal to allow him to wrestle in his senior year state series starting a couple of days later.

As a parent, this was a pretty excruciating moment because for thousands of days, I watched this kid commit his whole heart to this sport – a three-time state qualifier who overcame a hip avulsion fracture suffered during his sophomore year during the state tournament, a car accident at the end of his junior season and a torn labrum in his shoulder just weeks after his senior season began. It seemed like all of that was enough. And yet the disappointment was not over.

If I can be honest, I’m angry. Not at anyone in particular, but I’m just angry at the way it played out for him. There is nothing worse than watching your kid hurt and not be able to fix it.

The following weekend of regionals was hard to sit through, though we absolutely wanted the best for his teammates. At church the next day, some friends we hadn’t seen in a while came up and talked to our son. I overheard him say, “Wrestling is something I do, it’s not who I am.”

Parallel Paths: From the Mat to the Ranch

Fast forward a few days to the Top Producer Summit where I listened to a powerful panel. Leaders of top companies in agriculture weighed in on a variety of thought-provoking topics, but one message stood out to me.

“All too often, we confuse what we do with who we are,” said Lamar Steiger with The 808 Ranch. “As farmers and ranchers, we are our job. It’s our identity. That was my problem as a young man.”

Steiger grew up on a dairy. High interest rates in the late 1970s made farming particularly challenging. When he was in his 20s, their family lost the dairy. After working so hard to make that operation work, Steiger took this as a deep personal failure.

“There was nothing I could do to save the dairy because outside forces were at hand. But it’s so hard for farmers and ranchers to separate that,” he said. “Looking back, I had depression for quite a while after that, but we didn’t talk about that then.”

When he was in his mid-30s, Steiger attempted suicide.

“I had to be removed totally from my working life and start completely over,” he shared. “I learned the hard way how to separate my identity from my role.”

Steiger said it wasn’t pretty, but he is grateful for how this time of his life changed him.

“When you come to the end of yourself, you look for something bigger and better. That’s worked out really good for me,” he said. “Being a rancher is cool to me, but it’s not who I am. I’m Lamar. I try my best and I fail. We have great successes and then we have some things that just don’t work out. But it’s not all my responsibility.”

There’s something so humbling about another person vulnerably sharing their story. We can learn so much from each other. All it takes is a willingness to share your story. Left unshared, our stories may only change us. But by sharing, we can help each other find our way through the very real burdens of life.

A Truth Worth Holding Onto

It’s easy to confuse your identity with what you do because it becomes such a big part of our lives. As another Shike kid closes one chapter and gets ready to start the next, I find myself confusing who I am with my role as a mom. I’m not sure what life looks like without Saturday wrestling tournaments and late nights posting photos of our wrestlers.

As I sat there at Top Producer Summit, I kept hearing my son’s voice in my head saying, “Wrestling is something I do, it’s not who I am.”

He’s only 17 and has a lot of life to live, but I’m grateful he recognizes this truth. I know there will be times when he will be tempted to measure his worth by his performance. But I believe when we get honest and share these stories, we can help one another avoid the mistake of confusing what we do with who we are.

Saying Goodbye to Dad: A Farmer’s Journey with Grief

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 20:15:26 GMT

Grief is hard. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a way of life, or even a dream, the pain of losing something we care about is an inevitable part of being human. However, that doesn’t make grief any easier to walk through.

On May 23, 2024, Nathan Isler lost his father, Bill, to a stroke. The man who was greater than life to him, was no longer by his side every day on their family pork and grain operation. The loss that everyone who loved him felt was undeniable.

“I don’t know how people deal with grief without faith. If you think death is just the end, it’s a hard thing to deal with,” Isler says. “For me, the toughest part is the loss of those moments where I wish he was there to talk to about things.”

In Isler’s mind, grief is more of a feeling than a definition. In the simplest of terms, he says it’s disappointment in life not going the way you want it to – not getting the answers you hoped for or not having the person you want to be there.

But grief, as painful as it feels, is also a process that can open the door to growth and resilience.

“It is impossible to live without experiencing pain at some point in our lives,” says Jorge Estrada, Global Coaching Alliance Latin America lead. “Life and pain go hand in hand. They’re part of the great dichotomies: black and white, day and night, life and death, love and pain.”

Pain isn’t an interruption to life, it’s a thread woven through it, Estrada adds. At the same time, grief isn’t a sign of weakness or failure. It’s evidence of our capacity to love deeply and to heal, even after profound loss.

Understanding Grief

“Grief hurts,” agrees Gina Forte, an expert in thanatology which is the study of death, loss and the processes that follow. “When we love someone or something, we become attached to it. The more we love, the more it hurts to lose.”

But that hurt has a purpose. Grief is an adaptive emotional process, a way to make sense of loss and find balance again, she adds. Knowing it’s a process helps people move forward.

“Perseverance is a necessity in life,” Isler says. “Life goes on. You can’t stop. You can’t lose your potential or your life. Putting my head down and getting work done – being productive – has helped me during this time.”

He says there is something healing about setting goals and pushing forward.

“Getting in your own head too much allows the grief to multiply,” Isler adds. “For me, being able to have wins and accomplish goals promotes healing.”

Forte says that’s the function of grief – to restore and heal.

“When we don’t allow ourselves to process it, grief can become unhealthy or even pathological,” she says.

From Shock to Acceptance

When loss hits, no one is ready to understand or accept it fully. The stages of grief all play a key role in the process. Forte outlined the seven stages of grief:

Grief isn’t a straight line, she says. Sometimes people circle back to the same stage again, but the visits grow shorter over time.

One day, one of Isler’s dad’s friends showed him a video of his dad swinging on a rope at a retreat not long before he passed away.

“I don’t know what, but something triggered inside me – to see that youthfulness and joy he always had,” Isler says. “It’s hard to predict what will trigger different parts of the grief process. I have found that the return to different stages gets quicker as you move on.”

On the Other Side of Loss

The resilience that emerges on the other side of loss makes us stronger people, Estrada says. In short, it’s not just surviving hardship, it’s being transformed by it.

Estrada defines resilience as the ability to navigate change, understand grief, learn, let go, and create a new reality—one that carries a better version of ourselves into the next stage of life.

“Everything you do in life changes who you are a little bit,” Isler says. “I’ve learned more about who my dad was to so many. I’ve learned not everyone has a role model like him. I hope I can live up to the example he set for my kids.”

Studies show one of the strongest predictors of resilience is having loving and supportive relationships that offer trust, encouragement and security through the grief process.

For Isler, living next door to his mom, who has been living with dementia for several years, has put him in a unique situation. Sharing stories about his dad with his mom has been especially healing.

“My mom has always been someone I could talk to easily,” Isler says. “I’ve used her as a map to put it all out there because she isn’t grieving the way the rest of us are. She knows dad isn’t around, but it doesn’t all connect for her like it does for us. When I talk about dad with her, it does nothing but bring joy to her.”

Get Off the Island

Everyone deals with grief at some point, Isler says. Maybe it’s grief from the loss of a loved one, but for farmers, grief could stem from a terrible financial situation on the farm or the loss of a business you’ve built your life around.

“For all the people who think they are alone, it’s just not the case,” he says. “We all deal with grief, and we all deal with it differently. A lot of times we put ourselves on an island – especially in our industry.”

Farmers – especially men – are some of the worst about talking about their feelings, Isler says.

“We are tough guys. We get the work done and go on,” he says. “But it helps to talk about it. Let people show up for you or go find someone to talk to if they don’t know what you are going through.”

When Isler’s sister told him that what helped her in the grief process was being around him, he was taken aback a little.

“She said I reminded her of dad and was a lot like him, that being around me made it easier not having dad around anymore,” he says. “To me, that’s the best compliment I’ve ever received.”

A Daughter’s Devotion: Chelsea Schminke Grieder’s Unconventional Path Back Home

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 20:46:11 GMT

Chelsea Schminke Grieder takes pride in being the ‘black sheep’ of the family. As the daughter of livestock legends Al and Kandy Schminke, she always wanted to return to their grain and show livestock operation in Van Horne, Iowa , consisting of about 375 wether dam ewes and 25 purebred Chester white sows.

Unlike her brother Cody who took a more traditional path back to their family’s farm, this fourth-generation farmer took a rather unique path into fashion design at Iowa State University first.

“I wanted to create my own way,” Grieder says. “I love design. I love art. I wanted to dip my toes into that passion, but that didn’t change my love for agriculture. I was still showing livestock very competitively and helping on the farm.”

Although she entered the fashion world with a black-and-white mindset, she quickly realized fashion was very subjective.

“After college, I went to work for a really cool company that designs Harley Davidson saddle bags. Never in my life did I think I would work with leather or motorcycles,” she says. “I worked with many brands while I was there from Adidas to Ryka. With each product, I found ways to make it more successful. I discovered ways to save money and hit our target market more. I took a lot of that back to the farm.”

Something Isn’t Right

Newly engaged to Paul, 2016 started off on a high note for Grieder who was in the thick of wedding planning. Her family’s show livestock operation was booming.

But in February, Kandy’s health “got a little funky,” Grieder explains. Sinus infection after sinus infection, something wasn’t right. She even remembers her mom’s nose changing color a little.

“It was so crazy,” she says. “I was trying to balance my job, the wedding and help on the farm. I also wanted to be there for my mom. She was up and down health-wise. She started having random nose bleeds and began seeing all these specialists.”

No one could tell them what was going on with her mom. Grieder vividly remembers going to the hospital for her own appointment in June.

“My mom met me there and I remember she sat down beside me and I said, ‘You smell weird. Did you shower?’” Grieder recalls. “She said ‘Yes, thanks Chelsea.’”

But she couldn’t let it go.

“She’s my mom – you just know how your mom smells, and something wasn’t right,” she says.

A few weeks later, Grieder lost her job.

“I had designed this full line and was ready to go to production with it,” she says. “I had no heads up, nothing. Not to mention I had a wedding in November. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, what do we do?’”

But she never lost faith that God had a plan.

A week later, Grieder was back at the doctor’s office with her mom who had received a GI scope the day before. The doctors wanted to make sure she didn’t have anything going on internally with her gastrointestinal system.

“One of the GI nurses recommended my mom go back to her family doctor for a full blood panel,” Grieder says. “Between that January to July 2016, nobody had pulled blood on her, which was shocking.”

They discovered her hemoglobin was really low – like “go get a blood transfusion now” low.

“My cousin, who worked at the doctor’s office, called us and said, ‘You need to take her to the ER. This is not good.’ At that point, you hear ‘not good’ and want to know exactly how not good,” Grieder says. “She said on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being bad, my mom was a 12.”

Answers at Last

When they arrived at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, they rushed her mom upstairs.

“I remember hitting that kidney floor, and the smell hit me,” she says. “I said, ‘Mom, this is what you smelled like.’”

Her mom’s kidneys were failing.

“We found out she was in renal failure. They said mom should not have walked in – she should have been crawling in,” Grieder says. “But if you know her, she is as tough as nails and stubborn, too. She’s never going to tell you she hurts. She actually judged a livestock show the weekend before her diagnosis in Missouri. Hindsight is 20/20 – she should not have been doing any of those things, but she just had the mentality that you keep going.”

Doctors confirmed two autoimmune diseases were attacking her mom’s kidneys – Wegener’s disease and ANCA .

“ANCA is a very aggressive autoimmune disease,” Grieder explains. “They call it the silent killer for a reason. They gave her three more days if we hadn’t went in there.”

Within 24 hours, she had a stint placed into her heart and was put on dialysis. She needed a kidney transplant.

“The thing people don’t talk about is that you have to be sick enough to go on the kidney transplant list, but you have to be healthy enough to get one,” Grieder says. “We had an uphill battle from there.”

Al and Kandy Schminke

(Schminke Genetics)

No One is Invincible

Their new reality was hard on everyone, especially her dad who was trying to figure out how to manage the day-to-day activities without her by his side.

“She’s his person – he thought she was invincible,” Grieder says. “We all had to realize, ‘Okay, no, she’s not invincible.’”

From July until October, Grieder did not find another job. Instead, she stayed home to help her mom get to the dialysis center every Tuesday and Thursday and pick up her work on the farm.

“There was a reason why I was not supposed to be working at that point,” Grieder adds. “But it was so hard to watch my mom suffer. It was hard to watch her battle this. We eventually were able to do dialysis at home, but it wasn’t easy. She had to be hooked up for 12 hours a day and stay away from dust, fungus, hay, straw, dirt – all the things that are part of farm life.”

She also couldn’t be around her new grandchild as doctors didn’t want her exposed to any extra germs. All of this made planning a November wedding especially challenging. Grieder says she is so grateful for the village of people who supported her family during this time.

“Our wedding was truly a celebration – and not just for us getting married – but for all of the people who helped us.”

Her mom finally got her kidney in January of 2018, about 1.5 years after she went on dialysis. Grieder says her already close relationship with her mom grew so much during this time when their roles switched.

“I remember brushing her hair one day after she had her shower,” Grieder says. “It hit her like a rock. I told her, ‘We’re going to get through this no matter what, that’s what we’re here for.’”

( l to r): Kandy Schminke; Taylor and Cody Schminke; grandkids Evie, Beau, Wade and Savannah; Paul and Chelsea Schminke Grieder; and Al Schminke.

(Provided by Chelsea Schminke Grieder)

How Resiliency Grows

There’s no doubt Grieder has experienced a lot in the past 10 years. She and her husband now have two kids, Savannah, 6, and Beau, 4. She is also serving as the director of junior activities and events for Team Purebred, a national junior livestock organization for kids in the swine industry.

“She’s always looking out for others,” her mom says. “She works hard to make Team Purebred as strong as she can. She really digs in. We all go through ups and downs in life. Everybody has different things going on. I think that’s one strong thing that she does, is that she can handle it.”

Resiliency is important for everyone, but Grieder believes it’s essential for a livestock farming family.

“I think it’s built into you a little bit,” she adds. “You learn a lot from the circle of life on the farm and the ups and downs of showing livestock. I learned that my path isn’t going to be straight in life and no matter what, you have to get out of bed and keep going for the people around you.”

Grieder shares more about their family’s journey as well as her vision for Team Purebred and passion for connecting young people to agriculture on The PORK Podcast. You can watch it here on YouTube or listen anywhere podcasts are found.

Watch more episodes here.

Adam Sanders Brings Hog-Wild Energy on Stage in CBS Series “The Road”

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 21:11:05 GMT

What does pig farming have to do with the new CBS series featuring Keith Urban and Blake Shelton? More than you might think.

The Road is an exciting new show that features 12 emerging artists who are competing for a $250,000 prize package and recording opportunities. Each participant also earns the opportunity to open for Urban during his national tour.

Six artists remain, and one of the featured artists is Adam Sanders, a Nashville singer and songwriter originally from Florida. He’s also a good friend of Missouri pig farmer Jesse Heimer. Not only has he performed at Heimer’s farm multiple times, but the pair has also written two songs together, including “Do What We Do.”

The tour bus rolls into Tulsa for a concert at the iconic Cain’s Ballroom. In place of Blake Shelton, award-winning country artist Dustin Lynch sits in with Keith Urban. For the first time, the seven musicians are divided up to perform two group covers before performing their originals, on THE ROAD, Sunday, Nov. 23 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT). Pictured: Adam Sanders. Photo: ©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Highest quality screengrab.

(CBS/CBS )

“I think what folks see on the screen is someone who’s had just enough experience on stage in front of a crowd, and the feelings of all of it, to know that he really wants it,” Heimer says. “This isn’t Adam’s first time to town – he opened for Carrie Underwood at a sold-out Iowa State Fair. He understands the stage, the audience, and the emotions people have as they listen to an entertainer.”

It’s been an incredible experience to watch Sanders shine on The Road, Heimer adds.

“He really took this opportunity to heart – to be on screen in front of millions to tell his story and put his talent on display,” Heimer says. “Adam is a high energy guy all the time and that’s what you see on stage. But he’s also one of the most genuine, down-to-earth friends I’ve ever had. The Adam you see on screen is the Adam you’ll see on the street.”

That’s Why We Do What We Do

Heimer first met Sanders in 2019. They were introduced by a mutual friend after Heimer created a series of videos to highlight the benefits of showing livestock. His goal was to help people outside of agriculture see that showing livestock was about more than just the animal and the ribbon. Their mutual friend encouraged Heimer to produce a music video which eventually led him to meet Sanders, a talented songwriter.

Adam Sanders (l) and Jesse Heimer (r) on the farm in Taylor, Mo.

(Legacy Livestock Images/Heidi Anderson)

“I had to learn more about his industry, so I could have enough knowledge about his side of the fence,” Sanders says. “I think we spent months really talking about the idea of this. One day, it really just registered with me and it clicked. I remember writing down in my phone: ‘that’s why we do what we do.’”

Sanders called on his friend Brice Long, a fellow songwriter to help write “Do What We Do.”

“I wanted the song to be broad enough that it could appeal across facets of agriculture,” Heimer says. “I knew if we made it just about the show ring, we were only going to attract those that already believe the same things as me.”

The project started as an anthem for stock show kids and although that goal never changed, the video went down a different path than Heimer first expected. He wanted to create a music video that everybody in agriculture could see themselves in. Regardless of what your role in agriculture is, Heimer believes this song speaks to the feelings of many about why they do what they do.

“I couldn’t be prouder of how the song turned out, and how it all came together,” Sanders says. “It was just a natural fit. It took some time to make it happen, but God had a plan in all of this and how it shaped out.”

Sanders adds that the stats show the song resonates with people. Through organic promotion only, the song has now been streamed nearly 600,000 times and appears on 39 playlists. It’s received 873,000 views on TikTok, too. Beyond traditional streams, the song has been very popular with TikTok users who are increasingly using it in their content.

But You’d Get It If You Did It

Three years after Sanders released this song, Heimer had an “epiphany” at the 2024 Missouri State Fair.

“I realized I was watching my kids doing, saying and loving all of the same things I did at the state fair when I was a kid,” Heimer says. “It felt like déjà vu. I talked to Adam during the fair and told him we should write a song about it – to piggyback off ‘Do What We Do.’”

Not long after, the song ‘ Get It If You Did It ’ was born.

“From the outside looking in, it’s hard to understand why we raise pigs, why we go to shows, why we commit so many resources for our kids to find success in the show ring,” Heimer

But you’d get it if you did it
I bet you wouldn’t knock it
If you dug your boots down in it
You’d know why we can’t stop it
You can’t replace the dreams we chase
Naw ain’t no way we can quit it
Might not love it like we love it
Or live it like we live it
But you’d get it if you did it.

- Get It If You Did It

points out. “This song is a continuation of the original story. The writing is broad enough, though, that it fits anyone’s hobby or passion from hunting to sports to rodeo. I hope it gets a spot on The Road.”

The chorus is easy for people in agriculture to relate to, Heimer says.

“The show pig community has been incredibly supportive of me as an artist for several years, going back to the introduction of ‘Do What We Do’ – and even before,” Sanders says. “It seems like no matter where I’m playing, people from this industry are in the crowd.”

Live from Oklahoma Ranch

Show pig industry leader Blake Kennedy, owner of Kennedy Ventures, was fortunate to be in the audience during the taping of The Road in Oklahoma City.

“It was a really cool experience to be selected as a cast member,” Kennedy says. “When we got there, they checked us in and took our phones and belongings. Because no one had the distraction of a phone, everyone was very present and engaged.”

The atmosphere inside Oklahoma Ranch was very exciting, he adds. Sanders performed his original, “Burning Roses” and Jo Dee Messina’s hit song “Heads Carolina, Tails California.”

Although the contestants only get a few minutes of time in the TV show, Kennedy says their live performances were about 10 minutes and allowed the audience the opportunity to get to know each performer a little more.

“It was awesome to see someone like Adam be successful in his world who also enjoys seeing us achieve success in our world, too,” Kennedy says.

Tune in Sunday

Don’t miss the next episode performed at The Hall in Little Rock, Ark., airing on CBS on Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. CT. https://www.cbs.com/shows/the-road/

Read the ‘Do What We Do’ story here:
Nashville Singer and Pig Farmer Release Anthem for Ag

This Thanksgiving Be Grateful for The Strength of Our Mothers

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 13:08:35 GMT

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the figures who have profoundly shaped our lives. This year, I find myself thinking about a striking statement from the legendary Coach Mike Krzyzewski, former Duke University and USA Basketball coach. He once advised, “Be as tough as your mothers.” This powerful message resonates deeply, especially with those of us who grew up as farm kids, where our mothers proved to be the unsung heroes of our upbringing.

The Unwavering Spirit of Farm Mothers
Mothers, if they are anything like mine, have faced the demanding realities of farm life with unyielding strength. These are women who fed calves in the sweltering heat of summer, irrigated pastures with children on their hips, and resolved marital differences amidst sorting cows. They managed household finances creatively, making ends meet even when the milk check was sparse, and they ensured that a family of eight was nourished from garden and freezer bounty.

My mother, in particular, embodies this strength. The oldest daughter of a U.S. Admiral, she once lived a life of luxury, familiar with Italian leather gloves, silk blouses, and fur coats. Yet, she embraced a new calling when she married my father, a devoted Oregon dairy farmer, and exchanged her glamorous wardrobe for rubber boots and ragged jeans. Despite this dramatic transformation, she never complained.

My late mother, Michelle getting ready to attend a formal event.

(Karen Bohnert)

Homemaker and More
After coming home from school to head to the barn to do farm chores, my sisters and I would race inside to a home-cooked meal prepared from scratch. Growing up with servants in a high-class setting, my mother learned to cook only after marrying my father, who humorously recalled losing 30 pounds in their first year of marriage. Yet she would remind him that he was doing ‘just fine now.’

Even when burdened by physical exhaustion or illness, my mom remained unwavering. She still managed to assist us with homework, ensuring that we not only comprehended the assignment but excelled at it, even if it meant staying up past midnight to solve complex algebra problems. She did this while nursing a sick newborn calf in the mudroom and baking pies for a 4-H banquet, lending yet another testament to a mother’s multitasking ability. Her ingenuity was a product of from being self-taught, reading the Merck Manual, learning from our veterinarian and her years of working in a hospital. Mom seemed to be able to do anything and everything.

My late mother feeding a flock of sheep in her Italian leather gloves and fur coat.

(Karen Bohnert)

Resilience in Adversity
My mother’s resilience manifested most profoundly when our family faced life’s harshest trials. When a house fire rendered us homeless overnight, she chose gratitude for the neighbors who welcomed us in. When one of her daughters nearly lost her leg in a farming accident, mom didn’t let her praying legs grow lazy, as she was grateful for medical advancements and her daughter’s recovery.

Values of Perseverance and Positivity
Among her most enduring gifts were the values she imparted—values characterized by a strong work ethic, kindness, gratitude and perspective. My mom never permitted self-pity to take root, a trait she exemplified in her own life. She instilled in us a perspective that transformed adversity into opportunity.

My three kids.

(Bohnert Farms)

Reflecting on the qualities I hope to impart to my own children, I wholeheartedly echo Coach K’s sentiment. I hope for my children to grow into individuals possessing the resilience and strength of their late grandmother. Her enduring legacy is one of tenacity, compassion and unwavering positivity—traits that are as essential on the farm as they are in life. This Thanksgiving, as you gather around the table, think of those that fill your heart with love, including your mother.

Leading with Heart: The Story of Hoosierland Pork’s Jennifer Romero

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 19:34:00 GMT

It started off as a minor inconvenience: Who doesn’t have back pain when they work on a farm all day?

Jennifer Romero brushed it off because she didn’t have time for it. As the Hoosierland Pork sow farm manager for Martin Family Farms, she knew her team needed her to be strong. But as spring turned to summer, the pain continued to escalate.

After multiple doctor visits, tests with no answers and excruciating pain, she knew something was wrong. A trip to the emergency room followed by hospital admission finally resulted in a diagnosis: cancer.

Romero immediately went to Indianapolis where she underwent surgery. Unfortunately, the cancer had progressed and spread throughout her body. When she came out of anesthesia, doctors told her they couldn’t get it all.

“I remember when I was little, and we were under a tornado warning,” says her daughter, Alyssa Wyatt, who is also part of the Hoosierland Pork team. “My mom had the front door open — cleaning and listening to music. She had no fear of the storm and told me, ‘When it’s my time to go, it’s my time to go.’”

Fun is one of the many words Jennifer Romero’s family uses to describe her. She loved finding ways to make people laugh and brought out the best in her team. Her desire to see them succeed in their life helped her succeed in hers, says her husband, Azael.

(Hoosierland Pork)

Gone Too Soon

Within three weeks of being admitted, Romero passed away in the hospital Aug. 17.

“It happened so fast,” says Melissa Bradford, a friend and operations coordinator for Martin Family Farms. “One day she was mowing here at the farm. Two days later, she went to the emergency room and was admitted to the hospital. Three weeks later, she was gone. We were all in shock because she was so full of life — a force to be reckoned with.”

Brian Martin, owner of Martin Family Farms, was in the hospital with Romero about a week before Romero passed away.

“While I was there, a young employee named Carlos was also visiting. He came to the farm as a TN visa worker,” Martin says. “Jennifer really took him under her wing. He thought the world of her. Watching her interact with him, and how affected Carlos was by seeing her in the hospital, was pretty humbling to me.”

(Mike Byers)

During that visit, she made it perfectly clear that her job was not up for grabs yet.

“Don’t replace me, because I’ll be going back,” Romero told him matter-of-factly.

For her husband, Azael Romero, operations manager for Martin Family Farms, his wife’s attitude and strength during her hospital battle is something he will never forget.

“She stayed positive the whole entire time,” Azael says. “She was such a strong woman.”

One Day at a Time

Azael joined Martin Family Farms in 2009 when they more than doubled the operation, working his way up to operations manager overseeing all farms. Romero, his “city girl” wife, followed a few years later and had moved up to sow farm manager of Hoosierland Pork where she led a team of 18 people and managed 4,000 sows at two locations that shipped 2,000 pigs a week.

“She always wanted me to succeed, and I wanted her to succeed,” Azael says. “Our professional and personal relationship centered around communication. Work wise, she knew her role and I knew mine. We had great understanding of the jobs we both needed to get done.”

A competitive spirit drove Jennifer Romero to continually improve Hoosierland Pork. She was constantly motivated to improve animal care and productivity.

(Hoosierland Pork)

Even though her team was at a loss on how to move forward without their leader, they had to find a way.

“You felt insensitive going about your work when everyone’s heart was so broken,” Bradford says. “However, we knew we had to keep going. The animals needed us, and she would have wanted us to focus on them first. But it was really hard to come to work that next week.”

A True Barn Hero

In the eyes of all who knew Jennifer, she was the definition of a barn hero. Martin says her passionate and driven nature made her perfect for the role of leading a successful team in the sow barn.

“She would do anything to save a pig,” Azael says. “She tried to pass that on by teaching others everything she knew while constantly soaking in more knowledge along the way. She was a quick learner and started from the bottom delivering supplies, checking sows, scraping feeders, power washing and all those things. She didn’t want to miss a step in the entire process. That’s why she was so good at her job.”

(Mike Byers)

Bradford remembers when a coronavirus struck the farm, Romero was determined to eliminate it immediately.

“The vets told her she may be better off to wait, and she said, ‘We’re going to do this one time, and we’re going to get it out,’” Bradford says. “And she did. Her farm was able to eradicate it, and the vets said they’d never seen a farm get rid of a virus so fast. But that’s how she was; she didn’t just say things. She was out in the barns showing how to do it.”

Romero was also known to wake up in the middle of the night to drive out to the farm and check on an animal.

“Even though she had 4,000 animals under her care, she wanted to make sure she did everything possible to try to save each one,” Bradford says.

Loving-But-Firm Mentor

Not only did she have a huge heart for taking care of animals, but she also had a huge heart for taking care of people.

“Jennifer was a direct communicator; there was not much floweriness about her,” Martin says. “She was a ‘get business done’ person who served as a great mentor, but she also was a mother at heart and shared that with everyone.”

If she believed in something, everybody would soon believe in it, Bradford adds.

“When Jennifer was a farrowing lead, she was fast-paced,” Bradford explains. “If she felt like you weren’t living up to that speed, she would bark orders. But over time, she learned and began to understand that not everybody was made like her, and everybody processes differently. That allowed her to be able to see other people’s perspective better and figure out a solution to get things done as a team.”

With time, Romero learned she had to balance her desire to constantly improve with some time to celebrate the success her team achieved. She firmly believed in team building and investing in people.

(Mike Byers)

“I remember her saying, ‘We spend more time together than you probably do with your family, so we need to learn how to work as a team so we can get through any challenge,’” Bradford says.

The work of a barn hero is never complete, Martin adds. It’s a job that just doesn’t end.

“Things won’t ever be perfect, but Jennifer’s leadership was close,” he says. “She helped 18 folks see the same vision day to day while always having an eye on continued improvement. She also recognized we have to balance taking care of pigs with a life outside of it. You can’t do 18 hours a day in a farm and balance a life next to it, so through time, she helped herself and others achieve that balance.”

A Second Family

One of the ways she went above and beyond for her team was looking out for the TN visa workers as they adjusted to life in the U.S. Romero was known to take her team to the grocery store or help them get to doctor’s appointments.

“She always took time to explain the differences between our culture and where they came from,” Bradford says. “She taught them things about living in the U.S. that we take for granted.”

Jorge Ayala started working for Martin Family Farms in December 2018 and vividly recalls meeting Romero for the first time.

“She was always available to help me learn,” Ayala says. “Animal care was her highest priority. She was strict, but she was very kind. I learned a lot of things from her that have positioned me where I am now.”

A lover of all animals, Jennifer Romero was famous for saying, “We choose to be here. They don’t. We need to make sure we do right by them.” Her example walking the barns and seeing every animal set a great example for her entire team about what it means to be a barn hero.

(Hoosierland Pork)

Life to the Fullest

One of the most valuable lessons Wyatt learned from her mother was that you can’t always control what life throws at you, but you can control how you react to it.

“Hardship made her into the person she was,” Wyatt says. “She understood that life would always be life. She found a way to make the best of it always — no matter how hard it could be.”

She found joy in living it to her fullest. Whether she was riding a horse or driving a four-wheeler around the farm, she always wanted to make you smile, Azael says.

“My mom was a needle in the haystack, a diamond in the rough,” Wyatt says. “She was big-hearted and helped everyone she could, even if she did not get the credit. She didn’t do things to receive things; she did things to bring happiness to others. She always tried to make the impossible possible in this world — she was a hero.”

Don't Break, Build: A Farmer's Playbook for Taking Control of Your Mind

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 19:01:41 GMT

It was already shaping up to be one of those days.

An unexpected bill is due, and the money just isn’t there. The kids are fighting again. Understandably, your wife is over it, and now it’s your fault. One of your employees just called to say the new group of wean pigs is sick. It’s all a part of a life, but sometimes it just stacks up to be too much.

“In a world of unpredictability with so many factors at play on any given day, it’s easy to be mentally or emotionally hijacked by elements out of our control,” says Athena Diesch-Chham with Restorative Path Counseling and Wellbeing. “Stress and anxiety thrive in this environment. However, the long-term effects of that are real.”

Farming stress will never go away, so how can you get more grit or become more resilient to that stress?

One expert says it starts by paying attention to the present.

“Don’t think about what happened yesterday or worry about what is happening tomorrow,” says Cheri Burcham, with University of Illinois Extension. “Focus on what you are doing and feeling in the very moment.”

Diesch-Chham likes to think of it as “being where your feet are.”

“So often brains are hijacked by stress and launch us mentally to a different space either in the past or in the future,” Diesch-Chham adds. “Mindfulness is just asking for our whole selves to be here in this moment, wherever our feet are planted.”

Pay Attention

This concept of truly being “in the moment” not only reduces stress, but research shows it can also lower blood pressure, increase immunity and reduce anxiety and depression, Burcham says.

When you intentionally notice where you are, you can recognize potential challenges sooner, says Abigail Cudney with Michigan State University Extension . Instead of habitually reacting to stress with intense anger, emotional shutdown, negative thinking or overthinking, this intentional awareness helps rewire the brain through a process called neuroplasticity, or the brain’s ability to grow and adapt to new experiences.

Consider the attention you pay when walking through the barn. You use all your senses to make assessments and determine what’s going on all around you.

“Whether it’s walking the barn or enjoying the fall scenery, naming something you are currently experiencing for each of the five senses is another way to practice mindfulness,” Diesch-Chham says. “This doesn’t have to be complicated – the whole goal is to bring mind and body to the same place.”

5 Senses Technique

Just Breathe

The fight or flight response animals have when stress strikes is the same thing that happens in people. As a review, the vagus nerve, which runs from the base of the brain and branches out to the organs, serves as a conduit of chemicals/hormones that are activated automatically/reflexively by the sympathetic nervous system. This is an involuntary and adaptive process that increases respiration and blood flow to prepare the body for quick and protective action, such as fighting or fleeing. Once the perceived threat has passed or been managed successfully, the stress response also passes and respiration, blood pressure, and heart rate return to a normal steady state, according to the Yale School of Medicine .

Through deep breathing, the vagus nerve can be stimulated intentionally to help restore, mitigate and even prevent these physical and psychological reactions. Slow, even breaths that originate deep within the abdomen stimulate the vagus nerve in a way that signals safety and cues the body and mind to relax, restore, and release chronic and unhealthy patterns.

“Deep breathing can be practiced anywhere and in so many ways – so it is very accessible and easy for farmers to practice,” Burcham explains. “Practice in the field or even while operating machinery.”

Let Go of What You Can’t Control

Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of “being where your feet are” is realizing you can’t control it all.

“Working towards recognizing what truly is within our individual control and then choosing to focus our energy on managing what we can control to improve our overall mental health and stress, helps us remain resilient through the pieces that are outside of our control,” Diesch-Chham says.

Adversity happens. Markets will crash. Animals will get sick. Disease will strike. Families will argue. But you can recover faster from those stresses by staying grounded in the moment, aligning your thoughts and emotions with reality.

Resources to Help Build Resilience:
North Central Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center

Mindfulness: University of Illinois Extension

Building Resilience with Mindfulness

From Crisis to Calling: How Maddie Hokanson Found Strength in the Pork Industry

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 20:01:52 GMT

In June 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Maddie Hokanson headed out for a routine doctor’s appointment. At 34 weeks pregnant, she admittedly wasn’t feeling great, but as a first-time mom, what’s normal?

She was sent to labor and delivery as a precautionary measure. Not long after, she was in a helicopter being airlifted to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. She and her husband, Eric, welcomed their first child, Brent, by c-section later that day.

“Brent was born with hydrops,” Hokanson explains. “He was born at 10.5 lb. He had so much fluid around his organs and it was putting pressure on his brain, liver, kidneys and lungs. He almost didn’t make it.”

After a couple rough months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the Hokansons learned a lot fast.

“I remember a friend sending me this reminder: If not, he is still good,” she says. “Sometimes things don’t go how we want, and even if that’s the case, I believe God works all things for his good.”

Because of the pandemic, nobody was able to meet Brent until he came home from the hospital. Hokanson remembers being surrounded by so many people who wanted to help and offer support. She says it was a surreal experience.

“I remember my naivety thinking that we made it home – we had made it through the hard part and now he was going to flourish,” she adds. “That definitely was not the case for the first couple of years.”

Diagnosis after diagnosis, the Hokansons struggled to take it all in: epilepsy, visual impairment, heart condition, liver failure, autism and cerebral palsy.

“The mantra, ‘this too shall pass,’ kept playing in my head, but when? When will it pass?” Hokanson says.

Perhaps it never will pass, she explains, but what they have been able to do is find joy in all that their family has instead of the comparison of what they don’t.

A Lifeline

For Hokanson, a seventh-generation farmer with Schafer Farms, the farm has served as a lifeline during these early years of adjusting to parenting a child with serious health challenges.

“The farm was my reminder that whether it’s a good day or bad day, I’m still Maddie Hokanson. I still have a purpose in the world beyond being a mother,” Hokanson says. “Coming into the farm office, talking to my parents, grandparents or employees really held me up. I needed work in order to be able to continue handling myself as a mother.”

Schafer Farms was established in 1886. Today they raise pigs, cattle, crops and operate a transportation and trucking business as well. They have two sow farms where they raise genetics for Topigs Norsvin. Getting to work with her husband, her parents, Brandon and Monica, her grandparents, Pat and Lowell, and her brother, Max, and his wife, Hollie, has been a lifelong dream for Hokanson.

“I loved being involved in the farm from a young age,” she says. “From about second grade on, it was expected that we spend our weekends with dad on the farm, breeding and farrowing sows. Although I wasn’t like some farm kids who learned how to drive a tractor when they were 8, I sure knew how to breed a sow and collected a boar by that age.”

Living Out Her ‘Why’

As she became more involved in 4-H and FFA, she started doing livestock judging and participating in communication contests. She began to see the agriculture industry was much bigger than her own farm.

“In ninth grade, we took a careers class in high school that was required as part of graduation,” Hokanson says. “I explored ag communications and learned about promoting our product. That’s when I realized I was fascinated by talking to consumers about what we do on our farms.”

She connected with a Minnesota Pork Board program, Oink Outings. Through that program, she learned how to connect with consumers and advocate for the pork industry. This eventually led her to pursue a degree in ag communications at South Dakota State University, where was she named the commencement speaker in 2019.

“I spoke about a book by Simon Sinek, ‘Start with Why,’” Hokanson says. “It’s all about finding your why in life. I tried to focus on the fact that when you think about your ‘why’ and your ‘why’ resonates with every part of your life, then it doesn’t matter so much what you are doing if you are pursuing your ‘why.’”

She says her “why” since college continues to be to ensure a successful, thriving future for the generations she will never meet.

Eric, Scott, Brent and Maddie Hokanson

(LAURA KNOPIK )

“Whether I’m home with our boys, instilling values of faith, family and farming; at the farm office working on finances as the CFO; helping in the barn; or lobbying on behalf of the pork industry in D.C., my ‘why’ is the same,” Hokanson says. “All of those things help me fulfill my ‘why.’”

Hokanson’s son Brent is now 5, and Scott is 2. She hopes they will have the opportunity to be the eighth generation of farmers in her family. That’s why she devotes so much of her life to focusing on her ‘why’.

“Sometimes, what is best for the industry doesn’t have a short-term financial or other gain for your own individual farm,” she explains. “But it does benefit the industry in the long run – whether it’s with health, markets, traceability – being willing to do things that seem mundane or complex even when you don’t see any short-term gain individually is important. At the end of the day, a rising tide lifts all boats, and it is our responsibility to ensure that the rising tide comes in.”

Hokanson shares more about farm transition, parenthood and connecting with consumers on The PORK Podcast. You can watch it here on YouTube or listen anywhere podcasts are found.

Watch more episodes here.

From Despair to Hope: Why a Farmer on the Brink of Suicide Chose to Keep Going

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:41:25 GMT

It’s starting to feel similar to the 1980s. Not only are farmers on the brink of financial collapse, but there’s another grim reality setting in: The number of farmers dying by suicide is on the rise, and it could be at a rate U.S. agriculture hasn’t seen since the 1980s.

Even though statistics on suicides among farmers aren’t reliable from the 1980s because many were deemed “accidents” during that time, some estimates point to more than 1,000 farmers dying by suicide during that crisis.

“Unfortunately, it just almost seems like it’s a pandemic situation. I mean, there’s a lot of it, and it’s sad,” says Brent Foreman, a farmer in Shelby County, Mo., who knows the impacts of farmer suicides all too well.

“From an agricultural perspective, there’s a lot of stress in this industry, especially now,” Foreman says. “And somebody that’s contemplating this. I would say, we as farmers, we like to try to fix things, and we’re pretty good at it, but you can’t fix everything. If you get to a point like that, please reach out to someone, a family member, a good friend. Just please try to get some help.”

Touched By Suicide Three Times

Foreman isn’t just a fellow farmer concerned about the number of farmer suicides today. He’s a life-long farmer who’s been impacted by farmers dying by suicide three times, and the first loss happened when he was just 12 years old.

“My grandfather was a wonderful man, the most important male figure in my life,” Foreman says. “It happened 54 years ago, and it leaves a heck of a hole in your heart still today.”

Sixteen years later, his younger brother died by suicide, another sudden and tragic loss where there were no signs something was wrong.

“And then just a little over two years ago, my brother-in-law, who was 68, took his life,” Foreman says. “I’m telling you, it’s a devastating thing for loved ones to have to go through. It is tough. It’s really tough.”

Foreman says with his brother-in-law, there were signs he was struggling. He tried to take his life one time, but didn’t succeed. That’s when the family tried to get him help, which he agreed to, even going in for treatment.

“We thought that things were getting better, but they weren’t,” Foreman says. “At the beginning, I consulted our preacher, and I said: ‘I need some prayer and I need some advice.’ And he said: ‘Well, I do want to tell you something. I want you to be able to be prepared if you fail. Can you handle that?’ And I said: ‘Well, what I can’t handle is if I don’t try. I have to try.’

Experiencing three suicides, all by loved ones he was extremely close to, has been devastating. Foreman says the emotions are still raw today.

“It’s tough to live with, going through that so many times,” he says. “When I was a youngster I always told myself, the hurt, that’s something I would never do to anyone else. I just made like a pact with myself that I would never do that, because I’ve seen and lived firsthand how it affects you. From a family’s perspective, the pain goes on and on; it doesn’t quit. My wife, from her perspective, I can just see it in her eyes almost daily, the devastation.”

‘When We Lose Hope, It’s a Dangerous Place to Be’

When a person loses hope, that’s when the situation turns bleak.

“Sadly, that is the end all for a lot of people,” Jolie Foreman, executive director at Shelby County Cares , says. “Hope is key. If you have hope, you can keep going. When you lose hope, it’s just a very dangerous place to be.”

Lafayette County, Mo., farmer Ethan Daehler has been there.

“It was actually 2019 was kind of my low point,” he says.

Just six years ago, this Missouri farmer hit rock bottom.

“I was pretty much just down in the dumps, ready to just give up on life,” he says. “Thank the Lord something happened that kind of changed my way of thinking.”

In his early 30s, Ethan Daehler knows what it’s like to be on the verge of suicide. In 2019, he hit a low point. But something saved him, and he hopes by sharing his story, he will reach other farmers in a similar state of mind, reminding them that life is worth living.

(Ethan Daehler, Missouri Farmer )

Battling ongoing pain from an accident and stress of work, as well as struggles with the dynamics of a family farm, it all compounded the issue and pushed Daehler to a breaking point.

“I had a full-time job at the time working for another farmer and trying to do my own small operation,” he says. “We had family issues, which happens to a lot of farmers. There is a lot that compounds into thoughts, it’s just not financial problems, and I think that’s what people need to understand.

Daehler is now proof that it’s worth finding a reason to live, and he is only sharing his story to possibly save someone who’s in a similar spot as he was in 2019.

“There’s more to life,” he says. “I’m in a tractor now, baling hay, this is my fourth cutting. This is what I kind of dreamed of. Find something you love doing.”

A Mission to Prevent Farmer Suicides

That pain is something that fueled his daughter-in-law’s work. Jolie Foreman is the executive director at Shelby County Cares , a nonprofit whose goal is to improve the quality of life for children, youth and adults.

“I knew that we were very resource poor,” Jolie says. “So when I heard that this opportunity was available, we jumped on it, and we’ve just grown from the bottom up. We are definitely grassroots. They had faith in us in what our vision was, and they invested in it.

Through a grant,Jolie’s initial focus wasn’t suicide, but as she started doing research, she discovered there was a desperate need to provide help.

“My family had been impacted by suicide, and that’s kind of why I had jumped on board in the beginning,” she says. “But once we sat down at the table and really started to dive into the names and being in a small town, we know all of those lives that have been lost to suicide up here, that the producer was the one that was struggling.”

Fall Typically Heightens the Stress and Struggles

Jolie says they are currently seeing an increase in the number of farmer suicides happening across the country. Some of that is due to the various stresses involved with farming, but she says the fall is typically when the number of suicides in agriculture rises even more.

“In the spring, there’s a lot of hope,” Jolie says. “You’re planting, you’re coming off of the year that may have been good, may have been bad, but there’s always hope in the spring. And come September, I think the stark reality starts to set in either the pricing and the yields.”

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month , and when it comes to agriculture the facts are startling. Farmers are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. The suicide rate among male farmers, ranchers and ag managers is 43.7 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the National Rural Health Association.

The mounting financial pressures unfolding across the agricultural economy are adding another layer to an industry that already faces one of the highest rates of suicide compared to any other profession.

“Suicide is one of those things that’s hard to put on a scale,” Jolie says. “I mean we know the lives we’ve lost. We unfortunately can’t see the lives that we’ve saved, but I do know from talking to the local ambulance district that the calls have definitely increased; 988 is a huge resource here, and those calls have gone up and increased exponentially. And just through conversations I know that that rural agricultural piece is pressing behind it.”

She says one of the most startling discoveries she’s made during her research and work is the desensitization to death among farmers. She says through various conversations, it’s a reality that’s sad but true.

It’s Not Just Financial Stress That Causes Strains on Farmers’ Mental Health

Jolie says it’s not just financial stress that causes these struggles. It’s also the fact farming comes with many stresses, and for the most part, many farmers are so isolated and might not have access to adequate healthcare.

AgriSafe says if you’re a farmer, rancher, or farmworker, you already know that your work can expose you to a variety of hazards. They believe that with proper education and access to knowledgeable health professionals, farmers can live a long, healthy, and productive life.

(The Total Farmer Health Model, AgriSafe)

According to AgriSafe’s Total Farmer Health , the financial factor is one that can compound mental health struggles, but there are other factors that lead to the risks of farmer suicides including:

Weather
Sleep
Cognition
Social
Diet
Hazards
Spirituality
Healthcare
Fitness

Signs to Watch

And for family and friends, there are signs to watch out for, including neglect of the farm or ranch or even an individual who makes a big financial moves.

“Financial moves are also huge, which is why we’ve talked to attorneys, and we also talked to the financial providers like different banks,” Jolie says. “Are they moving their money? Are they giving away prize possessions? Are they changing their wills? Are they creating a sudden will? We just want to give those resources the tools that they need just to be like, ’Are you okay?’

Daehler says his message for someone in a dark place is you’re not alone. That message is something the Foremans also wants farmers to know.

“I want them to know that we care. I want to know they feed and fuel the world, but if their bucket is empty, they can’t pour into others,” Jolie says. “It’s OK to not be OK, to talk about it, to reach out, to ask your neighbor, to not afraid if you do see something or change in behavior or more isolation. Don’t be afraid to have that conversation. And there are a lot of people that care.”

Suicide Prevent Hotlines

It’s important to remember no matter where you are, there is help. 988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline .

And for farmers, there is a specific farmer crisis hotline you can call that is toll-free at 866.586.6746.

The American Farm Bureau also has a Farm State of Mind campaign which builds awareness to reduce stigma and provides access to information and resources that promote farmer and rancher mental health wellness. You can visit that list of resources here .

5 Options to Consider During Farmland Transitions

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 16:30:00 GMT

Transitions are hard. It doesn’t matter what the transition involves, the nature of moving from one thing to the next is complicated. Farmland may be one of the toughest, says Steve Bohr of Farm Financial Strategies in Lisbon, Iowa.

“Farmers often believe that what differentiates him or her is their ability to own the land,” Bohr explains. “And by God, you’re not taking it away from them. A lot of times, land ownership doesn’t transfer until death, and I’m OK with that. But we’ve got to drill down and figure out how that land is going to transition from one generation to the next.”

Over the years, he’s discovered there are three fundamental areas of concern in an estate and farm transition plan that each family should independently address — cost of administration, creditor protection, and transition plans for land and operating assets.

He shares five options to consider for the transition of land assets.

1. Give the land to the farmer.
The first option is to get the land transitioned to those who are farming it or have an affinity to own it, Bohr says. Each generation cannot afford to take a step back in equity and expect to compete in today’s marketplace.

“The clear problem with that is, how are we fair to the ones who aren’t interested in farming? Every family is different,” he says.

If your family is expecting to farm the same (or more) acres with a land base that has been divided across siblings, each generation will be in a weaker position to complete. How many times will your family have to pay for the same land? Which generation will eventually lose it due to no fault of their own (other than choosing to carry on the legacy)?

2. Divide the land equally.
An undivided ownership in real estate can cause great anxiety for the owners of the land who want to farm it or who want to continue to own it, he explains. There is a greater chance of peace if you divide the land, but also a greater chance it gets away from the family.

“Most people believe this is the answer,” Bohr says. “I don’t believe that, because the problem with dividing the land is that it’s a recipe for the land to get away from us. Whether it’s divorce, bankruptcy or poor planning.”

At some point in time, the more people involved, and the more independence those people have, the land’s going to get away from you. If it doesn’t, then it has to be divided again at the next generation. By the time you divide a farm two generations, the grandkids don’t have enough to be able to farm.

“We are dividing ourselves right out of the plat book,” Bohr says.

3. Deed land into a family trust.
Leaving the land in trust after death may be a wise option for families who cannot afford to get the land to one heir and who do not want to divide their land. There are solid reasons to leave the land in trust for management, including if one or more children have marital, money or addiction issues or if one or more children are independently wealthy.

Oftentimes, leaving land in trust gives a false sense of security that may be deferring the problem to the future.

“When we leave it in trust, we’re asking for big problems. Whenever that land comes out of trust, it can be very inflexible,” Bohr says.

4. Create a family land entity.
A land entity like a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or Family Limited Partnership (FLP) has become popular for a family where the first three options do not fit.

“I call this the boomerang plan because the rules in the operating agreement of the entity always bring the land back to the family,” he says.

Those entities will have rules, and within the entities, those rules will talk about lease options and purchase options at family pricing and terms, whatever that looks like. A vast majority of them are special use paid over a 30 -year contract so they can guarantee opportunity and affordability for family members.

5. Develop a hybrid plan.
There is not one plan that fits all families. That’s why a combination of multiple options sometimes works best for most families. A hybrid plan gives everybody an opportunity.

“Right now in succession planning, I think we have to give a huge amount of understanding to what will or won’t cash flow,” Bohr says. “What are the tax ramifications? What is the timing of the transition? And are we going to give an adequate opportunity to those who are going to be that next generation in our communities, paying taxes, going to churches, going to schools?”

Your Next Read: How an Iowa Family is Passing on the Farm from One Generation to the Next

Questions to Ask Yourself When it Comes to Evaluating Mental Well-Being

Thu, 29 May 2025 17:44:23 GMT

Avoiding self-judgment, recognizing individual differences, focusing on personal needs and being proactive about mental health management are important for the agriculture industry to continue making progress in addressing well being and health.

Ted Matthews, director of Minnesota Rural Mental Health , has been helping farmers and farm families for more than 30 years. As a recent guest on “AgriTalk,” Matthews shared that when it comes to mental health people need to realize everyone is different, their needs are different and how they take care of their mental health will look different. The importance is understanding what that looks like for each individual.

“Because we are all different, we have to look at how we handle things personally, and not what we should do based on what other people do,” Matthews says. “We need to focus on what our mind needs, and then, as a family member, what are the family members’ needs, not what they should be. I think that’s a huge part of understanding mental health.”

Matthews says a positive step is that people are starting to understand that mental health is a huge part of physical health too.

“People need to [realize] that how you take care of yourself is by being nice to yourself,” he says. “Don’t beat yourself up for all the things you do wrong. Make sure that, if you’re going to keep score, you also score the things that you do right and the positive things you do and are.”

Based on Matthews’ advice, here are some self-evaluating questions farmers and ranchers could ask:

Self-Awareness

Am I being too judgmental toward myself?
What do I need to feel better?
Am I comparing myself unfairly to others?

Stress Management

How am I handling stress?
Are my stress levels impacting my physical health?
What specific strategies help me manage my mental well-being?

Personal Needs

What are my unique mental health needs?
How do I take care of myself differently from others?
Am I acknowledging both my challenges and my strengths?

Emotional Check-In

Am I giving myself credit for what I do right?
How am I processing difficult emotions?
Am I being kind to myself?

Support and Communication

Do I have people I can talk to about my mental health?
Am I comfortable discussing my feelings?
Would talking to a professional help me?

Check out the rest of the conversation where Matthews shares about parenting adolescents during this time of growth and development, and what people can do to navigate social media that helps protect their mental health.

Your next read: Rural Minds: Breaking the Silence Around Mental Health in Agriculture

Don't Miss the Excitement in the Air: A Look Back at National Pork Industry Forum

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 17:43:17 GMT

Maybe it was the Florida sunshine or maybe it was the announcement of a new tagline for the pork industry to rally around, but the energy was undeniable at the National Pork Industry Forum in Orlando on March 12-14. Producers from across the country gathered to make important decisions for the future, network with colleagues and help determine the direction of the National Pork Board and the National Pork Producers Council.

Producers were encouraged to stop asking “why?” and start asking “how?” by keynote speaker Tracy Walder, former CIA and FBI agent and author of “The Unexpected Spy.”

Tracy Walder, author of “The Unexpected Spy”

(Mikayla Dolch)

“Sometimes you just need to do it because sometimes asking questions becomes this crutch for us to not do the thing,” Walder says. “I’m not saying we should be careless or reckless. I’m not saying we should not research things before we do them. But I think you can only plan for so much. You can only ask questions for so long before you we just need to get into it and do it.”

Here’s a quick look at the variety of topics shared during the week.

“To me, this new campaign boils down to three key points. This is a generational moment . It’s different this time because National Pork Board has the data to show us what consumers want. We have more cultural ways of promoting pork than ever before.” – Gordon Spronk, Minnesota pork producer

“I am excited about the consumer segmentation work we’ve been doing and the ability that we have to make extremely tactical decisions based on numbers and analytics. It’s allowed us greater insight into what consumers really want. We have been able to identify who we need to speak to and what we need to say to them. Our consumer keeps changing, but I think access to this data really changes the game as to how we go out there and teach people to love pork.” – Alayne Johnson, Indiana pork producer

Bryan Humphreys

(Mikayla Dolch)

“No farm can deny the implications of what happens in DC on their farm.” – Bryan Humphreys, CEO of the National Pork Producers Council

“This campaign promotes the whole hog . Encouraging the promotion of processed and fresh pork will create a whole new dynamic – kind of an ‘aha’ moment like, ‘Yes, bacon is part of the list.’ We’ve tried so hard to own that fresh market, which is important, but it shouldn’t be the only thing that we’re trying to promote and share excitement about.” – Jennifer Tirey, executive director of the Illinois Pork Producers Association

Lori Stevermer

(Mikayla Dolch)

“We need good policy to be able to farm.” – Lori Stevermer, Minnesota pork producer

“The data is clear. Younger Americans eat pork less frequently. Long-term consumption is at risk. All of our data points us that way, but the good news is, it’s all reversible.” – David Newman, senior vice president of market growth at the National Pork Board

Duane Stateler addresses the attendees of the National Pork Industry Forum.

(Mikayla Dolch)

“It’s not about us. We’ve already laid that foundation. For me, it’s about my grandkids and the next generation and legacy we pass on. Don’t be afraid. Think about who we need to elbow a little bit and who we need to give a nudge to. That person may or may not be in this room. What is the next step you will take?” – Duane Stateler, Ohio pork producer and president of the National Pork Producers Council

“I get excited about the work that we’re doing at the National Pork Board and what Checkoff can do to ensure that you as employers, you as state associations, and you as industry folks, have a pipeline of young people, a pipeline of talent, that you can go to in order to find your next leader at your organization.” – Jesse Heimer, Missouri pork producer

Cheryl Day shares on the state executives panel at National Pork Industry Forum.

(Mikayla Dolch)

“We can tell stories all day long, but if we don’t have the facts to demonstrate what we’re doing on the farms, we’ll never make a difference. There is a way to use all our resources. We can use our Checkoff to educate us and get it to the point that you need to have the political discussion. Then you’ve got to change hats and use NPPC’s experts and figure out how to strategically tell and demonstrate the story better of the pig farmers.” – Cheryl Day, executive vice president of the Ohio Pork Council

“We want people to know they can affect change when they show up and participate – decisions get made by the people that go to the meetings.” - Bill Evens, National Pork Board CEO

Your Next Read: Your Voice Matters at National Pork Industry Forum

Advice From The Unexpected Spy: Stop Overthinking and Do It

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 00:05:00 GMT

If she’s being honest, Tracy Walder never imagined a life for herself as a CIA counterterrorism staff operations officer or as a special agent at the FBI. In fact, if she had thought too long about saying yes to those opportunities, her life would have looked much different.

But she did say yes.

The shy, thoughtful girl who was once bullied by her peers stepped into the unknown on a path she never imagined.

“I think a lot of times, if we veer from whatever path we thought we wanted, people get a little jarred by that,” Walder shared in an exclusive interview with Farm Journal’s PORK ahead of her leadership keynote at National Pork Industry Forum.

Former CIA and FBI agent Tracy Walder shares her story at the National Pork Industry Forum.

(Jennifer Shike)

It was the 1990s and terrorism looked a lot different than it does today, she says. College graduates were not actively pursuing careers in counterterrorism because it wasn’t in front of their face like it is now with popular TV shows such as Quantico, Covert Affairs, FBI and Homeland. People around her struggled to understand how she could join the CIA when she had always wanted to be a history teacher.

“Instead of people asking me ‘How?’ (which is a more important question), a lot of people were asking me ‘Why?’” Walder says. “I think we almost get stigmatized by that question of why. It causes us to not go down that path we were thinking about and just continue on the one we were on. I believe we must actively fight against that mindset every day.”

That’s one of the most important lessons she took away from her time at the CIA – that it is possible to overthink things and get too deep into planning and asking questions.

“Sometimes you just need to do it because asking questions becomes this crutch for us to not do the thing,” Walder explains. “I’m not saying we should be careless or reckless. I’m not saying we should not research things before we do them. But I think you can only plan for so much. You can only ask questions for so long before you we just need to get into it and do it.”

Much of her work in the CIA was like that. It was reactionary based on the situation that had arisen at that moment in time. She wasn’t always able to ask questions, she had to make decisions and move forward.

Meeting a Terrorist
Walder grew up in Southern California where her dad was a college professor. Although she says they weren’t ‘millionaires by any stretch,’ she had no idea what the world in dire straits looked like.

“I remember serving a tour in Afghanistan. When I came face to face with a terrorist for the first time, my first question was ‘Why did you become a terrorist?’” she says. “I knew that he was a radical, but his answer really changed my perspective.”

What he said didn’t absolve him of his behavior, Walder clarifies. He was a terrorist who killed people. However, his response opened her eyes.

(Photo provided by Tracy Walder)

“Talking to him about why he became a terrorist was a very pivotal moment for me,” she says. “He grew up in a country that we would label as a fragile or a failed state, meaning they’re not meeting the needs of their people. He was orphaned at age 7, had completely unchecked hepatitis and was living in a storm drain. A member of al Qaeda found him on the streets and offered him food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and as a result, this individual felt very beholden to them, and that’s why he became a member of al Qaeda.”

This life-changing conversation helped her identify for President George Bush at the time how to stop this threat from the ground up, rather than from the top down, Walder says.

Although she doesn’t remember feeling scared in her roles at the CIA and FBI, she admits there was one time when she did wonder how the situation would pan out for her in the end.

“In your 20s, you feel invincible,” Walder says. “I understood the job was risky – I’m not stupid. At 47 now, I don’t feel so invincible. I see the risks involved in what I was doing, but at the time, I don’t remember ever feeling scared.”

What She Almost Didn’t Put in Her Book
Moving on from the CIA to the FBI was a hard decision for Walder.

“I wish I had a sexier answer, but I was sick of being overseas,” she says. “I loved the CIA. There wasn’t any ill will or reason that I left. I was obviously and still am very passionate about the counterterrorism mission. I felt that the best way to do that work in the U.S. was to become an FBI agent.”

After 17 weeks of training at Quantico, she moved to the Los Angeles field office in the Santa Ana resident agency. She worked the very first Chinese economic espionage case in the U.S., white-collar crime cases like health care fraud and big arrests.

She was used to being the only female when she was at the CIA and had zero issues working in a male-dominated field.

“The FBI was a very different story,” Walder says. “I think we look at the gathering of intelligence as a bit more female. I think we associate law enforcement, like breaking down doors and arresting people, as a very male-dominated career. The number of struggles I had being the only female was not pleasant, and unfortunately, at the time, the FBI had no way to report or communicate any of that.”

It was a difficult time in her life. But it’s also when she realized she could help change the dynamic by going into education. She left the FBI, got her master’s degree in education and became a high school history teacher. She created a class on national security, foreign policy and law enforcement for girls to try to get them into those careers.

While writing her book, The Unexpected Spy, someone sent her an email about a 19-woman gender discrimination lawsuit at the FBI from Quantico.

“The head of Quantico at the time was an individual who made my life miserable when I was at Quantico. I did not join their lawsuit,” she says. “I found it interesting, though. To date, it’s the largest gender discrimination lawsuit ever against a federal agency. I almost didn’t put that I was an FBI agent in my book, so I guess it’s a fun fact I’m giving you because it’s really painful to talk about what happened.”

She’s since moved on from teaching high school and now teaches criminal justice at Texas Christian University. In addition to teaching, she serves as the National Security Contributor for News Nation – the only former CIA officer who’s doing that.

One of the greatest moments of Walder’s life was the night she launched her book, “The Unexpected Spy,” at the Spy Museum and 60 of her former female students who have jobs in national security showed up to support her.

(Jennifer Shike)

“It may sound silly, but representation does matter,” Walder says. “When people see a female who’s had the experience I have talking on these issues, we start to normalize it a little more.”

She says the most important lesson she wants to convey to her students is simple.

“You are your biggest obstacle, so don’t be the one to tell yourself ‘no,’” Walder says. “You’re never going to get the yes if you don’t even try.”

Want to learn more about Tracy Walder’s experiences as an ‘unexpected spy’ in the CIA and FBI? Watch the entire conversation with Walder on The PORK Podcast here or anywhere podcasts are found.

Your Next Read: Chase Greatness: How Calculated Risks Changed Doug Hankes’ Life

We Need a New Playbook in the Pork Industry

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 19:14:25 GMT

The old playbook is no longer working, Cara Haden, DVM with Pipestone, said during the Alex Hogg Memorial Lecture at the 2025 American Association of Swine Veterinarians annual meeting.

“If we want this industry to thrive moving forward, we have to become relevant to younger generations,” Haden says.

The holds true for veterinarians who serve as champions for the pigs that pork producers raise and for consumers who will influence what it means to be a champion for the pig in the future, she says.

What Does the Swine Veterinarian of Tomorrow Need?
“If we do nothing to address the needs of Millennials and Gen Zs, then we are going to have a hard time recruiting and maintaining veterinarians,” Haden says.

The future champions of pigs will be more diverse, more female, and will be represented by the Millennial and Gen Z generations.

“The mostly white, male, Baby Boomer, and Generation X veterinarians grew and shaped our industry over their careers,” Haden says. “They walked with their pig farmer clients as they made huge leaps to raise pigs inside. They were the ones who first recognized and diagnosed porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome. They helped their clients adapt to multi-site production. They developed the practice of swine population medicine, including disease eradication from large populations.”

Cara Haden, DVM, addresses the crowd at the AASV annual meeting.

(Jennifer Shike)

These veterinarians eradicated pseudorabies, and helped control diseases such as rhinitis, mange, lice and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. They built the foundations of swine biosecurity including shower-in and shower-out, as well as air filtration.

“They are the builders of modern swine medicine and should be incredibly proud of what they built,” she says. “I am on this stage today as a part of this industry because people like Gordon Spronk, Tim Loula, Paul Armbrecht, Joe Connor, Max Rodibaugh, Tom Wetzell, Paul Yeske and many others built something compelling and meaningful.”

Over time, she adds, these practitioners shaped their industry to meet their needs and their goals.

“Our modern industry today was built by them, and it was built for them, but the truth is they are not the future of this industry anymore,” Haden says. “The future swine veterinarians are vastly different and will need the opportunity to adapt and change the industry to meet their needs.”

She believes this change needs to come sooner rather than later for the health of the industry.

Last year in the Alex Hogg Memorial Lecture, Chris Rademacher, DVM and associate director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center, shared a disturbing trend of veterinarians leaving the pork industry. In the first phase of his research, his team looked at veterinarians leaving swine medicine entirely.

Those leaving the swine veterinary industry are young. They reported travel, work life balance, and an inability to “disconnect” from work as reasons for leaving. Other factors that weren’t supportive included the solitary nature of the job, lack of advancement opportunities, and gender-related challenges.

In phase two, Rademacher explored those leaving practice but who remained in the swine industry. They tended to be older veterinarians with more than 10 years of experience. Again, work life balance and an inability to disconnect were major factors for leaving practice.

Haden suggests the industry consider how telemedicine, greater utilization of veterinary technicians and technology could help veterinarians achieve greater work-life balance and avoid burnout.

“The industry today was not built or shaped by the next generation of veterinarians, and so unsurprisingly, it does not meet their needs,” Haden says. “One of the best ways to shape our industry to fit the next generation, is to give leadership of our industry to the next generation.”

She challenged the older generation to evaluate how they are transitioning leadership.

“What young veterinarians on your team are ready for leadership? If they are not ready, what role can you play in developing and coaching them?” she asks.

She also challenged the younger generation to not leave.

“Stay in this profession and be a part of the change you want to see happen,” Haden urges. “Engage in these conversations. Bring forward solutions. Be ready to step up and lead.”

Who Will Influence Swine Veterinarians in the Future?
For years, the swine industry has been shaped around production. Efforts have focused on improved performance with the goal of reducing the cost of producing pork.

“When markets experience oversupply, we rely on exports and reduced pricing to move additional pork. However, the most recent downturn in the market was different,” Haden points out. “With Generation X and Baby Boomer consumers, the model of focusing on production and pushing extra pork to the consumer via reduction in cost worked well. Unfortunately, Millennials and Gen Z are hugely different generations. The old playbook is not working to increase pork consumption in these individuals.”

A recent National Pork Board market study sought to understand and segment pork consumers, she shares. Millennials consume significantly less pork compared to Baby Boomers. And even more concerning, the consumption drops even further when comparing Gen Z to Millennials.

“The production focused approach of our industry is no longer a relevant approach for the modern consumer,” she says. “Instead, our industry must make a shift to a consumer-centered industry.”

The National Pork Board will introduce a new consumer centered campaign to pig farmers at National Pork Industry Forum. Later in the year it will launch in significant pork markets, including California.

“Today we are sitting in a room in California, and I am telling you that our industry needs to shift to focus on the needs and wants of the Californian consumer,” Haden says. “Our industry will not thrive if we cannot win over the Millennial and Gen Z consumers of California. At the exact same time, I am aware that the Californian consumer has no idea how food is produced in the U.S. They are in no way qualified to determine how pigs are raised.”

Bridge the Gap
So how does the pork industry move forward with both things being true?

“What the swine industry needs are intelligent, highly educated professionals, with experience and expertise that can stand in this gap. People that can take what the consumer says they want, and work to find solutions that actually improve the welfare of the pig, while at the same time being executable by pig farmers,” she says. “We need people with critical thinking skills and the ability to plan and execute research trials. We need people with training in pig behavior and welfare. We need people that have a seat at the table to advise and assist pig farmers. We need the people in this room, swine veterinarians, to stand in the gap.”

Haden says her experience on social media, especially TikTok, has opened her eyes to public perception of the pork industry.

@cara.haden #pigs #veterinarians #farm #vetlife #animal ♬ original sound - Cara Haden Pig Vet

“I grew up in the swine industry, so raising sows on concrete seemed very normal and unproblematic to me,” she says. “Then I posted to social media and experienced many comments regarding the viewers’ concerns for pig comfort when being raised on concrete. Because of the constant comments, I became more aware of stiff sows and sows looking painful when standing up as I was filming for videos.”

She found herself struggling with how to respond to some of the direct comments regarding sow lameness.

“I found myself in a gap. The public was pointing out a problem, sow discomfort and lameness on concrete, for which I did not have a solution,” Haden says. “This led to me working with rubber flooring and eventually installing it in a barn for a pilot project.”

The project’s success led to Pipestone, a rubber flooring company and three different universities working together to apply for a National Pork Board grant. That grant was funded, and the project started collecting data on rubber flooring in November of 2024.

“This rubber flooring project is a fitting example of finding a potential solution that may improve the experience of the pig, may improve health and production on farm, and may improve the public perception of how pigs are raised,” she says. “If this project works out, it is a win for pigs, producers and consumers.”

Veterinarians have always been focused on excellent production practices for pigs, she says. But she called them to stand in the gap between producers and consumers.

“As veterinarians we were in the trenches focusing on health and disease elimination and all the legitimate health issues that take up our precious time,” Haden says. “The voters in California were focused on freedom of movement for the sows. No one stood in the gap to bring solutions forward that would work for both the producers, the pigs, and the people of California. So, the people of California wrote the solution and now we follow their guidelines because we need to sell pork in their state. We do not have to wait for the next Proposition 12.”

Act Now
Haden encourages veterinarians to approach every barn visit like there’s a Gen Z from California in the barn with them. Of course it’s important to look at health from a vaccine, antibiotic and anti-inflammatories standpoint. Conversations about ventilation and markets are always important. But she also recommends additional discussion about timely euthanasia, housing, pain control and individual pig care – things consumers are interested in hearing more about.

“Address the things they would care about like pain control at castration and tail docking or farrowing and lactating sow housing,” Haden says.

It’s also important for people in the industry to consider the way they talk about consumers. Stop saying, “They are crazy people. They have no idea what we do. They know nothing about our industry,” she says. Instead, she recommends a different narrative.

“Start to say, ‘These topics matter to pork consumers and so they should matter to me,’” Haden says. “Or think about this, ‘If this helps our image as an industry, we should really consider what this could look like.’”

Are You an Owner or a Participant in Your Life?

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 17:34:09 GMT

Leadership titles can seem a little glitzy at times, that is until you find yourself holding a leadership title. The truth is most leadership roles require hard moments that go unseen and unappreciated. It’s in those moments, when you think no one notices, that your true leadership capabilities shine.

I’ll never forget when my first boss Darrell Anderson stooped down to pick up trash at one of our pig shows. He was serving as the CEO of the National Swine Registry at the time — the big chief in command. What on earth was he doing worrying about the trash?

In that moment, when he didn’t think I was watching, I learned one of the most valuable leadership lessons of my life: Take ownership.

Although this wasn’t the first time I saw ownership in action, it was the first time I witnessed it in such contrast. Growing up on a farm, I remember some of my first experiences with “ownership.”

Raising livestock taught me you must work hard to get results and take responsibility for your weaknesses and strengths. I learned how to better support others by elevating the people around me. I also realized ownership requires extra effort that might not be valued at first and sacrifice to give up things you want sometimes.

Who Are You?
We all have opportunities to be owners or participants in this world. As a parent, I hope I’m raising owners who will accept responsibility for their actions, work hard to make the world around them better by going above and beyond, and remain humble, realizing it’s not all about them.

After interviewing Lance Dunbar, our newest barn hero , I couldn’t stop thinking about the topic of ownership. He said something I won’t forget: “For me, the job doesn’t end at 3 p.m. For example, if you have an alarm call, you go verify and make sure the pigs in your building are good, regardless of the time of day or night. I believe it’s important to treat people and the pigs like they are yours. I always manage the business like it’s my money going into it.”

Who wouldn’t want Dunbar leading their team? As director of production for Professional Swine Management, he takes incredible pride in his job. He is invested from beginning to end, whether that’s answering an alarm call or fixing a process that isn’t working right in a barn.

When he’s not at work, he’s serving as a firefighter and first responder. In his mind, it’s all about doing the right thing. For him, that means answering the call to help others in need 24/7. He models ownership at work, in his community and in his family.

He’s learned living a life of ownership creates greater purpose and deeper joy.

I believe we’ve all been put in different places for a reason. What we do with where we’re placed is up to us. Dunbar’s example challenges us to think about ownership in our own lives. It might be picking up trash to leave things better than you found them or working late hours to help a teammate. Don’t doubt the cumulative power of the little things. I’ve seen them add up to make a big difference in the world.

Your Next Read: Lance Dunbar: A Hero by Day and Night

The Program That Built Me: FFA Shapes Leaders' Futures

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:54:46 GMT

Rob Brenneman still remembers the first day of ag class with his teacher and Keota FFA advisor Duane Sprouse.

“I was a freshman in high school wondering what direction I was going to go in life —wondering if I would ever be able to farm,” Brenneman recalls. “Duane told us, ‘You can do anything you want, you’ve just got to put your mind to it.’”

One of the pieces of advice he shared with the students was “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Brenneman says that he’s never forgot the things his ag teacher told their class that day.

“It’s been my motto ever since then,” Brenneman says. “FFA was the stepping stone for what I believed was an opportunity for me to grow in my knowledge of agriculture and farming.”

Rob Brenneman says FFA was the most valuable experience he had growing up.

(Rob and Char Brenneman)

He believes FFA made him a better person and instilled a drive within to be the best he could be.

“When we were freshmen in high school, I went to the National FFA Convention. I remember hearing the officers’ retirement speeches and they were absolutely amazing,” Brenneman says. “One of the retiring officer’s was Dwight Segmiller who later became one of my bankers. Their talent blew my mind and made the hair stand up on the back of my head.”

Today, Brenneman owns and operates Brenneman Pork, a family-run swine and grain operation in Washington, Iowa. Read more about Brenneman here.

Life-changing opportunities, invaluable leadership lessons and connections to build your future on are just a few of the reasons why FFA has meant so much to Brenneman and the numerous alumni of the organization. Here’s a look at more familiar faces in the pork industry who credit FFA with helping them find their way into the pork industry and how it changed their lives.

Jesse Heimer with Hon. Robert M. Clayton, Missouri Court of Appeals - Eastern District.

(Jesse Heimer)

“Looking back, I’m grateful for the public speaking and leadership training I received as a state FFA officer. However, I think the most impactful thing FFA did in my life was allow me to grow as a leader while opening doors for my future in the swine industry. Because I was a state officer, I couldn’t attend college out of state. At the time, doors were closed for livestock judging and an education at a land-grant university. But in hindsight, earning a degree close to home afforded me the opportunity to continue managing my sows, ultimately allowing me to stay connected to the swine industry. The strong network formed during that time and lived experiences I gained through FFA are the very foundation of my business, farm and brand today.” –Jesse Heimer of Taylor, Mo.

Heimer is the owner/operator of Heimer Hampshires. He was a member of Palmyra FFA in Missouri. Read more about Heimer here.

Kara Dadson with one of her FFA swine projects.

(Kara Dadson)

“FFA played a significant role in shaping my life. I actively participated in showing livestock, public speaking, parliamentary procedure and ag mechanics. The skills I gained in ag mechanics proved invaluable, as they enabled me to combine my passion for livestock with my craftsmanship. I went on to start a business that creates custom livestock awards, serving clients across the country. The skills I gained from raising livestock are not only essential, but they are also something I apply daily in my work at Dadson Farms.” –Kara Dadson of Paso Robles, Calif.

Dadson is co-owner and social media manager of Dadson Farms. She was a member of Shandon FFA in California. Read more about Dadson here

Patrick Arkfeld says he would not be who he is today without FFA.

(Patrick Arkfeld)

“FFA, to some, is just an activity—for me, it’s been my life. Growing up with an ag teacher as a dad basically meant I became an FFA member at birth. From all the fundraisers, contests, chapter meetings, and activities I attended from a young age through my active time in the organization, it’s probably safe to say that without FFA, I would not be who I am or where I am in life. FFA opened so many doors for me that I didn’t even know existed. It introduced me to competitive livestock judging, which led me to judge in college at both Hutchinson Community College and Kansas State University, and later to coach judging teams for eight years. The highlight of my FFA career was standing on the national stage as a finalist for the American Star in Agriscience with my family—a feat that both of my older sisters had accomplished as well—and thinking, Man, this was an incredible ride. Without FFA, I would still be a shy, no-name kid from nowhere, Nebraska!” – Patrick Arkfeld of Topeka, Kan.

Arkfeld is the herdsman at Sunflower Genetics and owner of Arkfeld Genetics. He was a member of Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca FFA chapter in Nebraska.

Emily Byers-Taylor winning the National FFA Agricultural Communications Proficiency.

(Emily Byers-Taylor)

“My involvement in FFA in my youth was invaluable. I learned so much that I took for granted then, which has helped shape my career and life. From public speaking and problem solving to making connections in the agricultural industry which I still keep today, I’m incredibly thankful for my FFA experiences. I would never have become a successful swine veterinarian had it not been for my time in FFA.” – Emily Byers Taylor, DVM, of Nashville, Tenn.

Byers-Taylor is a swine technical services veterinarian for Merck Animal Health. She was a member of Jackson County Comprehensive High School FFA in Georgia. Read more about Byers-Taylor here.

Hyatt Frobose (center) says FFA opened his eyes to new opportunities.

(Hyatt Frobose )

“My high school FFA program served as a pétri dish for me, teaching the fundamentals of various agricultural subjects, but then fostering the opportunities to dive deeper into areas that I had particular interests. Competing in district and state FFA contests in livestock and meat judging came naturally for me, but I’ve likely gained more from the ones I had less experience in such as soil judging, plant identification and farm business management. When I’m leading a meeting at our church administrative council, I often wish I could remember more from parliamentary procedure! Overall, FFA was likely the most important program I was involved in throughout high school, and prepared me for entry into higher education and a career in agriculture.” –Hyatt Frobose of Greeley, Kan.

Frobose (center) is the USA commercial director for JYGA Tech USA, Inc. He was a member of Eastwood FFA in Ohio. Read more about Frobose here.

Breanna Lawyer with her advisors Scott Jacobs and Natalie Schilling.

(Breanna Lawyer)

“The leadership foundation and network that FFA granted me the opportunity to build will never go unnoticed. It not only played a role in the educational path I took, but it also opened my eyes to career opportunities in agriculture, while connecting me to industry professionals to secure those positions.” – Breanna Lawyer of Shirley, Ind.

Lawyer is the U.S. swine marketing brand manager for Elanco Animal Health. She was a member of Eastern Hancock FFA in Indiana. Read more about Lawyer here.

Rich Deaton says FFA taught him practical skills he’s used his entire life.

(Rich Deaton)

“Not only did I learn mechanical skills in FFA that I still use today on my own vehicles, but more importantly I learned problem-solving skills that have helped me tremendously as I partner with producers navigating the challenges of raising pigs in my career today. Along with my dad (a dairy farmer), FFA instilled the value of stewardship in me, the realization that there is no such thing as a ‘free lunch’ (it takes blood, sweat and tears to produce food) and a sense of humble pride to be able to feed our neighbors and the world.” – Rich Deaton of Darke County, Ohio.

Deaton is a sales representative for PIC. He was a member of Tri-Village FFA in Ohio in 10th grade and Miami Valley Career Tech Center FFA in Ohio in 11th and 12th grade. Read more about Deaton here.

Cheyenne Hebert presiding over her last FFA banquet as a senior.

(Cheyenne Hebert)

“I went to a very urban high school with a small FFA chapter and even less kids competing in livestock shows, especially at the national level. Despite the status quo, that dedication opened countless doors for me, allowing me to grow both personally and professionally within the livestock and agriculture industries. Through opportunities like livestock judging, competitive speaking, and other leadership experiences, I developed the skills and knowledge that have prepared me for a successful career. Without FFA, I would not have the foundation or the network that has shaped my path, and I am incredibly grateful for the impact it has had on my future.” – Cheyenne Hebert of Franklin, La.

Hebert is the manager, stakeholder communications at the National Pork Board. She was a member of Covington High School FFA in Louisiana. Read more about Hebert here.

Coming from a family of seven boys (all in FFA), jackets were passed down from brother to brother over the years.

(National FFA)

“As a shy farm boy, taking leadership roles and speaking in public was the furthest thing from my mind. FFA was extremely valuable in planting the seeds of what it took to be a leader and spokesman for agriculture. I still remember being president of our local chapter and running our annual meeting. My father told me, “You were the only person I could hear and understand.” That’s something I appreciate to this day. Coming from a family of seven boys (all in FFA) I believe we only owned two or three blue jackets. They were just passed down from brother to brother. I remember where the name had to be monogrammed was getting pretty worn as the name had been changed several times. Practically speaking, learning Robert’s Rules of Order in FFA has been very valuable in my adult life. It surprises me to this day, the various boards I’ve set on and how few people understand parliamentary procedure. I’m grateful my initial exposure to planning, recordkeeping and analyzing of records was started with FFA. Those are skills I fall back on in my business still today.” – Patrick Bane of Arrowsmith, Ill.

Bane is the owner/general manager of Bane Family Pork Farm. He was a member of Tri Valley FFA in Illinois.

Rachelle Bailey Tucker with one of her FFA swine projects.

(Rachelle Bailey Tucker)

“FFA made me the person I am today. I remember my Greenhand FFA Conference my freshman year in high school. We had to write down goals we wanted to achieve in FFA and our futures and how we were going to achieve them. My career goal was to be a pig farmer, my SAE project was swine. Through my project I was able to build my confidence, travel and network with so many wonderful breeders, judges and industry professionals. My project path took me to my senior year of high school where I owned 50 purebred Hampshire, Duroc and Yorkshire sows. My passion for raising pigs in FFA took me so many places and onto college at Iowa State University and being on the livestock judging team. I still look back on how shy I was — I wouldn’t saw a word. Those pigs built my confidence and took me right to where I am today. I still have that yellow piece of paper from freshman year in 1995 and it makes me smile. Today I am a full-time pig farmer 30 years later and get to work along side my husband, our four kids on our pig farm.” – Rachelle Bailey of Turlock, Calif.

Bailey is the owner of Golden State Genetics. She was a member of Turlock FFA in California.

Your next read: Ag Teachers: When Someone Believes in You

Protecting the Future Starts with Building Relationships

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:00:00 GMT

During my year as president of the National Pork Producers Council, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to ten states and multiple countries. And I’ve learned that pork producers around the world are more similar than we are different. We’re all focused on raising healthy pork – economically and efficiently. We’re all trying to be good stewards of limited resources, whether that’s land, water, or feed. And we all face misconceptions and pressures from the public — whether they are consumers, activists or legislators.

To combat those misconceptions, we must build relationships. You can’t simply meet a legislator once and then expect them to take your side on labor policy, Proposition 12 or line speeds. They need to know you, to trust in your expertise and your passion for the industry. Then, when you show up again and explain how the rules and regulations affect you, it’s powerful.

Building relationships can happen at the local level by participating in livestock boards and other industry-related organizations. At the state level, Minnesota’s annual Farmfest has become a destination for politicians and government officials to engage with agribusiness members from across the state. At the federal level, NPPC’s Legislative Action Conference offers access to our nation’s representatives. These are just a handful of examples.

But this kind of grassroots work lays the foundation for bigger advocacy wins and opportunities ahead. For example, while we anticipate finalization of the Farm Bill, NPPC continues to elevate the industry’s request for funding for animal health programs and foreign market development and highlighting the need for a federal solution for Prop 12.

Other wins also set our industry on the right path for the future: defeating the Denver slaughterhouse ban, the Ninth Circuit ruling on CAFOs, maintaining line speed trials, and passing traceability standards within our industry. These key wins are all the result of consistently showing up, working together, and building relationships.

I’ve had the opportunity to interact with the next generation of leaders in the pork industry. They are smart, future-focused, and ready to adapt to innovation. That makes me optimistic. I encourage them to get engaged – and stay engaged – in whatever way they can. They have different experiences, and we’re going to need those as new challenges come our way.

The world is run by those who show up. Because when we show up, we get a seat at the table. We get to tell our own story. I know it’s hard and sometimes inconvenient. We’re busy. We have work to do on our farms. But, as I step down from the president’s role at NPPC, I will still be involved. Our industry needs all of us — making calls, visiting D.C., engaging in our states and communities, building relationships and telling our story. That’s how we protect the future of the pork industry.

And if you hit a wall? Find a way over, around or under it but just keep showing up.

Your next read: Don’t Leave Anything on the Table

Love on the Lagoon: Romances That Started in a Hog Barn

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 22:08:49 GMT

There’s just something about the way love sparks in a pig barn. For the Archers and the Sidwells, “love on the lagoon” accurately describes how their romances blossomed while on the job in the pork industry.

Jack and Jan Archer of Goldsboro, N.C., met while working for DeKalb Swine Breeders in Plains, Kan. Although it may not be the end of the world, Jan jokes you can see the end of the world from there. Quiet and reserved Jack was working in the breeding department while spunky and spirited Jan was stationed in a nursery.

“I was carpooling with another friend to get to and from the farm every day, and they had to stay late one night so they asked Jack if he would drive me home,” Jan recalls. “He did not want to do that at all because his plan was to leave the farm and go scout duck hunting locations and check out the lagoons for all the ducks.”

From Kansas to Singapore
But the plan worked. The couple hit it off and began spending more and more time together after work.

“Our idea of a hot date was to go check out prairie dog towns,” Jan says. “Keep in mind there’s nothing in Plains, so you really had to find your own fun. The people were the best part it.”

Those friends from Plains drove all the way to Marquette, Mich., to see Jack and Jan marry in her home church. The newlyweds continued working in Plains for a couple more years before transferring to Lancaster County, Penn., where they raised hogs for four years. From there they ventured across the world to the island of Singapore to work for several more years.

“We raised pigs on elevated floors. Below the floors, we raised ducks. Below the ducks, we raised fish,” Jan says. “If you think market day for pigs is a challenge, imagine market day for ducks, chasing them out from under the floors. It was entertaining, but it was great.”

Jack says Singapore was his favorite place to live before the pigs they were caring for were sent off to Malaysia and China and they had to make a move.

“At that time, we had a 1-year-old who had just had open heart surgery, and I couldn’t be an iffy ferry-boat-ride away from good medical care or we would have gone with the pigs,” Jan says. “That’s when we looked at the world. We were basically homeless. We could go anywhere. There was real innovation happening in the pork industry in North Carolina, and that’s why we moved here.”

Now, 37 years later, they couldn’t imagine their life anywhere else. When traveling all over the world, they learned one of the most valuable lessons in their marriage: You have to rely on each other. When issues arise, you have to figure it out, Jan says.

“Marriage has also taught me patience,” Jack adds. “There’s a lot of give and take.”

Working in the hog barns together, Jack quickly realized one of his favorite things about Jan.

“I love how fiercely she loves her people,” Jack says. “The passion she puts into everything she does is incredible.”

Hogs and Honesty
Although meeting in a hog barn may not be unique (the Archers know many couples with similar stories), they both agree there’s no better way to get to know each other than working on a farm.

“There’s no artifice. You know exactly who that person is. There’s no makeup. You shower in every day,” she explains. “I would dry my hair in front of a nursery heater. The person who you get to know is the real person, and I think that’s one of the reasons the people I know who met in these circumstances have marriages that have lasted.”

Maybe that’s what’s helped Ethan and Emily Sidwell of Pearl, Ill., have a strong start in their married life. Ethan and Emily met one summer while she was interning for The Maschhoffs. She randomly was assigned to work in a barn with Ethan. They became good friends and love sparked.

When she went back to Black Hawk College East Campus after her internship was over, the young couple decided to try a long-distance relationship. Although Ethan had little knowledge of the show pig industry, he was grateful the show pig industry brought Emily all the way from central Florida to college in Illinois and ultimately an internship with The Maschhoffs.

Due to biosecurity protocols, they spent a lot of their dating life on screens.

“Because she was going to shows and contests, we talked on FaceTime a lot,” Ethan says.

Those long conversations paid off and the couple’s love for each other grew. On Dec. 31, 2021, they got married.

“I believe being a part of both the commercial and show side of the swine sector make our story unique,” Emily says. “I randomly took an internship with a company that prides itself in raising quality pork and creating opportunities for youth, and it just so happened I met someone who has an unbelievable work ethic and cares about pigs just as much as I do — just from a different background!”

When Someone Believes in You
Ethan says one of the first things he admired about Emily was her drive and passion for the swine industry and her belief in his abilities.

“I was comfortable being a section leader and maintenance guy, and I never really thought of being a barn manager or moving up too much,” Ethan says. “Emily encouraged me that my work ethic was good, and she thought I was very knowledgeable and could do it.”

With Emily’s encouragement, Ethan applied for and moved into a barn manager position for The Maschhoffs. He says it can be stressful, but Emily is always there for him no matter what.

She’s still engaged in the pork industry in her role as a 4-H program coordinator.

“Our joint passion for the industry not only brought us together but it also gave us an opportunity to go out in the community, meet new people and network with like-minded individuals,” Emily adds.

Now, with two young kids, Easton and Emmagene, life is busy for the Sidwells. That’s why they prioritize communication and spending time together.

“We’re very open with what is on our mind because our jobs are stressful in different ways, yet alike in certain aspects,” Emily says. “We let the other know what’s going on, where our mind’s at and share goals with one another — personally, for our marriage and for our family. We have to be open with each other, knowing we have to be realistic but also push ourselves.”

Watch the entire conversation on YouTube with Ethan and Emily Sidwell and Jack and Jan Archer or go listen anywhere podcasts are found.

Keep reading our #porklovestories series: Steve and Barb Determan: Hogs and Kisses

Jarrod and Shari Bakker: Pigs Fuel Dreams and Marriage

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 16:27:13 GMT

For Jarrod and Shari Bakker, the pork industry has always been and will always be part of their love story. They met at the Iowa State Fair (ISU) after their senior year of high school while participating in the Premier Exhibitor Contest. Although it doesn’t matter who won, Shari beat Jarrod if you want to keep track. After that, they both headed off to Iowa State University for their freshman year.

“We re-met during fall of 2002 in a mutual friends’ dorm room and became good friends,” Shari says. “Jarrod had started working at the ISU teaching farm and after a couple of months, helped me get a job at the farm. We were just good friends for a couple of years, traveled to hog shows and started dating our junior year of college.”

They were lockstep as they competed on the livestock judging team, graduated from Iowa State University and began their adult life. Shari took a job as the Team Purebred Jr Coordinator.

“Jarrod proposed at the state fairgrounds during World Pork Expo the summer after we graduated college,” she says. “We planned our Aug. 2, 2008, wedding date around field work and pig shows and spent our honeymoon at the Iowa State Fair. As we both matured, we became more involved in the National Pork Board and the Iowa Purebred Swine Council, and we founded the Iowa Swine Jackpot Series (along with my family).”

It’s Not Just a Paycheck
The swine industry fueled not only their professional goals but also helped them grow as a couple.

“Anyone who raises hogs, whether finishing pigs or show pigs, with their spouse knows the toll the stressors can take on relationships,” Shari says. “We’ve gone through contract changes, fluctuating markets and herd health challenges, and each time, the basis of our mutual passion has pushed us through the challenges.”

Shari credits Jarrod’s eternal optimism for helping them get through the tough times in life.

“We always joke about us being a yin and a yang,” she says. “No matter the situation, Jarrod has a positive outlook and pushes us to continue moving forward.”

Jarrod appreciates Shari’s willingness to always put her family first.

“Her ability to organize the mass chaos of raising a family is second to none,” he adds. “I love how proud she is of what we’ve built in both our family and farm life.”

At its most basic level, raising hogs has been a challenging, rewarding, lifelong learning experience for them as adults. But it’s also been a great learning tool for their three kids Caeden, Cooper and Olivia.

“While we may never want to picture baby pigs together again, the stories we have to tell about our time in the barn together will always be my favorite,” she laughs. “We could not be prouder to raise our kids in the barn. The excitement of our kids traveling to shows, the hustle they’ve learned to put into every part of their lives (whether it’s school, sports or livestock) and the confidence they have to go out and make new friends and talk to other breeders means so much to us.”

Keep reading our #porklovestories series: Garrett and Marisa See: Show Ring Sweethearts

Steve and Barb Determan: Hogs and Kisses

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:14:51 GMT

When Steve Determan met Barb Campbell at the American Pork Congress in Kansas City in March of 1981, it didn’t take him long to decide she was the one he wanted to marry.

“I was working for Smith Kline as a sales representative and Steve was a pork producer from Early, Iowa,” Barb explains. “Steve and his feed dealer were looking for the rep who covered the territory because of a product trial they were running.”

A convenient excuse to start a conversation? Maybe. But it worked. Steve sent her flowers the following week and the rest is history.

Steve and Barb got married on Sept. 26, 1981, in Little York, Ill., where Barb grew up on a family farming operation.

“Both of us were passionate about the industry at the county level and from there it grew,” Barb says. “Steve supported me in all the state and national committees, offices and activities from then on.”

As a former National Pork Producers Council president and president of Heartland Marketing Group, Barb travels a lot in her work for the pork industry. Although Steve often stays home to run the farm in Early, Iowa, he enjoys traveling with her when he can.

“I admire Barb’s passion for agriculture and still caring about our community and our family,” Steve says. “We work together and understand the ups and downs of ag (remember the 1980s!) and a small business.”

Steve has farmed for over 50 years. They raised pigs for many years but are entirely focused on grain farming now. When he’s not busy on the farm, he does the accounting for the farm and Heartland Marketing Group.

“I really appreciate Steve’s support of all my responsibilities and travel for the pork industry, my business and our family,” she says. “He wears many hats in our operations and family. He’s the organizer, keeps all the machinery going and is the sports booster for everyone.”

It’s that special teamwork they share that allows them to experience so much joy in life.

“Our family, community (especially 4-H and the youth), faith and the pork industry have been our focus through our almost 44 years of marriage,” Steve says.

Keep reading our #porklovestories series: Larry and Tammy Brink: A County Fair Love Story

Garrett and Marisa See: Show Ring Sweethearts

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 15:01:13 GMT

There’s just something about competition that often results in the perfect match. For Garrett and Marisa See of Benson, N.C., it was their shared love for livestock judging, skillathon competitions and livestock shows that brought them together years ago.

“After a livestock judging contest one year, I got a Facebook message from Garrett asking if I would be showing at the North Carolina State Fair so he could have the opportunity to redeem himself (I had won more awards that year). Fast forward to several shows and contests later, and he (finally) asked me out,” Marisa says.

Too Busy Talking in the Holding Pen
Although Garrett often won showmanship, Marisa is quick to point out she usually beat him in the skillathon.

“One time the judge even called us out at a show to ask if his placings would be a problem,” she laughs. “Many of our dates were spent at shows and hauling pigs. In fact, I remember one show where we were too busy talking to each other in the holding pen that we didn’t even notice the judge was waiting for us to enter the ring.”

It was no surprise to anyone when Garrett proposed and the two became one on May 19, 2018.

“I think having a shared passion is always nice in a relationship,” Marisa says. “Not only does it give you something to talk about, but we bond over it. Although we are in different sectors of the pork industry, we still bounce ideas off each other and discuss industry happenings.”

Garrett pursued his PhD in Nebraska. After that, they lived in Indiana for a couple years, and now they are back closer to family in North Carolina. Marisa says all that travel helped them learn to depend on each other.

Dinner Dialogue
Their joint understanding and passion for the pork industry continues to provide opportunities for some pretty interesting conversations, she says.

“Garrett has been known to draw diagrams on napkins on a date to explain hormone differences in males and females,” Marisa says. “We’ve both been guilty of comparing our knowledge of pigs to pregnancy and having children.”

The couple has one daughter, Isla, 2, and a baby on the way. Garrett is a swine geneticist for AcuFast and Marisa works in communications for the pork industry.

“I love how Garrett both pushes me and keeps me grounded in life,” Marisa says. “He is not afraid to call me out but does so in the most supportive and caring way of anyone I know. This bleeds into his willingness to go on adventures but be completely content playing board games at the house.”

For Garrett, watching his wife become a mother has been an amazing experience.

“I really appreciate how Marisa is such a loving, charismatic and patient mother,” Garrett says. “It doesn’t hurt that she’s a tremendously good cook.”

The competitors now turned couple will never forget what the pork industry has done for their lives.

“We are forever grateful to pigs for giving us a passion, letting us travel, providing us with careers, and most importantly, helping us find each other.”

Keep reading our #porklovestories series: Zach and Katlyn Cain: A Hog-Wild Partnership

Larry and Tammy Brink: A County Fair Love Story

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 20:30:00 GMT

When Tammy Leroy first met Larry Brink at a county fair showing pigs, she didn’t think much of it. For these two farm kids from southern Illinois, showing purebred swine was their passion. Tammy showed Yorkshires and Larry showed Hampshires and Yorkshires.

“For years we knew of each other and would see or recognize each other in the barn, but with a bit of an age gap, dating wasn’t a consideration,” Tammy says. “It wasn’t until the summer of 1981 that we became more than friends.”

They had their first date during the Madison County Fair and by the Illinois State Fair, they were ‘more serious,’ she says. On Dec. 25, 1981, they got engaged.

The Couple That Survives Fairs Together Stays Together
The next summer, Millard Leroy gave his daughter a string of Yorkshire pigs and sent her and Larry off to show that summer. He said, “If you can make it through these county fairs and learn how to work together, you can probably survive marriage!”

So, that’s what they did. They spent the summer showing at county fairs and at the Illinois State Fair. The winnings they made that summer paid for their wedding on Dec. 17, 1982.

Larry served as a meat inspector for 33 years and Tammy as a seamstress and homemaker. Together they continued to grow their farm in various ways within the pork industry. It was only natural they pass on their passion for showing pigs to their children Travis, Emmalee and Caleb.

“We spent many summers showing at county fairs,” Tammy says. “It was a family affair. One summer, we attended 13 county fairs, two state fairs and four national shows. Larry and the kids loaded up and brought pigs to the fairs, while I stayed home to do chores and take care of the sows.”

Berkshire Business Blooms
As the kids’ 4-H projects grew in size, so did their love for the Berkshire breed of swine. When the kids aged out of 4-H, Tammy and Larry continued on with the Berkshire business, creating a niche market to restaurants in the St. Louis area.

“The chefs loved the quality of the pork,” Larry says. “We enjoyed getting to see the results. Recently, the farm has become much smaller. The barns that used to hold a full showstring of show pigs and sows just holds a few pigs here and there to keep us and our granddaughters going out to do chores.”

They are both proud to have the fourth generation of their family showing at county fairs now. Travis and Emmalee both have careers in the swine industry, and all three kids have children of their own that will be deeply rooted in 4-H and animal agriculture, Tammy says.

They are grateful for the achievements and opportunities they have been able to attain together over the years, including Swine Family of the Year at the Illinois State Fair in 2003, 2011 Premier Berkshire Breeder Award at the Summer Type Conference and 2015 Illinois Pork Promoters Award.

However, what they treasure most are the little things they do for each other every day. Larry supports Tammy in her sewing business and Tammy supports Larry in his passion to build and make their lives and farm better.

“When everyone is home, you can guarantee the old stories of farrowing sows or talking about the pork industry will be the main discussion at the dinner table,” Tammy says. “The pork industry is how we got together and it’s how we have stayed together.”

Keep reading our #porklovestories series: Zach and Katlyn Cain: A Hog-Wild Partnership

Zach and Katlyn Cain: A Hog-Wild Partnership

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:50:30 GMT

Although Zach and Katlyn Cain grew up showing pigs in Iowa at the same time, they didn’t meet until after they were done showing pigs. They even have the pictures to prove it.

“In 2018, Zach was working as a hired hand for another show pig breeder, Jim Gibson, and would bring Jim’s girls to many of the jackpots in Iowa. My sister, Ashley, was still showing on the circuit as well at the time,” Katlyn explains. “She is the one who coaxed me into talking to Zach at a show one weekend, which ended with him officially asking me on a date the next weekend.”

In 2020, Zach took a large leap of faith and focused on building his show pig sow herd full time, which he continues to do today. A year later, he proposed to Katlyn in the middle of a show pig sale in front of the auction block. On May 7, 2022, they were married at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

“Our favorite part of our story is the fact that we were able to take two of our biggest passions, pigs and people, and make a true partnership out of it,” Katlyn says. “Whether it’s sitting ringside and watching shows or sitting in the chip barn and messing with sale babies, we aren’t afraid to share our thoughts with each other and have a strong respect for those opinions.”

On the Road Again
She says their favorite time spent together usually includes driving to visit customers or shows and just talking pigs or bouncing ideas off each other.

“It’s very unique to have been able to find a partner that has shared goals in such a niche industry, and we try not to take that for granted,” she adds.

Today, their sow roster has grown to 40 crossbred and purebred females that they farrow twice a year to sell to junior exhibitors across the U.S.

“I appreciate everything Katlyn does for the farm,” Zach says. “She is the one in charge of farrowing, helps get sale babies ready, does all the uploads and write-ups for online sales and completes all the behind-the-scenes work for the farm that keeps it running. I can rely on her to pay attention to all the small details that make a big difference.”

When she’s not helping Zach on the farm, Katlyn works full-time with the National Pork Board on the Producer and State Engagement Team and judges livestock shows across the country.

Focus on the Good Days
“Most days it feels like our lifestyle is all pigs all the time, with little to no true routine,” she laughs. “For some couples, that lack of schedule and predictability can be daunting, but for us, that’s how we’ve built our lives together since day one. Having that mutual understanding and aligned priorities, we are very supportive of helping each other grow in our passions.”

Some days are harder than others, she adds, especially when a lot of your livelihood depends on factors outside of your control. But the good days remind her why they do what they do.

“I love Zach’s willingness to help other people,” Katlyn points out. “He may come off with a tough exterior, however, he truly has a heart of gold and is more than willing to help others. Whether that’s delivering feed to people’s houses, helping clip pigs before shows, driving pigs and kids to shows or even opening our show barn to kids who want to show but don’t have a place to house them, Zach will do anything for the kids.”

This is the first in our #porklovestories series.

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