Meet our Pig Farming Experts

Happy National Ag week!  It's nice to see all of my farmer friends taking the time to talk about how much they love agriculture with their friends.  People really seem to be into it this year, and a lot of stories are being shared.

(Ag story: wait until it's a bit drier to get in the field.)

This week on our farm we had one of our consultant's visit.  His name is Al, and he has spent is whole working life in the pork industry.  He comes through our farm about once a month, often with our other consultant Dale, and they look at all of our pigs, making suggestions on everything from feeding to handling to maintenance.  Al works closely with our vet, and with the people that sell us breeding stock in order to help us make the best decisions for the farm.  Dale really takes interest in pig structure and genetics, and helps us select the right animals for our system.  These two consultants have practical experience and industry connections, helping us to solve any problems we may have.  They also give us valuable outside information.  Sometimes you can look at things every day, but not actually see the problem.  Dale and Al keep us in check.

In addition to our consultants, we work with two vets.  One vet is a local large animal vet, and he visits each of our farrowing farms (where the piglets and mamas are) once a month to do a general health check-up.  He works closely with our other vet, who is a swine vet.  The swine vet doesn't make it out to the farm as often, but he is only a phone call away for any help that we need.  Our local vet takes care of us in emergencies, and helps us with diagnostics on a regular basis.  We are lucky to have two vets that can work so closely together and help our farm.

Besides these visits, our management team meets once a month in order to discuss all of the information that the consultants and vets give us.  This helps hold the whole team accountable on the changes we have decided to make, as well as make sure that we are all on the same page.  We also chat on a daily basis to make sure we are accomplishing the things we intended.  There are still things we miss, but working together makes a difference.

Keeping the communication flowing from top to bottom is one of the harder jobs on the farm.  Even a small change has 10 people working on it, and easily 10 another people having to implement it.  No one person on the farm is an expert on everything, nor should they be.  Farmer's generally don't make changes to their farming practices without talking to an expert.  We don't want to do anything that will harm the animals, the land, or the farm family.  Not every decision is the right one; not every change is positive, but we move forward with the information we have and keep trying to improve.  That is a huge part of any farm story.

Farm Update: Sawdust Day

Winter is (hopefully) coming to a close, but last week we had some nice and cold weather for one of the more fun jobs on the farm.  Twice a year, a big semi trailer pull into the farm full to the brim with bagged wood shavings.  What do we do with the wood shavings on the farm?  We use them to bed our trucks after cleaning for each new group of pigs we transport.  This keeps them warm and dry, plus it makes them smell like a forest (only kidding!).

Anyone that can spare even a few moments come around to help unload the 1150 bags.   It usually takes 1-2 hours to have everything off of the truck and put away.  We unload by assembly line, with 3 people on the truck moving bags forward for 2 guys to stack them on pallets while 2 more guys transport them on carts to where they are stored and 1 more guy helps to stack as needed.  It's nice to do this on a cold day, since you warm up fast from all of the moving.

This may sound like a miserable job, and most of the time I don't look forward to it, but once we get moving it is pretty fun.  It's nice to work side-by-side with friends and family and actually be able to see that we are accomplishing something.  Everyone is happy and working together.  It definitely acts like a team building activity, since most of the people that show up don't actually work together everyday, and may not even know each other that well.

(Chris, myself, and Dylan after filling the barn with saw dust bags)

Sawdust day also brought us a new face on the farm, Dylan.  Dylan is the newest employee on the farm, and sawdust day was his first on farm experience.   He was able to some real on farm experiences within a few hours of filling out his paperwork, plus he met many of the people he could be working with in the future.

Part of the culture on our farm is that nobody is too good for any job.  Some days I make hiring decisions, and some days I power wash and unload sawdust.  We all try to do the best that we can for the pigs, the people, and the community.

5 Things I learned from the Michigan Young Farmer Leaders Conference

Visiting the Traverse City Coast Guard with Michigan Farm Bureau (Photo Credit: Michigan Farm Bureau)

Over the weekend I attended the Michigan Farm Bureau's Young Farmer Leaders Conference.  These types of conferences are pretty general when it comes to farming information; instead the focus is on leadership, business, marketing, and personal development for farmers age 18-35.   Roughly 300 farmers attend the event each year, for a weekend of learning and networking.  Coming away from the conference this year I have five "bits of wisdom" to share, along with one personal story.

5. Farming is a family affair.  I have been to a few professional conferences by now, and I have never been to any conference besides a farming one where husbands, wives, and children are all learning together.  Sitting at a random lunch table, Every person at the table asks about the spouse and children of the person next to them (if they aren't also at the table).  It's not just to be polite, it is genuine interest.  Each year attending the conference I make more connections, talk to more people, and I learn more about the different farm families.  Farms are family businesses, even if one or more people in the family don't work on the farm as their full time job.

4. We want acceptance.  A big topic of any farming conference now is how to talk to people about farming.  Farmers are trusted, but farming as an industry is not.  People are so far removed from what farming is, and they tend to be more than skeptical about many farming practices.  Speaker Michele Payn-Knoper pulled many people out of the audience and asked them if they think communicating directly with consumers is important; all of them answered yes.  When she then asked if they would go home and start talking to people, most of the farmers said they weren't sure.  This isn't something farmers want to do.  It is scary to start a conversation with someone you don't know about your business. It is awful to put yourself out there and have somebody tear you down because they don't like the decisions you have made on your farm, decisions that 100% were made with the best intentions regarding, health, safety, and yes, our personal farm profitability.  Keeping the farm going is what keeps our families going.  We want to share our stories with the world, but we want to find people accepting and willing to listen; the same things we need to be when people do come to us.

3. Size doesn't matter. Farms of all shapes and sizes are important to filling the food demands.  Large farms and small farms have benefits for consumers, and both are needed in order to give people the options they are looking for. Conventional, organic, and local all have a place at the table.  Almost every industry has businesses operating under all different types of models.  Those differences give consumers choices.  It isn't about who is "just in it for the money." I don't know a single farmer who is farming just for a paycheck.  I wouldn't wish it on anyone to have a career or a lifestyle where they can't fully exercise their passion.

2. People are the most important.  Food isn't really about just filling our bodies.  For many of us, the dinner table is a time for connection.  We get together and have large meals with our families.  We care about what we put in because we want to get the best out.  Even though the conversations about food can be uncomfortable, I need to listen and participate.  It isn't about raising corn, wheat, cows, chickens, vegetables, or fruits.  It's about providing for our families and bringing people together.  I feel that the pigs we raise on our farm are the best thing that I can give my own family, and I need consumers to feel the same way.  If it isn't good for both of us, then it's not going to be sustainable.

1. We need to define ourselves by what we can do and don't let what we can't do stop us.  This final point is where things start to get a bit personal, and maybe that is why it is resonating with me more than any other part of the conference.  The keynote speaker, Steve Gilliland, did his talk on how to move through life with purpose, passion, and pride.  He mentioned if we focus on what we can't do, there will be many things that stand in our way- including other people who will try to define who we are.  Steve instead directed us to put effort into developing what we can do, in order to find happiness and success.

Mathieu after finishing his first Au Sable River Canoe Marathon (Photo Credit: Caleb Casey)

Now for the personal part. I don't usually put much on here about what I do outside of farming, so for those of you that don't know, I spend quite a bit of my free time marathon canoe racing.  Like the farming community (although considerably smaller), the paddling community is small and tight knit.  On Friday, Mathieu- French Canadian paddler and a friend was involved in a terrible logging accident (he is a lumberjack).  By the time I was sitting in the conference on Sunday, he had learned that he would probably live the rest of his life unable to walk. This is devastating news for anyone, especially so for someone as young and active as Mathieu.  As I was sitting in the crowd listening to Steve speak, I could only think how Mathieu's life is going to change, and how he will need to focus on the positive things that he can do in order to find happiness.

The paddlers have really rallied around Mathieu and his family in the last few days, and have started a collection in order to help with his expenses on the road to recovery.  While maybe this won't matter to any of my readers, if you feel like helping him out on his journey, visit http://www.gofundme.com/mzf674 and make a donation.  Every little bit helps, and this is something that we all can do.