Congratulations to Aaron Perry and his crew at Primrose Sow 37 for winning Q4 Sows SelectPride.
posted on Friday, February 28, 2020
Congratulations to Aaron Perry and his crew at Primrose Sow 37 for winning Q4 Sows SelectPride.
Since welcoming their first load of gilts in late 2017, the farm team has been working tirelessly on finding their bearings, establishing routines, training and, of course, meeting production goals.
“As a team, we realized our motivation was making it into the Top Ten of SelectPride,” said Aaron. “When we made it into the Top Ten, we set our sights on the first-place spot. To have achieved that in the fourth quarter is really cool. It’s just neat to watch this team succeed.”
The entire crew is comprised of farm manager, Aaron, Farrowing Department Head, Jordan Kraft, Breeding Department Head, Missy McElroy, Breeding Lead, Marco Avila-Ramirez, AI Specialist, Josh Klamfoth, Newborn Pig Specialist, Amber Richardson and animal caretakers, Kayla Bundy, Dale Goodale Jr, Sean Green, Dylan Iverson, Caitlin Jacobson, Dakota Janssen, Amanda Low, Melanie McElroy, Terresa Nelson, Jon Reed and Casha Spear.
“The interesting thing about this crew is that they’re interested in more than improving production,” said Mark Lee, the farm’s supervisor. “They’re extremely committed to developing their people. Aaron, Jordan and Missy welcome feedback and use it to fully develop their team’s potential.”
When the Q4 results were released at a company management meeting earlier in January, Aaron told his team they got second place. When he showed up at the farm the next day with a first-place plaque, they were ecstatic.
“I’m just really proud of my crew and thankful for everyone that believed in us,” said Jordan. “And I’m thankful for my team for believing in me. We’ve come a long way and it’s so awesome to celebrate this accomplishment together. I hope to see another first-place win in the near future.”
According to Aaron, the key to the farm’s success is execution on biosecurity. Whether it’s in a transition area, disinfecting and drying room or mortality removal, the take all biosecurity protocols seriously and make sure to thoroughly train new employees.
Second to biosecurity, the farm’s focus is on breeding and early pig care.
“Our breeding department is strong and that is reflected in our wean numbers,” said Aaron. “Over in farrowing, Jordan and his team do an awesome job with sow and newborn pig care. When they chore rooms, they’re looking at every single pig, every single day.”
Last year, the farm weaned 238,507 pigs—25,567 more than projected. The most pigs they weaned in one week was 6,021.
“Of course, we’re proud of our production numbers, but I think we’re prouder of how far we’ve come as a team,” said Aaron.
“We started as a new farm and now have a solid, core group of employees. Everyone has the same goals and is committed to reaching them. When you get a group to buy into something like that, it’s huge. I couldn’t be prouder of this team.”
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