Doug Celebrates 25 Year with Iowa Select Farms
posted on Monday, February 8, 2021
Congratulations to Doug for celebrating 25 years with Iowa Select Farms!
For the past 19 years, Doug has been managing Lucas, a farm that is now a filtered GDU, but has also been a nursery, finisher, and multiplication site. “Everything but a sow farm!” Doug jokes.
Prior to coming to Lucas, Doug was fresh out of college with a degree in Animal Science from the University of Missouri. He had heard good things about Iowa Select Farms and enjoyed working with pigs on his family’s farm, so applied for a job.
Doug’s first position with the company was at Scott Township F004 near Radcliffe (that’s right! Central Iowa!) where he was for a few years, but when an opportunity to relocate back closer to home, he jumped at it. He’s been back in southern Iowa since March of ’98.
For Doug, his job has always been a point of pride.
“Raising quality pork to help feed the country and world is not a job that I take lightly,” he said. “When you take a step back and look at the impact we’re making, it’s huge and something I’m proud to be apart of it.”
In his current role as manager of Lucas G043, Doug is responsible for making sure the farm hits breeding targets, ordering supplies, feed and propane, staying on top of maintenance, keeping a watchful eye over their animals and working together as a team.
“There is no ‘I’ in team, it takes everyone working together for the farm to achieve success,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate to work with some great people over the years and many of my coworkers, past and present, have remained great friends. The people are one thing I have really loved about my job the past 25 years.”
In addition to the people, Doug has loved the unique challenges every day presents—a lesson he learned growing up around pigs and cattle and continues to experience everyday on-farm. “Working with livestock always keeps you on your toes,” he chuckled. “But I wouldn’t change a thing."
Outside of work, Doug stays active in his community with the Mount Ayr Volunteer Fire Department and Midwest Regional Dive Team, which covers a 300-mile radius and helps with a variety of things, from crime scene investigations to water emergency, rescue and recovery.
“I guess I’ve just always loved helping others and giving back to my community,” he said. “That’s one thing I’ve loved about the company too, is that we always give back.”
In addition to volunteering his time as a volunteer firefighter and dive team member, Doug stays active in his church, follows all Missouri sports teams (safe to say he’s excited for this weekend, Go Chiefs!), cheers on his Mizzou Tigers and even has a mowing business on the side—we’d say he’s one busy guy!
Looking back, it’s hard to imagine that it’s been 25 years, but Doug is grateful for all of the experiences and people involved in his journey with the company. “A lot has changed since I started so many years ago, but that’s also meant we’ve grown as a company and continued to get better,” he said. “As I look towards the future, I’m not sure what’s in store but I’d love to see Lucas in the first-place spot. That would be pretty cool.”
Congratulations on 25 amazing years, Doug! We are lucky to have someone with a heart for giving back like you on our team.
Subscribe to our newsletter: Get fresh articles delivered straight to your inbox.
Subscribe