Edward Celebrates 15 Years with Iowa Select Farms
posted on Friday, February 19, 2021
Congratulations to Edward for celebrating 15 years with Iowa Select Farms!
Since growing up on a diversified grain and livestock farm near Riceville, Edward learned at a young age that animals were his passion. That passion took him to the University of Northern Iowa where he studied Ecology in hopes of becoming a zookeeper. After graduating and looking to move back home, Edward realized the best of both worlds was already in his backyard—quite literally.
While there were no zoos in the Riceville area, there were plenty of opportunities with Iowa Select Farms. Edward applied and was hired on at Thorsen Sow 24, where he continues to work today.
At Sow 24, Edward works in the breeding department and enjoys the sense of accountability that comes with the job. “I’m a competitive guy, so it’s fun to keep an eye on our total born and born alive to see how we’re performing,” he said. “Breeding is an extremely rewarding department to work in because if you’re consistent, you can see the efforts of your labor pay off in a short period of time.”
Edward is being a bit modest here because Sow 24 recently ranked first-place overall for the year—a collective effort between both the breeding and farrowing departments. “We have a really good team and get our work done, while maintaining a calm environment,” he said. “It’s awesome to win first-place overall because it really validates all of our hard work. It’s very gratifying and I’m proud of our team.”
Outside of work, Edward enjoys hunting, fishing and camping with his family at Lake Hendricks. In fact, the work-life balance and overall easygoing nature of his job is one of Edward’s favorite things about working at Iowa Select Farms, aside from the animals, of course.
Looking ahead, Edward has no plans of leaving Sow 24 anytime soon. “I enjoy my job and find the work rewarding,” he said. “We’ve made big improvements in the past 15 years and after implementing positive pressure filtration I can’t imagine what else could be in store but knowing the industry there’s always something. We also continue to improve and I’m excited to see what’s next.”
Congratulations on 15 years (and that recent first place SelectPride win!), Edward! We feel lucky to have such a hard-working, loyal guy like you on our team. Keep up the great work.
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