Our motto here is—we fight harder

posted on Monday, February 22, 2016

We're halfway through quarter one and our sow farm crews are fighting their way up the SelectPride ranking. Congrats to Doug, Joe, Misty, Jeff and the Parker/Sow 16 team who continue to make an incredible run, landing in the #1 spot at week six.

“We have a really strong core group, and we stay grounded and keep pushing forward,” said Doug, manager of Sow 16. On their heels is John, Chrystal, Becca and the crew at Fonken/Sow 26, the farm that earned the title of Top Sow Farm for 2015.

SelectPride gets more competitive all the time,” said Don, senior sow supervisor for the southern Iowa region. “We have a lot of close races in the middle of the pack with not a lot of spread, we have several farms where if they stay in control and give it an extra push can get up to the top ten.”

Sow 2 popped up into the SelectPride ranking after a long fight, hitting the #7 spot at this halfway mark. “I am superbly proud of this team,” said Mark, who manages Sow 2. “They are a really talented crew and take direction well. Every Monday morning they can’t wait to get the numbers and know where they stand. They want to learn and push themselves to get better.”

“We are very excited,” said Bert, the assistant manager at Sow 2. “We have our sows in good health, have the right people in place and things are finally clicking for us. We are working together as a team, training ourselves to get better every day.”

Sow 15 also jumped up the list landing firmly on the #10 spot. “We’ve been trying forever and have been so close to the top ten several times,” said Louis, the farm’s manager. “We’ve had a lot of coughing and some PRRS but our sow health has also improved after a whole herd MLV (modified live virus) vaccination and the farm is turning around. I told my farm if we make the top ten for quarter one we are going to celebrate with a pizza party, and I hope we make it!”

Sow 23 is also back in the game after a year and a half battle with PRRS, landing in the #3 spot. “It’s been a long time and it gets you down from time to time, but our motto here is—we fight harder,” said Mary who manages Sow 23. “I have a great crew with great tenure. They are dedicated, motivated and competitive and go above and beyond every day. It would be an understatement to say we’re really glad to be back.” ‪#‎billionpounds‬

Here is the ranking halfway through Q1—congrats to the following crews!
• 1st Place— Parker/Sow 16
• 2nd Place—Fonken/Sow 26
• 3rd Place—Erickson/Sow 23
• 4th Place—Wright/Sow 25
• 5th Place—Swanson/Sow 5
• 6th Place—Cartwright/Sow 22
• 7th Place—Rout/Sow 2
• 8th Place—Sow 114
• 9th Place—Sow 113
• 10th Place—Jernquist/Sow 15