Q2 Multiplication Nursery Top Winning Duo
posted on Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Congratulations to Cody Long and Josh Haidsiak, the duo who claimed the Q2 number one spot for multiplication nursery earlier this year.
After several years working in lawncare and even going to culinary school, Cody is glad that he finally found his way to Iowa Select Farms in June of 2018, albeit a somewhat nontraditional path.
“I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but hoped for the best,” said Cody, who needed a more stable, non-seasonal job with better hours that allowed time with his family. “Now that I’m over a year in, I can’t believe how far I’ve come. It’s been a gradual growth with a lot of help along the way, but it feels good to be in the number one spot.”
After getting beat out by manager Sheila Mundy in Q1, Cody’s goal for Q2 was simple—beat Sheila.
“If you know Sheila, you know that’s a lofty goal,” grinned multiplication supervisor, Tysen Abell. “She has a reputation for going above and beyond and providing really great care for her pigs, but Cody and Josh were able to pull it off. We’re really proud of them.”
Scores are a culmination of a farm’s production well-being assessment, biosecurity assessment, mortality and supervisor site visit. Cody and Josh made their way to the top after receiving 100% on their PWB assessment, 100% on their biosecurity assessment, having 1.33% mortality and passing their supervisor site visit with a 99.2%.
According to Tysen, this was one of the best quarters the entire multiplication group has ever had, so competition was tight.
In the beginning of his career, Cody worked alongside Josh to learn the basics of pig care. Most things he caught on to quickly, like daily chores, setting up barns and sorting animals by size, but learning to identify piglets that were lame or required treatment took a bit more work.
“There was never a time that I didn’t feel comfortable going to Josh for advice,” recalled Cody. “Every time I had a question, he almost immediately had an answer and practical solution. He definitely helped get me to where I am as a caretaker.”
Cody now feels comfortable identifying piglet health issues and effectively communicating what is happening in his barns to Tysen.
“It’s both rewarding and empowering to go from no pig knowledge to really feeling comfortable in your job,” said Cody. “I’m able to manage treatments and focus my efforts on getting, and keeping, our pigs as healthy as possible.”
Today, he works as a caretaker at Priest and Kerrigan multiplication nurseries alongside manager Sheila Mundy—yes, the same Sheila he was trying to beat last quarter.
Together, the two care for more than 7,000 gilts for 4-10 weeks at a time. Their pigs then go on to multiplication growers and eventually sow farms and GDUS.
“Cody has come a long way as a caretaker and it’s fun to work alongside him every day,” said Sheila. “We talk before work, during work and after work about our pigs. It’s nice to work with someone that shares the same passion for animal care as you do.”
Now that Cody and Sheila have teamed up, it’s no surprise that other multiplication nurseries are already thinking of ways to step up their game and beat them, but it’s not going to be easy.
“Cody and Sheila are ideal animal caretakers because they are passionate about their jobs and the animals they care for,” said director of multiplication, Shamus Brown. “We joke about the little snacks they give to their pigs, like cookies and pretzels, but it’s just an example of how much they care about them. They do a great job raising gilts for our system and are going to be a tough pair to beat.”
Congratulations to Cody and Josh on your big Q2 win. We can’t wait to see the Q3 results roll in to see who comes out on top!
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