Separately Strong-Excelling Together
posted on Thursday, January 7, 2021
“These two make a great team,” said Shamus, Director of Multiplication. “Not only do they excel when they’re working together, but they’re both strong individually when working at separate farms. I had no doubt they had the talent to achieve these types of results and it’s exciting to see them in the first-place spot.”
Congratulations to Cody and Nikki at multiplication nurseries M932 Lark and M042 Kerrigan for securing the top SelectPride spot. Although he’s been on many successful teams since starting in 2018, this is one of Cody’s first wins as manager.
“I’ve learned a lot since starting with the company two years ago,” he said. “The biggest things have been understanding how to properly identify illnesses and knowing what to look for before things get out of hand—that’s been a huge help.”
When Nikki joined the team just over a year ago, Cody got right to work teaching her the basics. “That was easy, considering she’d been around livestock her entire life,” he smirked. “We focused on the importance of placing the right pigs in the right place, minimizing competition among our gilts, timely treatments and identification.”
Cody also chimed in that Nikki has become a “picture perfect” employee. “She knows what to do, when to do it and I never have to tell her anything twice,” he explained. “She even comes to me with ideas of her own to help make our work more efficient. It’s been really great having her on my team.”
Speaking of team—Cody and Nikki are extremely grateful for their support system, many of whom are instrumental in the team’s recent SelectPride success.
“Our driver Zach at the MTW (Market Truck Wash) is amazing to work with,” said Cody. “He’s always there to help us with loads and has great ideas on how to improve the loadout process. He’s just a super friendly guy in what can be a stressful job and we really appreciate that.”
Both Cody and Nikki are also thankful for Sr. Supervisor, Tysen, who is makes clear to his teams that he’s always just a phone call away, and their vet/director of multiplication, Shamus, for helping with timely identification, treatments and maintaining their overall herd health.
“Everyone has been super helpful and always there to help when we need it,” said Nikki. “It’s nice knowing there’s always someone to call.”
With 2021 on the horizon, Cody and Nikki continue to focus on their goals and surprisingly, landing the first-place SelectPride spot isn’t necessarily on their list.
“We’re focused on getting our mortality down even further, keeping the right pig in the right place, consistency and being very selective of our gilts so that we can ensure farms are getting the best of the best from our farms,” explained Cody. “If that continues to keep us at the top, that’s just an added bonus.”
As of the youngest (and newest) multiplication nursery team, we have a feeling the sky’s the limit for these two. Their supervisors seem to agree.
“Cody and Nikki work extremely well together,” said Tysen, Senior Multiplication Supervisor. “This past year has been spent focusing on the little things and learning to do them well. I have no doubt they’ll be in contention of the first-place spot for many quarters to come.”
Congratulations Cody and Nikki! Keep up the great work in 2021.
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