Can you power wash?

Can you power wash? It may seem odd, but this is often one of the first questions I ask someone interviewing for a job with us. There are generally two reasons for asking this question. The first is practical in nature. Pigs can kind of be like your kids sometimes, leaving a mess where ever they go.

This makes power washing a frequent event especially in the farrowing house. Grant does a good job of making sure the next mom has a clean place to have her babies.

The second reason is it may give you an idea of the persons work ethic. If they hesitate or try to appear that they are “over qualified” to power wash that may be a red flag. All jobs here are important, whether you are in charge of the books or cleaning farrowing pens, what you are doing is vital to the success of the farm.

Last week I talked about getting projects done. We took advantage of the Labor day weekend to get one of those projects done. The white stripes went on Saturday and the red was painted on Monday.

There was a little whining about having to paint on the holiday but I think there was a sense of pride in getting it accomplished and the big improvement in the appearance of the barn.

It is important that we teach our kids the value of hard work and the satisfaction of a job well done. It is equally important that we teach them the value of relaxation. We did find time to do a little fishing. Trent caught this albino catfish out of our pond.

By this time next week we will be close to starting harvest. While the crop may not be as large as we would like due to the dry weather it is still one of the most enjoyable times of the year. Enjoy the rest of your week.

Comments

Employee Feature: Jon Phelps

“This will take only 10 minutes, I promise”, I reassure the head of farrowing as he takes a rare break from his work. A familiar, bashful smile appears while we make our way to the office space of the building. “You’re the first employee we’re doing a feature on, so you should definitely feel special about this one.” He laughs and we begin. This is Jon Phelps, the recently promoted head of farrowing here at VG Farms. For the past six years he has spent his time helping nearly a quarter of a million piglets into the world. It all started when he decided he wanted to return to hog farming since leaving an operation in Alexandria, South Dakota. “I saw the opening online and had previous experience in farrowing that I really enjoyed”, he explains, “I filled out the application and here I am.” Jon has come along quite a ways since first beginning with the VG Farms family; from doing chores at on...

Priorities

Much like fall, spring is a very busy time on a livestock/crop farm. Sometimes the most difficult thing to do is to decide what to do first. When the weather warms and the fields dry it is time to put the crop in the ground. Time is of the essence when it comes to planting. There are weeks were you may only get a few hours in the fields due to weather. An dry, early spring is no indication of a dry later spring. Despite the pressures of planting, the crops are not the first priority of the day. The pigs always get top billing. Chores, weaning, breeding, load for market, all get don...

Harvest Time

Harvest Time Well harvest finally began this past week. It is always a much anticipated time of the year. This first picture is a combine that was purchased in about 1964. It was a huge leap in technology. No longer did you pick the corn in the ear and then shell it later. This machine combined the two operations into one which is the reason it is called a combine. Todays machines are leaps ahead of the originals. Today we have air conditioned cabs with air ride seats. The ability to change settings on the go and yield monitors with GPS that tell you moisture and yield from a specific spot in the field. The way we move the grain from the field to the farm has also change over time. The wooden wagon in the first picture held 100 bushels of corn. In 1974 my da...

Both Sides of the Fork

Search This Blog