What are opportunities in CAFNR for students interested in the swine industry?
The best opportunity for students in CAFNR who are interested in pigs is the MU Swine Club. The Swine Club allows students who are interested in the swine industry to connect with other students that have similar interests. It also serves as a great way to meet industry leaders and learn about hot topics involving pigs, not to mention that the club makes time to take field trips to various businesses that involve pigs.
What was it like being the 2019 Pig Farmer of Tomorrow?
Being a Pig Farmer of Tomorrow was a phenomenal experience. The best part of the experience was serving alongside two young pig farmers like myself. Ben Wikner, from Iowa, and Bailee Arnold, from North Carolina, are pretty awesome, and I was able to learn a lot from them that I would not have without serving as a Pig Farmer of Tomorrow. In addition, I was fortunate to meet a lot of the prominent pig farmers from across the country as a part of my year. Meeting these people truly allowed me to learn the vast differences among pig farmers and helped me to create connections that will prove to be useful for the rest of my life.
What are your future plans after graduation?
After graduation I will be returning home to my family farm full-time. This is an opportunity I have dreamed about for as long as I remember, and I cannot wait to see what the future of farming holds for our family.
How do you celebrate National Pork Month?
In all honesty I treat National Pork Month like I treat every other month. I eat a lot of pork and spend as much time as I can on the pig farm. During pork month I usually take the opportunity to share why I love pig farming, and I will add more bacon to everything I eat. After all, who doesn’t love bacon?
Anything else you’d like us to know?
There aren’t exactly a lot of kids out there who love pig farming like I do, so if there are any students out there who have questions about pig farming or what we do, I would love to talk about it with anyone!