Brentwood Colony of Faulkton, South Dakota, has placed a specific focus on profitability in business. The pig entity of Brentwood Colony, ProPork, takes a community perspective, with a swine business mentality. This allows the team to track accurate financial information & remain a profitable business. ProPork is a farrow-to-finish operation, raising 3,200 sows in two…
Category: Meet Our Customers
Weinkauf Farms | Prioritizing Pig Care
Right outside of Pipestone, Minnesota, surrounded by fields and plenty of green tractors, you will find Weinkauf Farms. At the heart of this farm is third-generation farmer, Ryan Weinkauf, and his 5-year-old son, Jaxson. Starting his operation in high school, Ryan Weinkauf has been a pig farmer for over 20 years. He began his career…
County Line Livestock and Feedmill
Nestled on the outskirts of Independence, Iowa, are nationally recognized livestock and feed mill operations known as County Line Livestock and County Line Feed Mill. Established in 2002, County Line Livestock started as a feeder pig operation and has strategically developed into how it stands today. County Line Feed Mill is a more recent addition,…
AR Pork- Big Stone Marketing Producer Highlight
Producer: AR Pork, Jason Domeyer Location: Earlville, Iowa Pictured front row left to right: Myles Payne, Kennedy Duddeck, Kian Payne, Quinn Duddeck, Jordan Duddeck. Back row left to right: Jenna Duddeck, Ron Domeyer & Melissa Payne. About the farm. Our operation is very family involved, including my dad, myself, my two sisters and my…
Doing our PART: Sturtevant Feedlot
Responsible antibiotic use is a subject American pig farmers are accustomed to. Consumers expect it and packing plants require it. Utilizing resources through PIPESTONE, Sturtevant Feedlots has taken their antibiotic stewardship to the top of the industry. Scott Sturtevant farms in Shannon, Illinois alongside his brother, Steve, son, Trey, and his father, Ron. “It’s been…
Burke Farms: Big Stone Marketing Producer Highlight
Producer: Burke Farms, Tom and Patti Burke Location: Janesville, MN Burke Farms is a wean-to-finish swine operation, and a corn and soybean crop farm. The farm started with Tom Burke’s father, but later grew, passing the farm to the future generation. Today, Tom and his brother, Larry, continue the family legacy…
Stop Disease by Making a Change
“We have always been trying to achieve high health,” Charlie Schelkopf said. “We watch day-in and day-out how poor health gets in the way of how profitable an operation is. It wasn’t until we had been through several years of difficult production damaged by health issues, that we realized we needed to make a change.”…
Buhl's Ridgeview Farm | A Leader in Sustainability
“Utilizing the corn they grow in their on-farm feed mill, monitoring and reducing antibiotic usage and educating their communities on swine production practices, Buhl’s Ridgeview Farms is at the forefront of sustainability,” said Emily Scholtz, PIPESTONE Nutritionist. Purchasing their first sows in 1976, Don and Susan Buhl operate Buhl’s Ridgeview Farm of Tyler, Minnesota. Since…
Idlenot Farms | a leader in Innovation
“I can remember sitting in a booth at the World Pork Expo when this technology was just being developed. As it was explained to us, I was like, ‘wow.’ That is quite a dream. I wonder if we will ever have that?” Brad Moser said. “It is real. It really works.” Brad and his brother,…
Testing, advice valuable to the Minnesota producer
Feed costs are the largest expense in raising pigs today, so carefully analyzing every opportunity to get the most out of every ration at every stage in a pig’s life is key to profitability. Tri-M Farms, owned and operated by brothers Greg, Mick and B.J. Madson, have found benefits for both performance and the bottom…
Deep Agriculture Roots Now and for Years to Come
Lee and Ben Bader farm together as father and son Tracing back six generations of farming, the Bader family continues the family tradition. Lee and Ben Bader, a father and son duo, farm together in Jesup, IA. “Since the early years, our family has been on the farm,” Lee (dad) Bader said. “Today, it is…
'You don't get what you wish for, you get what you work for'
As a family, Lynn Farms works to overcome challenges “My wife always says, ‘A farmer has to be an optimist or you wouldn’t be a farmer,’” said Jeff Lynn, owner of Lynn Farms. Jeff Lynn is a third-generation farmer from Lismore, MN. He grew up feeding cattle alongside his dad, until he decided to expand…
Animal Health and Biosecurity Drive Changes, Growth for Family Operation
Adapting to a changing industry and adopting new business and management practices has allowed Harold Dekkers and his family to maintain and grow the Hawarden, Iowa, farm that has been in his family for decades. “I’ve lived in the same house my entire life, on the farm that my father bought in 1944,” said Harold.…
Animal Health and Biosecurity Drive Changes, Growth for Family Operation
Adapting to a changing industry and adopting new business and management practices has allowed Harold Dekkers and his family to maintain and grow the Hawarden, Iowa, farm that has been in his family for decades. “I’ve lived in the same house my entire life, on the farm that my father bought in 1944,” said Harold.…
It's the Relationship with Pipestone that Keeps Vroman's Growing for Generations to Come
For more than thirty years, Dean Vroman has been raising crops, pigs and cattle in Minnesota. While equipment and facilities have been important, his most valuable investment has most likely been the relationships he’s built with farmers and industry professionals that have allowed his farming operation to grow and provide an opportunity for the next…
Meet the Sturtevants
Generations of the Sturtevant family have raised crops and livestock on the same land in northwestern Illinois since the 1850s. While the size and scope of the farm that Mark Sturtevant owns and operates with his father, brother and cousins, has changed over the years, their focus on continuous improvement, animal health and productivity has…
Meet America's Pig Farmer of the Year - Brad Greenway
Pipestone Management works with many great farmers and Brad Greenway is no different. Brad Greenway, a pig farmer from Mitchell, South Dakota, is the recipient of the 2016 America’s Pig Farmer of the YearSM Award. The award is designed to recognize a pig farmer who excels at raising pigs using the We CareSM ethical principles and connects…
Focus on Family Farms Leads to Partnerships and Business Opportunities
For thirty years, Doug Pollema has focused on providing products and services to support family farmers around his business in northwest Iowa. Doug is a native of Hull, Iowa, and after college he started working as an outside salesman and livestock production representative for Hull Feed & Produce, an independent feed dealer that sold Wayne…
2016 Dave Neuberger II Core Values Award Winner
All farm employees met at four locations on May 10, 2016, with two sharing the role of presenting from their specific location. Some of the presentations were specific to the barns for updated protocols and communication, while others were focused on the global and economic impact Pipestone Management has. One common theme each presenter had…
Focusing on Business Basics Allows Family Farm to Thrive
Focusing on sound business practices and management strategies has allowed the Schwerin family of Wood Lake, Minnesota, to build the foundation for a farm that provides opportunities for family members today and for generations to come. Dave Schwerin started farming with his father, Harlan Schwerin, in 1978. They raised corn and soybeans and had a…
Steenstra Named Master Pork Partner
Bill Steenstra, field supervisor for Pipestone Management in Independence, Iowa, was named a Master Pork Partner by the Iowa Pork Producers Association at the Iowa Pork Congress Banquet in Des Moines in January 2016. The Master Pork Partner Award recognizes pork production company employees who have demonstrated positive impacts in their production systems and a…
Celebrating 25 Years: One Farmer at a Time
The Pipestone Management is celebrating 25 years since the first contract for the first Pipestone Management barn – Hiawatha Gilts — was signed. There are lots of ways to talk about the growth of the business model, from number of barns and animals to number of employees and shareholders. However, the best measurement is not…
America's Next Pig Farmer
The four finalists for America’s Pig Farmer of the year were announced, and Pipestone was excited to see a familiar face in the line-up! The National Pork Board created the America’s Pig Farmer of the Year award to recognize a farmer who excels in raising pigs using the We Care principles and who can effectively…
Celebrating 25 Years with Family Farmers
25 years ago, Pipestone Management signed the first contract with their first managed sow barn, Hiawatha, located just northwest of Pipestone, Minnesota. We started with 36 shareholders and the Hiawatha sow barn held 600 sows. Today, Pipestone Management has over 450 shareholders, manages 50 sow barns across the Midwestern states, and represents over 200,000 sows…
2015 David Neuberger II Core Values Award Winner
At the heart of the Pipestone Management lies the core values: Integrity, Caring, Commitment, Growth and Teamwork. The core values have been the foundation of the System since its beginning 25 years ago. “This individual has a great impact developing employees. He has always been willing to go the “extra mile” to ensure each and…
Balancing Family Tradition with New Practices
Finding a balance between carrying on family farming traditions and adopting new practices for the future can be a challenge for many farmers and livestock producers. Gary Wedewer is the fourth generation to live on the farm in northeast Iowa that was started in 1882 by his great grandfather. Decisions that Gary has made…
2014 David Neuberger II Core Values Award Winner
Each year, the Pipestone Management recognizes an employee who has made a significant, innovative and sustainable impact on the Pipestone Management companies and its clients with the David Neuberger II Core Values Award. The award honors individuals who exhibit the company’s core values – Integrity, Caring, Commitment, Growth, and Teamwork – in all aspects of…
Dr. Cameron Schmitt Named One of Iowa's Top Pork Producers
The Iowa Pork Producers Association recognized its 2013 class of Master Pork Producers during the Iowa Pork Congress, the 12 hog farmers were selected by their peers for excellence in pork production. The award winners were recognized for their expertise in their segments of the production cycle and understanding of current industry issues, quality assurance,…
Meeting Our Ottumwa Friends
Editor’s Note: The Pipestone Management and Pipestone Veterinary Clinic is growing and it will benefit all of us to understand the people and geography that make up this growth. Below is an interview that Swine Line conducted with Dr. Todd E. Williams, a principle in the Ottumwa Veterinarian Clinic which became a part of Pipestone…
Rebuh Feeders: "Don't Forget Your Roots"
Located at Kalona, IA, Claude Greiner not only owns shares in barns managed by the Ottumwa Veterinary Clinic—he built them. Raised on a farm near Keota, IA, Claude met Dr. Steve Menke when the veterinarian (then practicing in Richland, IA) visited the farm and diagnosed his first case of PGE. Claude was 16 at the…
Fultz Farms: The Value of Cooperation
A year or so before investing in his first jointly-owned farrowing unit, Dennis Fultz played a key role in changing a Minnesota law that would’ve prevented more than five people from joining together to build such a unit. “Minnesota has a strong tradition of small, independent people working together,” says Dennis, noting that the first…
Craig and Karen Wulfekuhle, Earlville, IA
The Craig and Karen Wulfekuhle family. Craig Wulfekuhle has raised pigs for 12 years since returning from a stint in agribusiness. He currently owns and manages a wean-to-finish business. He also is president of a local sow unit that supplies his operation with 1,800 pigs every four to five weeks. He finished and sold 18,000…
Chris and Clare Veldhuizen Family, Edgerton, MN
“One generation makes. The next generation uses. The third generation loses.” Chris Veldhuizen heard this warning countless times from his grandfather Christiaan, who came to America from the Netherlands and moved his family to the farm north of Edgerton, MN, in 1936. Chris Veldhuizen, born to Christiaan’s son Elmer and daughter-in-law Marie in 1949, spent…
She Changed Her Mind About Pigs
Hannah, Caden, and Logan Hannah Walkes helps provide system shareholders with a very economical source of animal health products and the knowledge of how to use these products efficiently and effectively. Hannah loves her job, but she wasn’t always excited about pursuing a career in the swine field. “I grew up on a corn and…
Shareholder Spotlight: System Ownership Means Fewer Worries
Steve Vander Maten always had an interest in agriculture. When a door opened for him to start farming in 1985, he walked through it. Steve had just finished a course of studies in production agriculture at Jackson Vo-Tech when he had the opportunity to rent some land close to his parents’ farm, five miles east of…
Father-Son Team Blossoms With Pipestone Management
Donnie Bloes (pronounced Blaze) sells feed and finishes pigs. He and his dad Jerry own B&B Farm Store, a retail business and feed mill in Jesup, Iowa, just east of Waterloo. Jerry has worked in this business for 50 years, starting right out of high school. He gradually bought into the business until it was…
Doing Exactly What He Always Wanted
The world is full of people who don’t enjoy their work, people who are doing the last thing they would have imagined when they were young. How those unhappy people must envy Eric Vander Plaats! Way back in elementary school he decided he liked working with pigs and he was one sad little kid when…