Iowa State Fair Family Days for Employees and Contracted Site Managers | |
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The Iowa State Fair is a tradition unlike any other. At Iowa Select Farms, we're proud to provide our employees, contracted site managers and their families the opportunity to enjoy a day at the Iowa State Fair. This year's Iowa State Fair Family Days are Friday, August 9th and Friday, August 16th.
Sign up will be done exclusively using Tools. On your Tools homepage, the sign-up prompt appears on the left hand side under the "Company Events" drop down.
Please check with your manager or supervisor that the date you've picked to attend the fair is okay. It's important that our farms are able to continue operating while offering this as an opportunity to you.
Employees: Iowa Select Farms provides day passes and coupon packets for employees and your immediate family members or one guest if you are single. We also have $50 in cash per employee to offset fair expenses.
Contractors: Iowa Select Farms offers contracted site managers (person whose name appears on the contract) up to four tickets and food coupon packs. You are free to enjoy any day of the 2024 fair.
This year, we will not be offering t-shirts or the ice cream social. We hope to have those back in the mix in future years.
Additional tickets for both employees and contracted site managers can be purchased in advance at a discounted rate of $11 for ages 12 and over and $7 for ages 6-11. Children 5 and under are free.
Payment for extra tickets must be received before you will get access to the tickets. Please drop it off at the Iowa Falls office or send the payment here:
Iowa Select Farms
Attn: Iowa State Fair
811 South Oak Street
Iowa Falls, IA 50126
For more information, please read our Q&A forms below. Any questions or issues with registration can be submitted to events@iowaselect.com.
Employee Q&A English
Employee Q&A Spanish
Contractor Q&A English
Contractor Q&A Spanish
Registration is due by Friday, July 26th. See you at the fair!
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In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) | |
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Key Win: Sows Farrowed Making Progress
Looking at our 20-week condensed sow data, we can see we are recovering from our PRRS and PEDv health challenges. In week 26, the data showed that the number of sows farrowed exceeded 10,000, representing 95% of the system's farrow target. We're working towards maintaining a consistent and steady farrow rate, a positive step in the right direction. Bravo! #ONEMOREPIG
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Ragbrai Bike Race is July 20-27: What You Need to Know
Ragbrai is a state-wide, weeklong bike race that takes place every July in Iowa. Thousands of bikers and spectators gather for all or parts of the race. This event could bring unwanted visitors within proximity of several of our farms. Please be extra vigilant during this week for activity at your farm.
Consider how your farm looks to a citizen from the road and potentially from the air, as drones are becoming popular during this event.
Please print it off, read the PDF below, and share this information with your teams.
English PDF
Spanish PDF
Please stay tuned and monitor your surroundings. If you have any issues or concerns, please contact Chris Morgan, Director of Security, at cmorgan@iowaselect.com or 641-531-7768.
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New Faces: Welcome, Pam!
Pam Cutler recently joined Iowa Select Farms as a Multiplication Supervisor for our South Dakota locations. Before joining us, she managed her family's hog barns and helped on their ranch. Pam lives in northeast South Dakota with her husband and two sons. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her horses and working in the yard. Welcome, Pam!
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SwineSight 2024 Station Recap--Nutrition
Nutrition is about providing our pigs with proper feed and water, as it directly affects pigs' health, growth, reproductive performance, and overall mental state.
When conducting daily observations, it's essential that we:
- Check each feeder and waterer to make sure they are set correctly.
- Watch the feed bin inventory and order feed regularly.
- Clean out feeders to prevent the feed from becoming old or moldy.
- Testing that feed and water are flowing correctly.
- Confirming the feed ration is correct to meet our pigs' needs.
Regarding feed and water, remember the 3 F's--Fresh, Flowing and Fulfilling.
During this session, we assessed feed jars and conducted taste tests on good and (really) bad jelly beans to identify the freshest ones. We also sampled water, observing its flow and evaluating whether it would fulfill the nutritional needs of the pigs.
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BEST PRACTICE: Propane Tank Maintenance
Starting July 8th, 2024, all propane tank repairs and maintenance issues must be submitted via Tools. Repairs will be transitioning from the Warehouse team to the Maintenance team.
This will impact repairs only and will not affect the schedule or delivery of the propane.
English PDF
Spanish PDF
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BEST PRACTICE: Troubleshooting a Dosatron Injector
This how-to guide does a great job of walking us through troubleshooting a Dosatron Injector.
Maintenance kits for your medicator can be ordered through your farm's supply order.
If you have any questions, please email Dan Childs at dchilds@iowaselect.com. This Best Practice can also be found on Tools.
English PDF
Spanish PDF
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440 Families Touched This Fourth of July
The Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation celebrated the 4th of July holiday with a surprise care package complete with summer fun sent to Children's Cancer Connection families! The box included a sprinkler, water balloons, chalk, bubbles, sunglasses, beach balls, and more, making for a great summer day spent outside with family.
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Appreciation!
Sow 32 thanks Don Hunt for assisting in loading sows--his help has eased some of the team's workload.
Sow 12 appreciates Eric Risley's commitment to the team and farm, especially with all the changes. He goes above and beyond!
Do you want to give thanks to someone in the Weekly Update? Please send it to Abby Fausch at afausch@iowaselect.com.
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Recognizing the Hard Work and Dedication of Our Employees
During the recent production management meeting, senior leaders and attendees expressed their deep appreciation for each department's efforts. The atmosphere was filled with enthusiasm as everyone took turns highlighting the dedication and hard work of their colleagues. We want to ensure everyone knows how valued they are. Let's hear what was said about the Ventilation and Filtration and Admin team.
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Ventilation and Filtration | |
- Getting all the filter and grid swaps completed
- Putting plastic on the top ½ of the plastic grids
- Evaluating the exhaust and making changes
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- For all their efforts around back drafting and other areas of concern
- Helping navigate controller issues – great resource for questions on the fusion controller
- All the efforts they take to keep our sows healthy
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- Thank you for helping us solve for the root cause on a larger scale for the auto-transfers within our system. Having you present at S41 for the testing and troubleshooting was very helpful and appreciated
- Thank you for your efforts with the pre-filter changes, grid swaps and working through the windbreak issues
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ALL the details – email invitations, RSVPs, food (can’t forget the snacks) room locations & reservations internally and externally, name badges, pens, notebooks, what else do we need? These ladies help ensure all of our meetings and events go off without a hitch
- Production management meetings
- WTM caretaker meetings
- Gala
- SwineSite sessions
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Wean to Market Tools Assessment
A friendly reminder for all wean-to-market sites to complete the tools assessment if you haven't already done so. This survey will allow the maintenance team to supply each farm with the correct tools to perform quick repairs on-site and eliminate potential biosecurity issues by transferring tools from farm to farm. To complete the survey, please click here.
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Suggest a Stop for Operation Christmas Meal 2024!
Planning has started for one of our favorite Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation programs! Operation Christmas Meal will be here before we know it, and we need your help. We’re taking suggestions for what towns the pork loin giveaways should visit this year. What towns have we missed in past years? Are there towns in your area that would benefit from this program? Let us know at this link.
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Joke of the Week
Where can pigs see stars?
The corner of Hoggywood and Swine!
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This Week's Years of Service
Check out all of the employees below celebrating their work anniversaries this week and last week. If you see these folks out and about, be sure to congratulate them!
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30 Years
Craig Hickethier, Research Assistant Nursery 012 Hornung
20 Years
David Larson, CDL Driver
15 Years
Jeff DeWeese, PWB Specialist
12 Years
Esmeralda Vazquez, Farrowing Department Head Sow 113
8 Years
Landon Drake, Chief Financial Officer
Max Klepper, Sow Farm Supervisor
Cindy Spellins, Sow Farm Manager Sow 008
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3 Years
Alexis Vazquez Olvera, Animal Breeder Sow 032 Last Chance
Ricardo Garcia Hernandez, Assistant Breeding Department Head Sow 115
Orlando Cruz, Animal Caretaker Sow 115
2 Years
Jose De La Cruz, Animal Caretaker Sow 004 Kramer Sow
Rosa Barredo Hernandez, Animal Breeder GDU 760 Wood
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Internal Job Openings
Looking for a new role within Iowa Select Farms? Check out what you may have missed last week. To see a list of our current and new job openings and information on applying, click here or contact Human Resources at 641-648-4479.
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On-Call Maintenance Schedule
Stay up-to-date with the on-call maintenance schedule and never lose track of its location. This schedule can be found here, and it will continually be updated in real-time.
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