Jennifer Daniels, 2023 Pork Producer of the Year

Mar 27, 2023

Meeting Jennifer Daniels for the first time, it’s her lucky pig earrings that initially stand out.

“The earrings were gifts to me from a couple of girls who I call my grandchildren,” says Daniels, noting that the girls are actually no kin to her. “They knew how much I love pigs, and I am happy that the earrings are the first thing people see when they meet me.”

But the earrings are not the most enduring thing people remember about the NC Pork Council’s 2023 Outstanding Pork Producer of the Year. It’s her infectious enthusiasm that stands out regarding all aspects of her life, including her outstanding contributions to the pork industry.

Just understand her priorities. Faith. Family. Farm.

Receive an email from Daniels, and it will conclude with a passage of scripture. Her favorite is Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Daniels is fully committed to the Union Grove Baptist Church in Salemburg, where she wears many hats. In fact, she wears most of them, serving as music director, worship leader, women’s group leader and Sunday School teacher.

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Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

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