Put yourselves in their shoes

Sep 18, 2023

For Cactus Family Farms, today’s farm employee stems from one of two main groups. The first being the local employees near their headquarters in Osceola, Iowa. According to HR Specialist Heather Vaughn, 80% of those local applicants are Hispanic. They often have little formal education or prior experience with pigs and sometimes speak traditional indigenous languages as well as Spanish.

The other side of that coin is a completely different pool of applicants. Through the North American Free Trade Agreement, they also have the option to hire employees with a TN visa. For this specific visa, applicants must either be from Canada or Mexico, however Vaughn says that the agriculture industry primarily relies on Mexican candidates.

Another specification to the TN visa is that they have to have some level of an advanced degree.

Click here to see more...

Video: Turning Data into Better Decisions: BioCV's Intelligent Monitoring System for Modern Pork Producers

In this exclusive interview, Jens Kjaer, CEO of BioCV Inc., discusses the North American launch of the BioCV Intelligent Sow Monitoring System and how advanced sensor technology and machine learning are changing the way producers manage sow herds. Using smart ear tags that continuously monitor temperature, behavior, and movement, the system provides real-time alerts for heat detection, farrowing, fever, lameness, and other critical health events—often before they become visible to barn staff.

Kjaer explains how the technology helps producers improve breeding efficiency, reduce non-productive days, identify health challenges earlier, and better support sows during farrowing. He also shares how BioCV's predictive analytics can help operations optimize labor, improve piglet survival, reduce sow losses, and enhance overall productivity in today's increasingly data-driven swine industry.

Learn how this innovative technology is giving producers actionable insights on every sow, every day, helping teams move from reactive management to proactive decision-making while improving both animal welfare and profitability. www.biocv.info/lisa-sow