TO RESPECT THE RISK THAT WE FACE EVERY DAY IS A GOOD LESSON.
Investment in communities and then industry impact, how do you envision Schwartz reshaping not just the pork industry, but how do we look at agriculture as a whole? I think our size, to reshape the industry is kind of a stretch. But I think that we just need to continue to respond to changes, to try and do things right and try to be good at what we do. It’s a changing industry and we have to continue to change with it, and keep our eyes open. You know, the industry with all the regenerative fuels and things are going to impact us — we aren’t sure how that’s going to happen yet, but it’s going to impact all of us. And we’re learning on all of these different topics. So I think we just have to continue to respond. Let’s move to challenges and strategic moves. Every company faces moments when it might leap into the unknown. You talked about it in the 90s, you started crops, dairy, you went full force in the swine industry or to ramp that up. Is there a specific time when you made a bold move that paid off? There’s a couple of things that come to mind from a production standpoint. You know, in the 90s most production was mostly nurseries on sow farms and raising a nursery 40-pound, 50-pound pig and shipping it to a finishing barn. And the concept of offsite weaning was discussed as an opportunity. And so we created contracts with people to sell us wean pigs versus feeder pigs. And there really were no contracts to copy out there, we had to develop our own. And we did that, and it worked and it carried us over, got us by, and I think maybe a bigger leap was the wean-to-finish versus the nursery type of production. So in the 90s, almost all production was done in three sites where they’re going through a nursery and a finisher. And we decided to, with the advice of a couple of consultants and the trial gentleman down in Iowa, were the first ones I knew that were doing this — and we went down and visited them, and we decided to skip the nursery phase and wean right into finishing barns.
It’s not we, it’s I; but if there’s success, it’s we, and that’s very important. Because nothing’s really about me, it’s about everybody else. And so it’s really not about you, but it’s only about you. So it’s kind of a lonely place sometimes. But that’s, I think, the way you have to lead people, lead a company. So it’s been a long journey from where you started and where you are today. How does it feel, John? It feels good. You know, we’ve been through a lot. In hindsight, I’d do a few things different. I wouldn’t, you know, I moved a little slow sometimes. You’ve got to be quick on your feet and respond, worry less, just manage what’s in your control. But yeah, it feels good. It has to be about more than the profit. We have a profit motive, and I certainly don’t apologize for that. You have to have a profit motive. Even nonprofits have a profit motive, they just have to give it away. But it has to be something bigger than that. It has to be. And I think we find the satisfaction is just seeing the impact on the communities in w hich you invest. And I think society sometimes underestimates the value of investment in the communities. All the com panies that I know of, not just pork companies, but industries in general, practice philanthropy, we support churches and schools and fire departments and food shelves. And we should, there are immediate needs out there. But I think what’s underestimated is the value of investing in these communities, and the opportunities that are created. You know, for a company our size, we have about 500 full-time employees and probably at least 150 independent contractor partners that directly count on us. And if you look at the economic impact of 650 people it would take a lot of philanthropy to create that. And I think we have to realize that that investment in the communities is really valuable. And that’s where I think the satisfaction ultimately is seeing that.
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