“I have always loved my job from day one,” said Mary Kraft, farm manager at Erickson Sow Farm. “I was a CNA for years before I came here, and a lot of people couldn’t understand why I would chose to care for pigs over people, so for years I felt bad. If I had the chance, I’d go back and tell myself that it doesn’t matter who or what you are helping or give your time, compassion and love to as long as it makes you feel good at the end of the day.”
Mary has been with Iowa Select Farms for 18 years, around for the days when some of the farms had their own boar studs. She says her best memory as a manager was the fall of 2008, when Dan Dean became her farm’s supervisor. “Our farm had struggled for years, but he helped us turn things around in both breeding and farrowing,” said Mary. “The first quarter of 2009 we made the top ten ranking of SelectPride, landing in the number five spot. I knew then that our farm could do great things!”
When recalling when she thought Iowa Select Farms really shined, Mary says is when they started Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation. “It makes me feel good that we help people in our communities, and the programs keep growing.”
