93
Let’s hear the story of Nebraska, its communities, its number one industry Agriculture, and the people who make it happen. Sponsored by Nebraska's Law Firm® - Rembolt Ludtke.
93
Sarah Pillen-Pillen Family Farms
Host Mark Fahleson is joined by Sarah Pillen, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Pillen Family Farms and DNA Genetics headquartered in Columbus Nebraska.
Nebraska. It's not just a place, but a way of life. It's 93 counties that are home to innovative individuals, caring community, and a spirit that runs deeper than its purple story. It's a story that should be told. Welcome to 93, the podcast.
SPEAKER_02:What is one word that describes and explains this great place in which we live and work called Nebraska? Do you have one word that kind of sums out what we're all about?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that for me, I think that word is opportunity.
SPEAKER_02:Welcome to 93, the podcast, where we talk about Nebraska, its number one industry agriculture, and the people who make it happen. I'm Mark Folson, your host for today's episode, brought to you by the Rembaltl Law Firm. Today's a special episode because we've got an extra special guest, Sarah Pillen, co-chief executive officer of Pillen Family Farms in DNA Genetics, headquartered in Columbus, Nebraska. That's Platt County. And for those of you who follow or don't know Nebraska's license plates, that's Tin County. Am I right, Sarah? That's right. Okay. Well, Sarah, welcome to today's episode. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, thanks for having me, Mark. I appreciate that. Um, yeah, a little bit about myself. Um I was raised in Columbus, Nebraska. Um, went to college at Wesleyan and Lincoln, um, thought that I was gonna be a doctor for a few years, and then um after a couple years of hard organic Kim, I decided to spend the summer in DC with then freshman Congressman Osborne, and really fell in love with um policy work. And so decided to switch um the trajectory of what I my career was gonna look like and um wanted to pursue law school. So graduated from Wesleyan and then went to Creighton for my um law degree and then um practiced for about six years, um, doing some employment law and transactional law, uh that I think we'll get into a little bit later, um, and have been back with our business and my current role for uh just shy of 15 years. And then on the personal side, married to my husband Jared Truba. Um, he's a lawyer here in town, and then we have three kids with uh my oldest being a seventh grader and my youngest being a uh second grader.
SPEAKER_02:You know, I've known you for a long time. I don't think I recalled knowing that you wanted to be a doctor at one point in your life. That uh do you do are there days you wish you would have just gone the medical route?
SPEAKER_00:You know, I I actually think uh healthcare administration is fascinating to me. I I love a lot of things about the healthcare industry. Um it's it certainly is an interest of mine, but uh I'm I'm pretty grateful with where I'm at today.
SPEAKER_02:So let's assume I'm a farmer, maybe sitting in my combine or my tractor or perhaps my grain truck. What do you want him or her to know about Pell and Family Farms?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and funny question. I kind of laughed because I thought if I was talking to a farmer, I think I'd probably be trying to sell the value of nutrients to apply in their fields. I'm not sure how much they want to know about our business, but I think for purposes of your audience, um, maybe a little bit would just be, you know, Pill and Family Farms. We are um known, you know, the hog industry, we would be um 70, 71,000 sows were a ferro-to-finish business. So in the hog industry, um, lots of obviously lots of different business models. We would own the vast majority of our assets. So we don't do too much contract work with other farmers to take care of our animals. We employ our team, we own our assets, um, and so we're really involved all the way from breeding until we deliver. And maybe I'll go into a little bit more detail. I think one of the more unique things about us is we also have what's called DNA genetics. And so not only are we involved in the breeding part, but we're really involved in the genetic improvement. And so DNA genetics is a company we bought back in 2003 with uh virtually no market share, and have we're really proud about how our team has been able to grow that business. And so in the genetic world, specifically livestock, you you know, you make genetic improvement by measuring a whole bunch of data points on animals, feed conversion, average daily gain, um, other highly heritable traits, and then you're able to split back on those animals and for the next generation, and that's how you have that's how you currently make genetic improvement. And so we would sell essentially three products. We sell boars, live boars, we sell semen, and we sell gilt all throughout the United States with a little bit of international presence in Brazil, Argentina, um, as well as Spain. Um, and so um those are probably the biggest things about our business, and I think as we've grown, you know, we you would say we've had cost centers, and how can we bring those in-house to have obviously better economics and um better quality control? And so things like milling and transportation, um, those are all businesses that we've brought internally for all the reasons I just stated. So um proud we've got right around 1,200 team members between the US and Canada, and um really grateful for the team that we all all get to be a part of.
SPEAKER_02:So I'm more familiar with cattle than I am pigs. Is your is your approach in sort of tracking this data, improving on this data, is that fairly innovative in the swine industry, or is that something others are doing as well?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, uh great question. No, I would I would say others are doing it. I think that um obviously everyone has different approaches on what traits matter and what goes into their different breeds. Um it's a very consolidated industry, so we would be the only privately held American-based genetics company. Um really, there's arguably three to four players left within the industry in today's world for swine genetics worldwide.
SPEAKER_02:So I've seen, again, you you come from a very humble family, but I've seen a variety of ag publications that kind of rank uh hog operations in the U.S. based upon the size or number of sows that they may have. Am I correct in saying that Pillen Family Farms is usually in the top 10, top 15 of those in the United States?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I think we we're probably in the top 15, but um yeah, proud of that. But you know, from 15 to number one, there there is a huge, huge disparity in the number of sows um that there is. But yeah, we we are.
SPEAKER_02:So you're co-CEO with your brother. How did how did how does that work?
SPEAKER_00:Um fantastic. I uh, you know, obviously a little bit unconventional. I don't know how much of your audience is involved in family businesses, but um I I feel really blessed. Um Brock and I are very, very different people. Um probably what I'm good at, he's not so good at, and what he's really good at, I'm not so good at. And so having the opportunity to work together um really is I I I couldn't pick a business better business partner. And you know, having the blessing of working with someone when you trust them without any doubts and you're both focused on the same goals, um, you know, it really makes every day pretty darn fun. So um I know it won't work for everyone, but for both of us, it works really, really well, and super grateful to have the opportunity to work with Glack.
SPEAKER_02:So taking a look at your website, you have what I'll call a tagline or a brand uh grounded in agriculture, focused on family, centered on values. Uh I'll skip over grounded in agriculture because I think that speaks for itself. But family is very important to you. Obviously, pill and family farms, uh, family is important. Does family explain to our listeners what that means to you, not only for your immediate sort of blood family, but the the employees as well?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. I our business is way bigger than our family. Um, you know, we've had tons of blessings in our life, but uh our our blessings are all because of the team that we get the opportunity to work with. And so um, you know, we're we're at a stage where I, you know, we I don't know all the names of all 1200 team members, um, but I know the names and spouses and families of all of our leadership, and certainly everyone that works in our office as well. Um, and so I think you know it all starts from what our expectations are. And so while I might not know everyone in our business, I'm really confident that our leadership um has the same um commitment to their teams and knowing spouses and families and having a family feel um we you know we want we have got jobs to do if our business is 24-7, 365 days a year, um, which is great opportunities for all of us, but also those are those are tough things. And so how do you make sure that um we all stay focused on what we need to get done every day, but um also want to make sure that we don't miss out on the really important things that go on with um raising a family and building a family?
SPEAKER_02:So centered on values, I know one of your values is community. Uh again, I mentioned your humility, your family's humility. I am personally aware of situations where your family has donated given uh things in the community and in the state without their name attached. Can you just sort of explain where that comes from, this value of being part of the community and what drives that for you and others at Pill and Family Farms and DNA genetics?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I uh I think it's just a part of our family and who we are. It uh probably started with my grandpa and it's carried on to my dad. And um, you know, I think it's just part of our DNA. And maybe a a favorite family saying would that be would be that it's way better to be um givers than it is to be takers and um try to live by that mantra. Um, you know, our teams are based in rural Nebraska, as you know, um less and less uh people in rural Nebraska and certainly less businesses. And so really feel like if we're asking our teams to live in rural Nebraska um to support our businesses, we certainly need to raise our hands whenever we can to help light over causes. Um, you know, our our our focus a lot of times is on organizations that support kids. Um we love volunteer fire departments, they do a lot for us and our our backstop if challenging times hit. And then um always looking to help with different um community investments that improve quality of life in rural Nebraska. So those are those are some of what I say we try to re be extra helpful with.
SPEAKER_02:So finding and retaining employees is a huge problem in agriculture, every industry, but agriculture in particular. How do you retain folks? What things do you do to keep them part of your team and part of your family?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, well, I I think in today's world, um, you know, wages obviously have to be competitive as well as benefits, but I think that's just table stakes anymore. Um it's about the culture and how you treat people, what we do for different activities so that people, I mean, we spend a lot of time together, right? And so we have to enjoy each other. And what are some activities that we do together? Um, what is our culture of how we take care of each other? People know if uh if they're really cared about, and I think we've got a culture that we continue to invest in. Um I always say we've spent decades building a culture that we're really proud of, and if we don't continue to pour into that culture, it can it can leave within weeks. And so um it's something that we're really proud of, and I think it is felt and understood and appreciated by our teams and one of the key um key parts of the success of our team.
SPEAKER_02:So do you do anything that you would regard as innovative, at least innovative in production ag from an employee engagement standpoint, things to increase engagement, the things to sort of perhaps with a new employee to make sure that they understand that they're part of the team and part of the family to try and keep them around?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you know, I would say that we have quite a few different leadership development programs. Um, we're really big on what we call behavioral styles. I know there's lots of businesses out there that promote them, but for us, um, we're really big in the model that would call do-er-talker, supporter, controller. And so we spend a lot of time educating people on what is your style so that you have better self-awareness, but also what are your coworkers' styles so that they have better awareness. So um, you know, depending on what my style is, I have different attributes and it doesn't make me bad or wrong, just makes us allow each other to know how to work with each other better. We spend a lot of time on that. Um we spend a lot of time celebrating each other's successes. Um, one of the hardest parts of our businesses is that we're spread out over um, you know, 130 different locations. And so, you know, to the extent that we were all together in one building, you can kind of um maintain programs. So I would say that we really promote um our culture and then really incentivize our leadership at our respective different farms to make sure they're extension of our culture, which obviously can be very challenging because of the just the distance between all of our different geographic locations.
SPEAKER_02:So if you're a corn farmer right now, you're thinking corn prices aren't very good. But if you're a livestock producer, you probably have a different perspective. Uh given your size, I assume you hedge your risk on feed. Do you do that one? You don't have to share any secrets, but do you do that in-house or do you do you farm that out to a third party?
SPEAKER_00:Um yeah, no, hedging is a critical part of our success. Um, we actually always hedge hogs, corn, and soybean all together since those are our three largest inputs. Um we do, Brock actually would lead that up, um, does an excellent job. Um, and then we work with a partner out of Chicago as well. Um, and just to us, um hedging is not speculative trading. It has we have a very disciplined approach. We're not trying to outguess the market, we're just trying to take the margin when the margin exists, and um, maybe we don't get to hit the highs and we don't take the lows, but um we think that is probably the definition of long-term sustainable success in a definitely a commodity business.
SPEAKER_02:So one of the biggest threats to agriculture is the growing distance between producers and consumers from farm to plate. A generation ago, folks had you know been to their parents' farms, their grandparents' farms, they understood where their food came from, and unfortunately that's not so today. Uh, how do we reconnect families and consumers and help them to understand what it takes to get milk and vegetables and proteins like pork to their plate?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. If I if I think if I had to answer that question, we'd probably not have so many associations. You should start a podcast.
SPEAKER_02:We'll do a podcast on that. There's a few out there.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. You know, I I think it's a sign of the times, right? Um, you know, I probably would advocate that we could do more education in our schools to have more awareness. Um obviously the FFAs and the 4-age programs are really great outside education sources for kids that maybe are not on a farm but can exposure to more livestock practices and farming practices. Um it's a it's a difficult thing. I sometimes I think that the more we talk about it, the more that I have I have great appreciation for different niches. But you know, raising backyard gardens and backyard chickens is a novel to way to feed some families. But what we really need to understand is that we have to be able to have livestock and crop growing at scale in order to have our responsibility to feed the world in a safe and nutritious way and certainly in an affordable way. And so um, you know, that's not always the story that everyone wants to hear. Um, but I think it's a story that our family is super proud of because we know the practices and the commitments we have in feeding the world.
SPEAKER_02:So paint a picture, if you would, for our listeners. What is Pillen Family Farms, what does DNA genetics look like, say in 2030?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, great question. Um, we're really bullish on the livestock industry. Um things are changing rapidly, um, as you would all imagine. Um, you know, I would say that in my dad's generation, which would have been a founder in the 90s, is when the hog industry growth expanded very quickly. Um, and so I would say that during his generation, the growth was more farms. I think in our generation, the growth is going to be in further vertical integration. Um, and so over the last uh let's see, here it's been about six years, we've done some further investment in what is now called Wholestone Farms. We purchased the old Hormel plant in Fremont, have done some really significant capital upgrades to it to make that a further vertical integration play with our business. And then most recently also purchased a second plant and partnered with the Presage family out of Eagle Grove, Iowa. Um, and so fresh pork, um, that's one step into vertical integration, but we know to get further down the food chain, really further processing is where it's all out. And so I think for us, growth will be continued investment and further processing and more vertical integration, um, as well as continued um investments back into our farms that are where the lifeblood of our business is as well. And then lots of technology changes. Um, you know, gene editing is not something that's currently allowed in the livestock industry. That's on the plate right now. You see some really significant RD projects going on that we're all actively involved in, and I think those are things that we're really excited to be a part of. Um, interested in how that will continue to change the industry over the next um, I would say, 10 to 15 years.
SPEAKER_02:You know, you mentioned technology. A colleague, former colleague of mine used to run a processing facility for another protein, and he he actually described their plan as we're really nothing more than a technology company that happens to process meat because of all the technology and the adaptations that they put into place to systematize the uh harvesting of those animals. And it's amazing if you go into a slaughter facility today, it's so much different than perhaps what it looked like even 10, 20, 30 years ago.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, absolutely. Automation is key, and I think we're uh we're only continuing to have more and more development of the more automation, um, which is helpful for everybody and certainly it provides better yields and better um quality of life for those team members as well.
SPEAKER_02:So, what are the biggest challenges facing agriculture and specifically pill and family farms and DNA? What what what are the things that keep you awake at night?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, um, I wish the list was really small, but unfortunately the list is pretty significant, I would say. You know, over the last uh 24 months, it's been a really hard go for um pork producers. You would think that with beef prices being at all-time highs, that pork would be the benefactor of that. Um, but that's really just not been the case. Um over the last 20 years, we've had really just stagnant levels of domestic demand of pork here in the U.S. Um where we're really grateful for an export market. So about 25% of all pork is exported currently. Um, if we didn't have an export market, we clearly have too much pork for the United States to demand to consume. And so um that's a big concern for our industry. Um, labor is a is a really significant challenge. We have essentially two types of visas that apply to livestock production, and we utilize those as visas, but um approval rates and um are very difficult, and certainly um would love to hire Nebraskans or other um American workers, but just not a long line of those people that are looking for jobs and production agriculture. Um and so those are concerns like any other business, spend a lot of time on cybersecurity. Um, we've got a huge infrastructure, as you know, and so um spending a lot of time in those network things. Um probably the biggest thing would be that in our in our world, pork is raising pigs is pretty fun, but health is a really, really big deal. And so sometimes if you might run, drive down the highway, you say, well, why are all those animals inside of barns? And it's because the number one disease that we face every day is a is a virus called PERS, and it travels via the air, um, whether it attaches to humans and get via our introduction or um goes through um the open windows or filters on a on a barn, and so that's why we put everyone inside and really. Try to make those barns as airtight as possible to mitigate the dirty air that could potentially come into the farm and um and have devastating impacts to uh to businesses. And so um health is the number one challenge we're uh we're fighting every single day and have endless amounts of um protocols in place to mitigate it. So, in some ways, when we all face different COVID restrictions um back in the day and weren't sure how to make sure that we brought that virus into our families, that's really what we do every single day in our farms and why our teams shower in and wear different clothes is to mitigate any risks and bring those viruses into our farms.
SPEAKER_02:So uh biosecurity, huge issue for you. I know that also limits your ability to perhaps raise hogs on the side or do livestock projects with your kids, but please tell our listeners you haven't denied your children the opportunity to own livestock. Do I I think I've heard that your kids may have been able to uh raise some livestock that were not pigs and perhaps show them at the county fair. Is that true?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, we have. We've uh I think livestock teaches kids a lot of lessons, and more importantly, there's things outside of just them themselves at this age. And so we've we've had some fun raising some goats, which I have zero experience in, but they still get the concept of taking care of an animal and having some responsibilities insurers, and so that's that's been a good experience for them to get some exposure to the agricultural industry.
SPEAKER_02:That's awesome. So uh until today, many folks probably didn't know that you are a recovering attorney. In fact, uh you and I practiced together for a number of years. Please tell me, is there anything that you miss about the private practice of law?
SPEAKER_00:You know, I I I gotta be honest, I don't I don't miss too much about the practice of law. But you know, I what I do love is the people. And I'm you know this, but I'm really grateful for a lot of the people that I had the opportunity to work with, um, yourself being one. Um, but a lot of people have made a huge impact on my life and certainly miss um miss those people.
SPEAKER_02:We miss you as well. So one thing we do with all of our guests, we ask them in one word, what is one word that describes and explains this great place in which we live and work called Nebraska? Do you have one word that kind of sums out what we're all about?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that for me, I think that word is opportunity.
SPEAKER_02:Sarah, thanks for joining us today. I know you're a busy CEO, wife and mom, and we're so very grateful that you would give us some time today. Thanks for joining. Please keep listening to Nighty Three the Podcast as we release additional episodes on Nebraska, Nebraska's number one industry, agriculture, and the folks who make it happen. Thanks.
SPEAKER_01:This has been 93 the podcast, sponsored by Nebraska's law firm, Rembolt Ludkey.
