Jan. 25, 2018
Contact:
Drew Mogler, Producer Education Director
(800) 372-7675,
For Immediate Release!
Pipestone System production supervisor named IPPA2017Master Pork Partner
(CLIVE, Iowa) —An official with the Minnesota-based Pipestone System has been named a 2017 Master Pork Partner by the Iowa Pork Producers Association and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
Chad Berentschot of Inwood in Lyon County was presented the emblematic brass belt buckle and received recognition from his peers at the Iowa Pork Congress Banquet in Des Moines last night. The presentation included a multi-media summary of his work.
Berentschot has more than 25 years of pork production experience and utilizesthat knowledge and experience in his position as production supervisor for Pipestone. He manages seven additional production supervisors who work with individual owners and growers within the Pipestone System. He is responsible for more than two million wean-to-finish pigs per year.
The 2017 Master Pork Partner and his team assist producers with implementing health protocols, marketing animals, feed budgets and production/financial records. Berentschot takes great pride in teaching and coaching producers to make their operation run more efficiently and improve production. He notes that the most rewarding part of his job is sharing the success of continuous improvement with the producers he interacts with.
“Chad has had extensive experience in operation and supervision of all aspects of the pork production chain,” said Pipestone’s Dr. Cameron Schmitt, DVM. “Chad is an absolute team player and will influence people and develop them personally and professionally. You will find no finer person in his care for the pigs and people.”
Berentschot grew up on his family’s Lyon County farm and enrolled at Iowa State University in 1991 where he became more involved in the swine industry. He worked for several years at ISU’s swine nutrition research farm. He credits the experience as the cornerstone of his education and background in the swine business. After graduation, he worked for Iowa Select Farms and Nebraska Pork Partner before joining the Pipestone System’s grow-finish business.
Chad, his wife, Erin, and their four daughtersare active in their local church and work to help others. He currently serves as churchtreasurer and has participated in projects in Texas and Louisiana assisting with disaster relief. The family frequently helps provide and serve food at local shelters.
The Master Pork Partner Award recognizes pork production company employees who have demonstrated positive impacts in their production systems and a commitment to the We Care ethical principles, but don’t have active daily roles at a specific production site. This is the fourth year of the award.
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