January 2025 - Journal Final - Flipbook - Page 16
Customers
Sustainability is about caring for the
environment and leaving something better
for the next generation. It’s about ensuring
that our kids inherit a farm they can be
proud of and continue to grow. And why
wouldn’t you want to do that?
Chris Winter, Wincreek Farms
practices and biosecurity measures, which is critical as
we scale up,” Chris adds. “It’s not just about having an
extra set of hands—it’s about having knowledgeable,
dedicated people who care about the animals and the
farm as much as we do.”
A Vision for the Future
The Winters’ dedication to biosecurity and pig health
is a cornerstone of their operation. “We’ve grown
from 昀椀nishing 15,000 pigs in 2017 to 60,000 today.
Maintaining biosecurity is critical,” Chris explains. “Our
FarmTeam employees are split into groups to focus on
different pig stages, and we take every precaution—
changing boots and coveralls, controlling disease
risks—to ensure healthy, high-quality pigs.”
The journey hasn’t been without its hurdles.
From navigating the market 昀氀uctuations of 2018
to weathering the COVID-19 pandemic and the
challenging market of 2023, resilience has been key.
“We’ve faced so much adversity, but each challenge
has taught us something. We’ve survived, and it’s
given us the con昀椀dence to climb any
mountain as a family and as farmers.”
Looking ahead, Chris envisions
continued growth for Wincreek Farms
with sustainability in mind. “Our dream
is to become a self-sustained farm,
raising enough crops to support our
pigs. Sustainability is about caring for
the environment and leaving something
better for the next generation. It’s about
ensuring that our kids inherit a farm
they can be proud of and continue to
grow. And why wouldn’t you want to do
that?”
Wincreek Farms 昀椀nishes around 60,000 pigs annually in Northwest Iowa.
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