January 2025 - Journal Final - Flipbook - Page 8
Management
Evolving for the Farmer:
THE LEGACY OF HIAWATHA
In the early 1990s, the pork industry was at a turning
point driven. Consumers were demanding leaner,
healthier cuts of meat. To survive, producers were
forced to rethink the product they were producing.
This fueled advancements in genetics, nutrition, and
production practices to meet the growing need for
leaner, more ef昀椀cient animals.
Recognizing this shift, Drs. Gordon Spronk and G.F.
“Doc” Kennedy identi昀椀ed a critical need in the swine
industry: access to healthier, genetically superior
replacement gilts for family farmers. This vision birthed
Hiawatha Gilts, the start of Pipestone Systems.
At the time, the idea of farmers pooling their resources
for a collective bene昀椀t was revolutionary, but the
model was simple. Together, the farmers owned the
sows and the facility and hired Pipestone to manage
everything from construction to production. The idea
was ambitious, but if successful, it would provide
the farmer-owners with exactly the type of pigs their
operations needed to thrive. And that, Spronk and
Kennedy believed, was a risk worth taking.
“It was a huge undertaking,” recalls Dr. Barry Kerkaert,
Chairman of the Board for Pipestone. “Pipestone had
to prove the concept with Hiawatha by producing
8 | PIPESTONE JOURNAL
a quality product (replacement gilt) for our farmerowners. I believe we did that quite well.”
Hiawatha began as a 600-sow multiplier farm,
providing high-health replacement gilts to its 36
farmer-owners. This was more than a business venture;
it was a trust exercise. Farmers aggregated and put
their full con昀椀dence in Pipestone’s ability to manage
their sows and prioritize their best interests. The
success of Hiawatha laid the foundation for Pipestone
Management, evolving from that 昀椀rst farm to a network
of more than 80 managed farms owned by nearly 300
family farmers across the midwest.
An Evolutionary Journey
Hiawatha’s history is marked by innovation and
adaptation. The farm quickly doubled in size to 1,500
sows to meet growing demand. As the swine industry
evolved, so did Hiawatha:
• Expansion and Repurposing: In 1996 the original
facility transitioned to a wean-to-昀椀nish barn and
was renamed Hiawatha West, and a new facility,
Hiawatha East, was built to expand the farm to a
1,500 sow multiplier. In 2005, farmer-owners made
