Clarke Sow Farm Team wins SelectPride Most Improved

“What we are doing today on this farm impacts the future, and it’s our actions and attitudes that will drive our success,” said Alexis Charles Bazaldua, the farm manager at Clarke Sow Farm.

Located near Murray, the farm is now a Prop 12-compliant sow farm, which means they have powered through extensive reconstruction of the gestation and breeding barn, along with welcoming new gilts to restart the herd—also the reason why this farm is deserving of the Select Pride Q3 Most Improved Sow Farm award.

Managing both projects is challenging, not to mention leading the farm’s team and daily operations.

“As the days went by, I realized we were so focused on getting the work done we lost sight of improving ourselves and our animals,” said Alexis. “It was time to rebuild ourselves completely.”
Alexis gathered his team to cast his vision, discuss ideas and hear concerns. “This gave importance to each person and gave them a voice in how we run this farm.” I schedule a meeting with the team to discuss their ideas, issues, or any concerns they may have.”

The meeting helped everyone understand that each detail, like breed target, farrow rate, total born conversion, and sow livability, is critical to the farm's goal. “We’re meeting regularly now, and I believe the team feels safe to speak and give their opinion.”

In addition to the stronger bond and communication, Alexis says the team has built their strength in animal observations—seeing problems early when the animals are treated and nursed back to health. He works alongside his team when performing the daily tasks, which gives him a line of sight on what improvements are making a difference.

“I want my team to work with conviction, to understand their care's impact on the animal’s well-being and overall performance. I hope we leave the farm every day knowing that we have carried out activities with a positive attitude and worked as a team.

All members of the farrowing team have performed day one responsibilities, an initiative led by the farrowing department head, Mateo, who says the experience has improved the quality of the piglets and the well-being of the sows.”

All members of the breeding department are trained on heat checking and PCAI breeding.
Alexis beams with pride when he describes his team’s unique set of talents.

“Mateo and Octavio are excellent with organization, and Pilar and Ana are extremely efficient and get things done on time. Miriam and Juan Carlos are detail-oriented and proactive, while Fredy follows instructions to a “T” and never forgets anything. Ingrid and Victor are the newest members of our team and have shown great interest and enthusiasm.”

The farm’s supervisor, Phillip Barncastle, says the Clarke team is close-knit. “This team has never let PRRS be their excuse for poor performance. They are a hard-working team of go-getters, eager to learn and committed to the farm and each other.”

Congratulations to Alexis and his team of Ana Garcia Salinas, Juan Lara Lopez, Fredy Lemus Ramos, Maria Leon Franco, Mateo Ortiz Bernal, Miriam Osorio Martinez, Octavio Rosales Hernandez, Ingrid Solis Salmeron and Isaac Salazar Vilatoro (more recently joined the team) for earning the SelectPride Most Improved award!

More Articles

Days turn to Weeks, and Weeks into Years - Misty Celebrates 25 Years

At the start of her career with Iowa Select Farms, Misty was responsible for checking gilts and sows to confirm pregnancies at Sow 15, 16, and 17. Today, she leads the farrowing department at a 6,500-head sow farm in southeast Iowa.

Striving to Set Standards Every Day

While animal care is nothing new to Nick, transitioning into a supervisory role has introduced new tasks and challenges.

Henry's Heroes Program Launches Bilingual Book Carts

Henry's Heroes is on a mission to empower Iowa's Children. Now in its sixth year, a new initiative is launched annually to support children in unique ways. Each cart contains 75 books, half in English and half in Spanish that will be delivered to 100 elementary schools in our Homegrown Iowa communities.

All Articles