Ninety trucks on the road every day, moving upwards of 250,000 animals a week means this team of 105 people can really move some pigs. Wean truck drivers and semi-truck drivers, along with dispatch, wash crews, biosecurity monitors and mechanics make up the Iowa Select Farms Transportation Team, and finding most of them in one spot is pretty rare. But food brings everyone together, and team members were willing to swing by for the recent Transportation Appreciation “Grab and Go” lunch held at the Inner Sanctum truck wash in Iowa Falls.

Transportation rarely takes a break with dispatch operating 24/7 and trucks always on the move, all working to transport pigs from sow farms to nurseries, nurseries to finishers and finishers to JBS. Drivers also haul to cull markets and between finishers during an “undouble stock” event, all in an effort to safety and comfortably get pigs into the right farms that best match their growth phase along with their requirements for care, environment and nutrition.

Market haul drivers cover their loads throughout the evening, night and early morning, and it’s not uncommon for wean truck drivers to be on the road before 4:00 a.m. “It not only takes skill but dedication and dependability, because production is relying on us to be there get the pigs moved,” said Ron Rush, Director of Transportation. “There is also a tremendous support structure behind the scenes that keeps those trucks moving, clean and scheduled. Every single person plays a huge role. If sanitation goes down or the maintenance is backed up it’s a problem, and this entire team does a great job of minimizing the hold up’s and getting the job done.”

“Some days I wonder why I get up so early, but then I remember how much I love my job.” said Danny Craighton, a wean truck driver who joined our team in March. “I get to work with awesome people. Dispatch helps us out a lot, and we all work through issues pretty well.”

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by to enjoy a delicious pork loin meal, and thanks to EBY Trailers for their generous sponsorship of the event. Southern Iowa transportation team—we’re coming your way next!#billionpounds

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