“I’m a professional swine farm manager and I’m from Mexico,” Raul will proudly tell you.
Raul is from Guadalajara, Mexico. He’s here on a work visa, living our his passion and talent for pig farming at Iowa Select Farms. Raul wasn’t raised on a farm, but he attended the University of Guadalajara’s College of Agriculture and Biological Science. He remembers the day his college professor brought piglets to class. “I was fascinated by how curious and energetic they were,” he said.
It wasn’t long before Raul started helping his friends on their sow farm and going on swine farm field trips—even if it wasn’t his class. That immediate love for pigs propelled him to take more classes in farm business, eventually leading to a degree in animal science.
After college, Raul applied to Iowa Select Farms and got a work visa. He took a leap of faith, moving to Iowa to start a new chapter, one that has led him to being gilt developer farm manager near Osceola after some time in northern Iowa as a breeding specialist.
Raul feels right at home in Iowa—and not just because of the pigs. Even though he’s from Guadalajara, Raul is definitely Iowa nice. He’ll help anyone who needs a hand, gives back by volunteering for the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation, and serves as a firefighter in Osceola.