Suidae Management Services Poised for Growth

What are Management Services at Suidae?

• Suidae offers all aspects of production management services ranging from conception to marketing. Full service on sow farm management includes human resources, production records, on-farm visits by Experienced sow production specialists, accounting services, and product and supply procurement. Grow-finish management services include grading pigs at placement, regular farm visits by an experienced production supervisor, accounting services, production records, and marketing services.

• Currently managing farms across the Midwest, Suidae works with a variety of production systems allowing or a vast array of experience in both sow and grow-finish management. Some examples of this variety include management of positive and negative pressure ventilated farms, filtered and non-filtered farms, multiplication and commercial flows, Prop 12 production, electronic sow feeding, crated and pen gestation, as well as barn remodels and new construction.

Recent Growth/Success

Surviving 2023 for many producers resulted in a new resolve to look hard at their operations and take additional steps to improve efficiency and lower costs. In many cases Suidae was one of the beneficiaries of these changes as evidenced by our managed farm growth in 2024. In addition to the new growth, Suidae has been blessed with numerous clients with whom we have developed trusted, long-standing relationships. Being able to interact with good people on a daily basis is part of what makes managing farms fulfilling, even when challenges come about.

One of the draws to working with Suidae is our ability to manage farms in a customized fashion to meet the specific needs of our clients. We recognize that not all farms and operations are the same and approaching them as such is not what is best for each individual entity. Some of our owners wish to be involved at a high level while others choose not to. Some have prior relationships with vendors or consultants that are important to them to maintain. In each of these situations we work to accommodate the desires of the owner group in a way that makes them most comfortable. With this arrangement our management team gets to know the owners of all the farms and develops a direct relationship with them which we feel is important to our success.

We are always looking out ahead in anticipation of bringing on new farms and ensuring we have the resources in place in order to do so. To support our current and anticipated growth, Suidae has invested in hiring a 5th sow production supervisor that will be based out of eastern Iowa, as well as a full-time Director of Management Services. In addition, our Farm Employment Services team is fully staffed and we are able to tap into that when a new farm starts up or if the event staffing turnover occurs. Having the resources and talent in place to be able to absorb growth across multiple geographic locations is important to our business and something that  we remain committed to.

Meet SHP’s New Director of Management Services – Dr. Mitch Christensen

If you grow up in rural Iowa there is always a chance that pig production will find you. That is at least how it felt to Dr. Mitch Christensen. In high school it seemed every part-time job led to a pig barn. It started with power washing, loading market hogs, and vaccinating wean pigs. Then it was a summer job choring wean to finish research barns and working a few days a week on a sow farm. It was at one of these jobs during his college summer breaks that resulted in crossing paths with the veterinarians from Suidae Health and Production. Interacting with the Suidae veterinarians is what inspired Dr. Mitch to pursue a career as a swine veterinarian.

Dr. Christensen received his DVM from Iowa State University in 2008. After graduation, Dr. Christensen spent the first four years of his career working in private practice as a swine consulting veterinarian and one year working with a large swine production system in Iowa. He then landed a role working at a global swine genetics company, Topigs Norsvin. During his ten and half years in the genetics business he served in various areas of the business from overseeing health and biosecurity, leading multiplication development and leading a production services team. For the three years prior to joining Suidae, Dr. Christensen served as the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) for Topigs Norsvin International. In this role, he was responsible for building and leading the Global Veterinary Services team.

As the new Director of Management Services his role will be to provide vision, leadership and oversight to the management segment of the Suidae business which includes sow farm and grow finish management to customers across the upper Midwest.