Agriculture H-2A Sponsorship Jobs in Iowa

IOWA SELECT FARMS JOB DESCRIPTION

TITLE: Sow Farm Manager
REPORTS TO: Breed-to-Wean Supervisor
LAST REVISION DATE: 2/6/2025

PURPOSE OF POSITION

The purpose of the Sow Farm Manager role is to lead an on-farm team of employees to deliver the expected animal care, animal breeding, herd productivity and efficiency of their herd in support of the greater goals of the Iowa Select Farms production business.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

- Direct and daily management of on-farm production staff.
- Ensure that all aspects of daily animal care are met, including adequate access to feed/water and an appropriate barn environment.
- Plan, organize, and ensure execution of the daily schedule of tasks for farm staff.
- Promote and demonstrate sound animal husbandry, animal handling and animal health practices, in accordance with common industry-defined standards of care.
- Ensure that, should it be necessary, timely euthanasia is executed according to ISF standards.
- Provide the necessary training, guidance, and direction to functional teams in farrowing and breeding departments to ensure that productivity of the herd is as expected.
- Ensure that the facility is maintained in proper working order and is always kept clean (inside and outside).
- Ensure that necessary supplies and medications are ordered, delivered, and entered into the farm as required and in a bio-secure manner.
- Ensure that all necessary documentation is completed comprehensively, on the proper form, and in a timely manner.
- Routinely monitor on-farm performance and manage the team toward meeting performance expectations of the herd.
- Provide routine feedback to the supervisor on herd condition and productivity and communicate urgently should there be any significant issues.
- Manage issues that occur within the team, such as conflict, and provide formal discipline to individual employees, as needed.
- Maintain a positive, collaborative, and motivated team culture.
- Work directly with HR resources to effectively recruit, train, retain, motivate, and develop on-farm staff.
- Work directly with veterinary staff to identify and respond to any/all adverse herd health conditions.
- Ensure strict adherence to the ISF Animal Wellbeing Policy across the assigned scope of responsibility.
- Ensure strict adherence to ISF Biosecurity Policy across the assigned scope of responsibility.
- Ensure strict adherence to any/all ISF Safety Policies meant to support the health and safety of the team within the assigned scope of responsibility.

COMPANY VALUES AND EXPECTATIONS:

We believe in doing the right thing every day, operating with character and integrity, and being stewards of our resource by committing to:
- Our Animals
- Our People
- Our Environment
- Our Community

The core values of an organization are those values we hold which form the foundation on which we perform work and conduct ourselves. We expect all leaders, managers, and employees to demonstrate, foster and promote:
- Respect: We treat people with respect regardless of personal opinions or differing backgrounds, and no one within the organization is more or less important than anyone else.
- Accountability: We hold ourselves accountable for completing our job responsibilities and following through on our commitments. We encompass our ability to recognize our own strengths and areas for improvement as well as accept responsibility for the performance and actions of ourselves and our teams without blaming others.
- Good Decision-Making: We are expected to continuously improve processes, attain results, and create efficiencies to achieve our mission while solving problems based on a combination of factual information, analysis, wisdom, and experience.
- Flexibility: We must react to changing circumstances, ambiguity and uncertainty with confidence, openness, positive energy, and optimism.

Adhere to Iowa Select Farms bio-security policy at all times which includes reporting any violations or concerns to management team.
Adhere to Iowa Select Farms animal wellbeing policy at all times and partner with the Health and Care team in a timely manner if an incident occurs.
Compliance with Iowa Select Farms safety policies and procedures.
To maintain biosecurity standards, employees working on a farm are prohibited from cohabitating with employees from other production departments or support teams that access farms other than those assigned to their department.

LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

- Leadership and Collaboration
- Work Ethic and Dedication
- Technical Capabilities
- Demonstrated Success
- Time Management and Organizational Skills
- Problem Solving and Initiative
- Trusted with Responsibility
- Respect
- Communication
- Accountability
- Ability to learn and teach

WORK ENVIRONMENT

- The noise level in the work environment and job sites can be loud.
- While performing the duties of the job, the employee is frequently exposed to fumes or airborne particles, moving mechanical parts and vibrations.
- The environment you will be working in may have nuisance levels of gases and dust, particularly in the winter months.
- The environment of this position will change daily pending schedule.
- This position may require some tasks to be performed in extreme outdoor weather conditions.
- This position will have duties in all facilities of Iowa Select Farms so employees will need to be comfortable working in and being exposed to all facility environments.
- Employee will be expected to make routine visits to farm sites following all biosecurity protocols.

PHYSICALITY REQUIREMENTS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job.
- Required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl; talk or hear.
- Ability to read and write.
- The employee must have the ability to sit for long periods of time and to maintain focus on projects such as computer screens or detailed paperwork.
- The ability to lift up to 50 pounds along with climbing up ladders and over gates.
- The employee must be able to continuously repeat necessary movements such as bending, lifting and different hand movements as needed to complete tasks.
- Direct contact with animals may occur, so employees must be willing and able to comply with all company biosecurity process.

POSITION TYPE/EXPECTED HOURS OF WORK

This is an on-site position requiring all daily job duties to be performed in person at designated Iowa Select Farms locations, including office, warehouse, and farm sites, based on business needs and company policy.
- This is a full-time position that will typically require at least 40 hours per week.
- Weekend and holiday schedule on-rotation is required.
- Additional availability may be required during staffing challenges.
- Occasional evening hours may be required as the job duties demand.
- Employees must be willing to be on-call for after-hours emergencies.

TRAVEL

- Local travel will be required for this position.
- Occasional overnight travel might be required for necessary events that pertain to this position.

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE and OTHER QUALIFICATIONS

- Bilingual in English and Spanish, with fluency in both written and verbal communication is preferred.
- At least 5 years’ experience in swine production operations is desired.
- Computer literacy is important with competencies in Microsoft Outlook Excel, Word.
- Must be able to, with or without accommodations, work in all facilities within the requirements of this job description.

OTHER DUTIES

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Additional duties, responsibilities, and activities may be assigned or changed at any time with or without notice.