July 2025 - Journal FINAL - Flipbook - Page 6
Management
Keeping your farm
HEALTHY, SAFE, & PROFITABLE
Evan Koep, DVM
Multiplication Health Director
Pipestone Veterinary Services
Dr. Evan Koep grew up on his family’s farm in southwest Minnesota,
where he was actively involved in 4-H and FFA. He earned his
undergraduate degrees at South Dakota State University before
completing his DVM at Iowa State University in 2019. Today he serves as
the Director of Multiplication for Pipestone Veterinary Services, working
to support farmers through improved herd health and genetic programs.
What’s a standard? It’s what we expect—from ourselves,
our team, and for our pigs. Whether it’s how we clean
a room or handle a sow, those daily habits shape your
farm’s success.
On any farm, clear expectations matter. Without
them, things slide and bad habits set in. That’s why it’s
important to set and stick to standards—especially in
biosecurity, safety, and animal welfare. These are the
foundation of a strong, sustainable pig operation.
Biosecurity: Guarding Your Health and Pro昀椀t
Disease is one of the biggest threats to a pig farm—
and often the difference between long-term success
or failure of an operation. Health drives pro昀椀tability,
especially for smaller operations where there’s less
margin for error. Because of how critical this is to
a farm’s bottom line, Pipestone has spent years
researching and applying real-world biosecurity
solutions to protect the long-term success of our
shareholders.
Tools like air 昀椀ltration and feed mitigation started
as research-backed strategies and have become
standard practices across Pipestone Management.
Biosecurity begins with daily habits and clear
expectations. For farms with a few employees or family
members, consider starting with these steps:
• Limit barn entry to essential people, and keep a
log.
• Use farm-speci昀椀c boots and coveralls—and make
sure they’re kept clean.
• Set up a routine for hand washing and downtime,
even if it’s simple.
• Take time to check that your practices are being
followed every day.
At Pipestone, we audit farms to hold teams
accountable—and reward them when they get it right.
That kind of tracking doesn’t have to be fancy. You can
6 | PIPESTONE JOURNAL
score yourself weekly on a whiteboard or calendar and
talk through what went well (or didn’t) with your crew.
What matters is consistency.
Safety: Protecting Your People
On a family farm, every person counts. Whether it’s
you, your spouse, your kids, or a hired hand, when
someone gets hurt, the whole operation feels it.
Work slows down, daily routines get disrupted, and
sometimes, simple tasks become big challenges. That’s
why it’s worth taking a little time to think about safety—
not as something formal or expensive, but as a habit.
Most of the time, improving safety starts with commonsense changes and just talking things through. Here are
some ways to keep people safer on your farm:
• Talk through tasks – Don’t assume everyone knows
the safest way to do something, especially when
bringing in new help or when kids are involved. Go
over things like how to lift feed bags, handle power
washers, or move sows.
• Pay attention to near misses – If something
almost went wrong, take a minute to talk about it.
What could’ve happened? What could be done
differently next time?
• Use the right gear – It’s easy to make do with
what’s around, but small things like gloves, hearing
protection, or knee pads can make a difference—
and help prevent injuries before they happen.
• Look at high-risk jobs – Repetitive chores or heavy
lifting can wear people down over time. See if
there’s a way to rotate tasks, use better tools, or
even adjust how a job is done to make it easier on
the body.
• Keep walkways clear and dry – Slippery steps,
cluttered hallways, or tools left lying around can
lead to falls or twisted ankles. Keeping things
picked up and organized doesn’t take long and
pays off.
