Randy Kuker
Effingham
Randy Kuker has been working in the pork industry since 1998 after he finished serving four years in the United States Marine Corps. He is a 1st generation pig farmer. Randy has worked in both large and smaller systems in Iowa, Minnesota, and most recently Illinois. He manages a team that provides oversight and management of 300,000 marketed pigs per year in Effingham County. He helps contract growers by providing recommendations on health, ventilation, and other day to day management techniques. His background is in both sow and grow finish production and his passion has always been to develop strong teams so that they can not only execute proven protocols successfully, but also challenge each other to look for creative ways to improve performance. The family stays busy at home with a 40 head cow/calf operation and a couple of horses. Randy used to be a farrier, so he still likes to do some blacksmithing and enjoys making knives from time to time. Randy and his fiancé have eight total kids in their blended family and have one grandchild.
How do you believe the landscape of the industry has changed over the last five years?
“The industry has moved towards adapting more technology to offset labor challenges. Also, along the lines of labor, there has been more integrators and producers looking to fill needs with the TN Visa program. I see a need coming for more bilingual support and or office staff that can assist with training and development of these individuals.”
- Director of Livestock, The Equity