O Brien County Farmer Named Master Pork Producer by IPPA

Jan. 28, 2016

Contact: Tyler Bettin, State Public Policy Director (800) 372-7675, [email protected]

For Immediate Release!

O’Brien County farmer named Master Pork Producer by IPPA (CLIVE, Iowa) — The Iowa Pork Producers Association has selected an O’Brien County farmer as one of its Master Pork Producers for 2015.

Leon Puhrmann of Paulina received the coveted brass belt buckle, emblematic of the award, at the Iowa Pork Congress Banquet in Des Moines last night. The honor included a brief multi-media presentation of his hog farming business.

Puhrmann owns and manages a diversified pork operation consisting of a wean-to-finish contract from a Canadian sow farm and a 1,200-head finisher currently under contract production as a 2,400-head nursery. He receives 3,500-head of weaned pigs every 18 weeks, which are custom fed in a nursery and at two finishing sites. Leon is responsible for all marketing on these pigs.

His farm also includes a 53-head fall calving cow herd and 400 row-crop acres.

Puhrmann got into pork production by helping his father farrow after graduating from high school. With 39 years of production experience, he has seen many industry transitions and has a strong passion to keep independent producers in business.

In conjunction with other partners, Puhrmann has been in the feed business for 30 years and is part owner and manager of TopLine Feed & Supply, manufacturing roughly 95,000 tons of swine feed annually. He also works with area producers for record keeping and marketing assistance and notes that record keeping, benchmarking and margin realization as pigs are being placed as critical to operational success.

Leon is president of his church, a past school board member and is active on the IPPA Public Policy Committee.

Puhrmann and his wife, Jan, have three grown sons and a granddaughter.

Nominated by their neighbors and peers, Master Pork Producers are recognized for their innovation, attention to quality, efficiency and production records within their farm enterprise. They are considered industry leaders who are committed to producing the highest quality pork products. Their operations are environmentally sound, they care about the livestock, are good neighbors and active in their community.

IPPA and Iowa State University have carefully selected Master Pork Producers every year since 1942.