“Pig farmers across the country each and every day are doing their best to take care of their pigs to the best of their ability,” says Adam Krause, a hog producer from Clear Lake, S.D. “When the pigs do good, so do the farmers. So, pig health is in all pig farmers’ best interest.”

Krause represents the next generation of pig production in South Dakota, and he says he takes his role seriously as president of the South Dakota Pork Producers Council. But he also puts his money where his mouth is by going to social media with the Krause Kooking Show, teaching consumers how to prepare pork products.

Transitioning back home

Finding a way to come back to the farm is something that a lot of farm kids consider. What worked for Krause was building a nursery barn. It let him help with the row crops but still pursue his passion for the swine industry. He says raising pigs was the way he could become the next generation to work on the farm.

STEWARD OF SWINE: Krause knows that when the pigs do well, he can keep farming. Swine health and nutrition is always on his mind.

After graduating from South Dakota State University in 2016, Krause’s dad and brother went to work building a hog barn.

“We all kind of chipped in, and they helped me a lot to install all the equipment, which was really beneficial for me,” Krause says. “When something breaks, I put it together the first time, so I kind of know how a lot of that stuff works.”

Krause now owns and operates a 4,000-head nursery barn. With morning chores complete, he tends to other things around the farm.

During harvesttime, he is more hands on with the row crops. “That's the beauty of pig farming; it complements crop farming very well,” he says.

Future goals for his operation might include building more barns, but he still wants to keep the stability of being a contract grower while staying involved on his family farm.

Just like his dad

“My dad has been a huge influence over my life,” Krause says. “I wasn’t actively looking to come home right away and build some hog barns.”

After looking at the logistics of building hog barns, Krause got on board, but took it a step further by volunteering on boards and for organizations within the industry.

Giving time to the industry is something that he inherited from his dad. “As far as volunteering and participating on boards and organizations, that's not something he really ever pushed me to do,” Krause explains. “But I saw him volunteering at different events and being on boards and going to those meetings.”

BUILDING A FUTURE: For Krause, it all started with a nursery barn and watching his dad make a living in the hog industry. Now, Krause is the president of the South Dakota Pork Producers Council, giving a fresh perspective on the swine industry.

Krause currently serves as president of the South Dakota Pork Producers Council, bringing a younger voice to the state’s pork industry. And this isn’t the first time that Krause has brought fresh eyes to the industry. In 2018, he was named National Hog Farmer’s “Pig Farmer of Tomorrow.”

‘Life is short, temp it’

Talking about pork wasn’t enough for Krause, so he went to social media to promote pork even further.

The Krause Kooking Show first started because he wanted to make his wife laugh on a Sunday afternoon. While using Hamburger Helper, he went to Snapchat and walked people through how he prepared pork for supper.

“A couple of people messaged back saying the videos were great and were wanting to know when the next one was,” Krause says. That got the ball rolling, and you now can follow the cooking adventures on Instagram.

Even though humor is a part of this cooking segment, people are learning how to properly prepare pork. With the tag line “Life is short, temp it,” Krause encourages his followers to use a meat thermometer when preparing pork. Once the meat hits 145 degrees F, he advises to take it off the grill or smoker.

Due to his successful promotion of the pork industry through social media, he says he now has become the first phone call when people need pork for events.