(MERRILL, IA) Joe Rotta grew up in the suburbs of Chicago before attending college at Iowa State. That's when his life changed forever. He's now been a Plymouth County pork producer for nearly 30 years.
"My father-in-law wanted to retire so he gave me the option to start farming in 1983 so I took it," says Joe Rotta.
And Joe Rotta never looked back, building his operation from the ground up in and around Merrill, Iowa.
"We started out small and we just slowly grow every year, added an employee here and there, or added farm ground or added hog buildings," says Rotta.
Joe now has 3 employees who help him manage 6 hog buildings.
"Most of the buildings are this size. This is a 2400-head building," says Rotta.
He also farms about 900 acres.
"Grow our own corn; do all of our own crop work. And we've got a feed mill that we feed the pigs with," says Rotta.
And the feed mill is just one example of how this farm is keeping pace with the industry.
"The thing about agriculture over the last 30 years is the amount of changes that take place every year," says Rotta.
About 7 or 8 years ago, Joe completely automated his feeding process. Corn he harvests is ground in the feed mill and that red auger directly deposits it in the feed truck, at a rate of 8 or 9 tons an hour.
Joe designed the system himself which grinds up to 45 tons a day.
"There's always somebody delivering feed or grinding feed or working in the feed mill," says Rotta.
And Joe is proud of the adjustments he's made to strengthen his operation's independence.
"I just believe it adds to the efficiency of the farm - growing your own corn, raising the pigs, recycling the manure back onto the ground. It's just a big circle for me," says Rotta.
Joe says the only thing he hires out is the hauling of the pigs to market. But his product stays in the region. He ships a majority of his hogs to Hormel in Fremont, Nebraska.
Reported by Erika Thomas. You can contact her at ethomas@kmeg.com to nominate someone who's Proud to be a Hometown Farmer. The Iowa Broadcast News Association awarded this series 1st place Farm & Agribusiness in 2010.
