Bruce Brinkman of Valmeyer, Illinois, remembers working with pigs from a young age. He started raising pigs at age 12 as a 4-H project and now he has been doing so for 55 years.

Brinkman grew up on a family farm near Payson, Illinois, as one of 15 children.

He went to John Wood Community College and received a swine management certificate in 1986. Later that same year, he moved to Monroe County for an employment opportunity in a hog operation.

Soon after he partnered with the employer by purchasing another swine unit and eventually bought out his partners’ share to become the sole owner. His hog facility started as a farrow-to-finish unit, and over the years, he has transitioned to a contract grower for local producers.

He’s a contract grower of antibiotic-free animals with two barns w

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