Drive across the Iowa countryside, and you’re likely to see hog barns in the distance. Much of the nation’s pork is produced in these long, metal-sided buildings, with hog production concentrated in the Midwest and North Carolina. But few people not directly involved in pig farming have the chance to look inside — until about four years ago.
Using GoPro cameras and social media, Sawyer Whisler brings the public behind typically closed doors to see what day-to-day life is like on a modern hog farm. The sixth-generation farmer prides himself on being 100% transparent, sharing numbers, answering questions, and showing everything from unloading to loading out pigs at This’ll Do Farm, which he and his father, Tork Whisler, operate in southeast Iowa.
Making videos and a podcast with his dad is not just a hobby for Sawyer. The social media enterprise has become an integral part of the family operation …