Family of the Year: Cowser pork operation is a farm foundation

BRADFORD, Ill. — The Cowser family farming operation is many things — and many people — but underpinning all of the farm operations is family. The Cowser family is the 2020 Illinois Pork Producer Association Farm Family of the Year.

“We all want the farm to be successful,” said Steve Cowser of the farming operation that his grandfather, Delbert Cowser, started in the 1930s near Laura.

Today, Steve and his three brothers, Marc, Andy and Darin, and Andy’s two children, Alan Cowser and Cheryl Cowser-Walsh, comprise the main part of the Cowser family farm.

Steve Cowser leads the pork production part of the farm and oversees the farm operation’s finances.

After almost 50 years in the pig business, some might be thinking about retiring, but Cowser is not among them.

“I am having too much fun,” he said.

Cowser works in the barns and is focused on ways to improve the pork operation and grow his own knowledge.

“I learn something new every day I am in the barns. That’s one of the things I like about this business,” he said.

In The Beginning

The family always has raised pigs, starting with Delbert Cowser’s swine herd in 1932. In 1998, they purchased a breed-to-wean barn and 1,200 sows.

They increased that herd, and they wean about 1,100 pigs weekly as an independent breed-to-wean farm. The Cowsers partner with Land O’Lakes as the buyer of their weaned pigs.

Constant improvement is a constant theme for all parts of the Cowser farming operation. On the pork side, the breed-to-wean model is a perfect fit.

“It allows us to do one thing, focus on one area of production, and hopefully become better at that,” Steve Cowser said.

The biggest challenge on the pork production side is labor. The breed-to-wean operation employs nine people as a full staff.

“Half of our crew are long-term employees, seasoned and experienced, and there are two or three who are newer employees and some of those don’t stay very long,” Cowser said.

Animal Health

Biosecurity is a priority on the farm.

“In 2015, we revamped our entrance, so the only way to get in and out is through the showers,” Cheryl Cowser said.

Everyone entering the sow barn is required to shower upon entering and shower on leaving.

All supplies, from bagged feed products to medicines to equipment parts, entering the building have to pass through the “fume room,” a fumigation room.

The Cowsers transport their own pigs and feed, reducing outside traffic into the sow farm. The farm has a truck wash to clean and sanitize the farm’s trucks before they enter the property.

While Steve Cowser said he enjoys working in the barns, with farrowing being his favorite job, working with the farm’s finances is another task he finds both challenging and rewarding.

“We have to make enough profit to provide a living for all six people involved in the farm. It’s a challenge nowadays,” he said.

That the farm known as Cowser Inc. is a family farm is a message that Cheryl Cowser-Walsh emphasizes in her work with Ag in the Classroom programs in Bureau and Peoria counties.

“One of the big misconceptions is when you see a hog barn and people say, ‘Well, it’s not family owned.’ That’s the part that I personally struggle with. The name of the company that we market our livestock through is a corporation. That’s just a business model. It’s not owned by corporate people. It’s still owned by us. Some people just assume because of the ‘Inc.’ that it’s owned by a big corporation, and it’s not — it’s a family farm. It’s our family’s farm,” she said.

Meet The Cowsers

Six families make up Cowser Inc., the family crop and livestock farm in rural Bradford, Illinois. They are:

• Steve Cowser and his wife, Charlotte, live in Bradford, Illinois. They are the parents of Mike, who died in an accident at age 14, and Shelli (Jim) and the grandparents of Kelsie.

• Andy Cowser and his wife, Carol, live in Laura, Illinois. They are the parents of Cheryl, Alan (Katie), Aaron (Kelly) and Adam (Liz) and the grandparents of Alyvia, Reagan, Rylie, Kinsley, Colson, Brenner, Kendall, Brooks, Briggs and Allish.

• Marc Cowser and his wife, Carol, live in Tiskilwa, Illinois. They are the parents of Tim, Scott (Lori) and Renee (Jonathan) and the grandparents of Jhett, Solomon, Josiah and Adeline.

• Darin Cowser and his wife, Susan, live in Peoria, Illinois. Darin has four children, Meghan, Seth, Zac and Tessa.

• Cheryl Cowser-Walsh lives in Princeville, Illinois, and has two daughters, Reagan and Rylie.

• Alan Cowser and his wife, Katie, live in Princeville, Illinois. They are the parents of Alyvia, Colson and Kendall.