Service spans generations for Borgic family

RAYMOND, Ill. — In his youth, Phil Borgic saw the dedication his parents had toward helping their community and the ag industry. He continues to carry on that tradition.

“Ever since I was a kid, I ran to keep up with my parents. Both my parents were involved in local pork producers and Illinois pork producers and then dad got involved in the National Livestock and Meat Board before his retirement. I absolutely followed in their footsteps,” Borgic said.

His dad, Erval, was a member of several organizations, including Montgomery County Pork Producers, Illinois Pork Producers Association board member and later president, Southwest AgriBusiness Board, Farm Bureau, Knights of Columbus, township clerk and American Legion, among others.

His mom, Betty, was a member of the Montgomery County Porkettes, Home Extension, Farm Bureau, St. Agnes Council of Catholic Women and Illinois AgriBusiness Women.

“They put a lot of importance in that and it’s really continuing on with their legacy. I started at the county level, then went to state pork level and then I spent six years as a National Pork Producers Council director,” said Phil, the operation’s president and CEO.

Half-Century-Plus

While dedicating their time to their community, the Borgics operated a diversified farm with crops, dairy, beef, chickens and pigs.

“They formed Borgic Farms 51 years ago when my brother and I were in high school, with hopes that we would come back,” Phil said.

“My dad was part of the generation that transitioned from mud lots to confinement hog production and the learning process that the industry has built on since the 1960s and 1970s. So, we’ve grown from that size of the operation, 20 to 40 sows, to today we have 16,500 sows.”

In 1999, Borgic Farms shifted from a farrow-to-finish to farrow-to-wean farm and continued to expand.

“Our finishing operation goes from Interstate 70 to basically the Wisconsin border, all in Illinois. We have about 85 employees and my wife, Karen, and I are the primary owners of Borgic Farms,” Phil said.

Tradition Continues

Phil and Karen continue to be involved with the pork industry from the local to international levels.

Phil was a member of the IPPA Board from 1998 to 2014 and served two terms as president in 2008 and 2009. He was also a two-term member of the NPPC Board of Directors from 2014 to 2020.

Additionally, Phil has served on multiple committees for NPPC, National Pork Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture and multiple legislators.

Karen has been involved in both county and state pork producer groups, helping with fundraisers, pork stands and Illinois Pork Expo hospitality rooms and is a previous recipient of Elanco’s Bell Ringer Award.

They were honored to serve as a featured family for the U.S. export standards video that is shared with foreign countries as a model for the health and wellness standards for U.S. pork.

Over the years, Phil and his team have hosted over 40 farm tours to help educate the public about the pork industry.

The Borgics have three children, Mike, Kevin and Michelle — all of whom served as IPPA ambassadors or interns and carry on the family tradition of service.

After college and two years with the Illinois Farm Bureau, Mike joined the staff at the IPPA as as the director of membership. Mike left the association in mid-February 2025 to work full time with his family at Borgic Farms.

Kevin is the director of catering operations at Vanderbilt University in Nashville in north-central Tennessee, as well as a leadership and development coach.

He received his bachelor’s degree in international studies and master’s in hospitality management from the University of South Florida and has been in the catering and events industry since 2009.

In 2020, Kevin started coaching in Leadership and Development and recently began a learning series with the Borgic Farms leadership team.

Michelle is a registered nurse for the state of Illinois, working with the Department of Human Services. She has also taught emergency training and provided CPR certification for both sow farm locations.

Food Banks

The Borgics have been staunch supporters of local food banks.

“I’m dedicated to help people have food. I was on the Central Illinois Food Bank board for six or seven years,” said Phil in an interview April 30.

“Financially, we’ve supported local food banks here in our area. We’ve donated money primarily, but also we’ll get ground pork into our local food bank. In fact, we’re going to do it next week. They’re short of good protein. I was made aware of that years ago, and so we try to get pork protein into those food banks as much as we can.”

IPPA has had a program for several years where ground pork is donated to food banks. Phil was on the board when the program started and it continues to grow.

Honors

The Borgics received the IPPA’s Family of the Year honors in 2025 for their “contributions to the long-term success of the industry through leadership and pork promotion on the local, state and national levels.”

They also were recipients of the 2025 Community Partner Award, presented by University of Illinois Extension in Montgomery County.

“Staff from Borgic Farms made a big impact by bringing piglets from their sow farm into classrooms across Christian and Montgomery counties. They engaged students with live demonstrations, answered questions and sparked curiosity about farming and animal care. Their efforts helped Extension reach nearly 1,500 students with this hands-on agricultural experience,” said Rebecca Niemeier, Agricultural Literacy Program coordinator.

“Staff from the Borgic team brought enthusiasm and knowledge to every classroom. Thanks to their commitment, students got to see, touch and learn about pigs in a way textbooks simply can’t offer.”