From the barns of Washington County to the halls of Congress, Hora champions Iowa pork

RIVERSIDE — Raised on a Riverside farm and a graduate of Highland High School, Mackinze Hora returned home to Washington County to manage pigs for Iowa Select Farms. Two years later, she’s managing something larger: a voice for local producers.

Hora’s selection to the 2025 Iowa Pork Leadership Academy has turned the young supervisor into a bridge between the barns she walks each day and the lawmakers shaping their future.

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Hora oversees wean-to-finish sites for Iowa Select Farms across southeast Iowa, guiding caregivers, monitoring animal health and fine-tuning barn setups long before pigs arrive. Now, through the Iowa Pork Producers Association’s leadership academy, she’s adding advocacy and policy to that list as she represents Iowa producers at state and national levels.

Before taking off to study agribusiness at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny, Hora was an active member of Highland FFA and attributes a lot of her passion for farm animals of all kinds to her family, her grandmother, and her FFA teacher.

Initially looking at Hora’s upbringing on a cattle and row-crop farm near Riverside, her venture into the pork production industry might not be readily apparent. For a brief time in her childhood, however, her family raised feeder-to-finish pigs outdoors in hoop barns; by her teens, the herd had gone, but the rhythm of chores and livestock care had already taken hold.

A required internship at DMACC led her back to pigs — first at Brenneman Pork, then a full-time role with Iowa Select Farms in 2023.

With Iowa Select Farms, Hora serves as a wean-to-finish supervisor, overseeing about two dozen contract sites in and around Washington County. Her work starts before a single truck rolls in. She checks feed systems, slat gaps, heaters, fans, and water flow — down to boot-pan disinfectant and clean coveralls for caregivers.

“Since I get them as feeder pigs, there’s another layer of care that starts before they even hit the barn,” Hora said in materials provided by Iowa Select Farms. “It all comes down to preparation and communication, starting with a clear plan between me and the site manager before the pigs arrive.”

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That same attention to detail carried beyond the barn this year when Hora was selected for the Iowa Pork Leadership Academy.

The program, run by the Iowa Pork Producers Association, develops young professionals who want to serve as advocates for farmers. Participants learn association leadership, communications and policy, and meet with decision-makers to understand how issues such as biosecurity, market access, and animal welfare regulations affect producers.

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Hora joined the 2025 cohort in February and has since traveled from Des Moines to Washington, D.C., and North and South Carolina for sessions blending leadership training with firsthand policy exposure.

Early meetings focused on personal leadership styles and the roles of the Iowa Pork Producers Association and the National Pork Board. In D.C., to prepare Hora and her classmates to meet members of Congress and officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There they discussed issues including California’s Proposition 12, trade relationships, and animal health programs.

“I’ve never been a politics person,” Hora said. “But after going on that trip, it really opened my eyes. They’re normal people just like us. Sometimes they just don’t know what the issues are, and we were able to share stories that changed how they thought about pork production.”

Proposition 12, a California ballot measure that dictates livestock housing standards for meat sold in the state, has become one of the industry’s biggest flashpoints. Hora and other participants urged lawmakers to support what a “fix” proposed by the National Pork Producers Council. This would mean clarifying federal legislation that individual states cannot impose production mandates beyond their borders.

For small independent Iowa farmers, Hora said, the costs of such rules could be devastating.

“Some small and medium-sized producers who are already dealing with high feed costs and inflation also will sadly go out of business as they struggle to comply with the consequences of these standards,” Iowa Pork Producers Association President Trisha Cook said in a press release.

While many of Hora’s weeks with the IPLA were spent discussing policy, the academy’s focus also covered the ground level of agriculture itself with summer tours in the Carolinas that broadened Hora’s view of the overall industry. IPLA participants like Hora saw the vast differences in agriculture between different regions within the nation through visits to a variety of farms beyond pork production such as cotton, tobacco, peanuts and oysters.

“It opened my eyes,” Hora said. “We’re all fighting common issues together. You realize there’s a whole army of people trying to get to the same goal.”

Those lessons return with her to Washington County. She says that engaging with leaders beyond Iowa helps her offer fresh insight to her team and community.

“When you’re stuck seeing the same thing every day, that’s the only perspective you have,” she said. “It’s good to bring in new perspectives about what other producers are doing, what lawmakers are hearing, what’s working elsewhere.”

Back home, that’s what Hora does as she continues her day-to-day routine: coaching site managers, troubleshooting ventilation or feed systems, and collaborating with veterinarians on herd health. The work is physical and often unpredictable, but it’s the basis for the credibility she carries into leadership discussions.

Hora said the most fulfilling part of her job is working closely with caregivers and site managers to keep barns running smoothly. “I’m there to train that caregiver if there’s something I need to show them,” she said. “It’s a lot about communication and giving feedback back and forth.”

That commitment to teamwork, she added, extends beyond the barns. Hora believes the industry owes consumers more transparency about how pigs are raised.

“There are so many great producers who take such good care of their pigs,” she said. “People don’t see that every day. There’s a lot that happens behind the scenes — biosecurity, individualized care — because we want healthy pigs. No one wants a pig to suffer.”

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It’s the same openness she encourages in the next generation. For younger Iowans, especially young women, interested in agriculture, Hora’s advice is simple: step forward.

“Don’t be afraid to take the leap,” she said. “Find mentors, ask questions, and don’t second-guess yourself. You learn along the way.”

As her IPLA class prepares to graduate at the Iowa Pork Congress next winter, Hora hopes to join state committees and continue advocating for producers. But she doesn’t plan to leave the barns.

“My job itself really entails what I can do as an advocate,” Hora said. “I’m there every single day, seeing what’s happening and learning what’s affecting the industry. That’s what makes me a better advocate.”

For Washington County and the state’s broader pork industry, Hora’s story ties the local to the national and proves that the next generation of leaders can come from only a little ways down the gravel road.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com