Rausch's hard work with small pigs pays off in award

     When Marty Rausch and a few others were invited out to eat by Kenneth Luckstead of the Maschoff hog production company, Rausch didn’t think anything of it.

     “We were just going out for a burger. That’s all I thought we were doing,” he said.

     When he arrived at Walker’s Prairie Moon Restaurant in Prairieburg, a representative from Zoetis, a pharmaceutical animal health company, was there.

     Rausch was presented with a Caretaker of the Year award from Zoetis, for his work with young pigs at Russell Brothers/Prairie Ridge Pork near Prairieburg.

     The Cascade resident, site manager for the company, was awarded with a trophy, a jacket, and $1,000. He was one of just five award-winners nationwide.

     “I was caught off guard,” he said. “I had my (sons) with me, which was kind of cool too.”

     Rausch, 38, started working for Jason Russell at Prairie Ridge Pork in June 2013. It’s a situation that has worked well for both.

     “He’s the site manager. He does anything that needs done,” Russell said. “We’re really lucky to have Marty help us. Because we know there’s somebody that can handle any situation.

     That came in handy when Jason, his wife Sarah and family went on a recent vacation.

     “If I would have come back and nobody did anything, it would have been a bad deal, but Marty had everything pretty well buttoned up,” Russell said. “We try to help each other out so we can still enjoy our families. It makes it so we can schedule time off like a normal person does.”

     Rausch agreed: “I like the flexibility of the hours. I like to start early in the morning, so that way I can get back to my place and do my cattle chores and crops and all that stuff, plus spend time with my kids.

     “My two boys like to come over with me. They’re old enough where they can help, when they’re available.”

     Rausch and his wife Angela have four children: sons Cade (age 12) and Cason (9), and daughters Kira (5) and Kollins (seven months).

     When the Maschoff company delivers young pigs to Prairie Ridge, Rausch and crew get to work taking care of them.

     “We get around 19,000 pigs, and then we have them for roughly 10 weeks and then down to roughly 7,600 to finish,” Rausch said. “I like working with smaller pigs.”

     They do vaccinations, treat sick pigs, and just tend to their overall health, he added.

     “I have guys that help me, too,” Rausch said, listing Mike Holub, Clair Lawrence and Russell. “I’m not the only one that does everything.”

     They do whatever it takes to make sure the work gets done but also allows time for their families. Rausch said he often comes in to work at 5 a.m. but it can be as early as 2 a.m., “if we’re going to wrestling tournaments or baseball tournaments. And that’s one of the reasons I like it. Jason trusts me with what I’m doing.”

     Rausch grew up on a dairy farm in Cascade, and spent some time working on Don Coohey’s farm, also in Cascade.

     He spent 15 years as an assistant manager for Ducladel, a sow unit in Manchester.

     He answered an Express ad that Russell had placed, and the two of them had breakfast at Darrell’s one morning to discuss the job.

     Luckstead, field production manager for the Maschoff company, is the one who nominated Rausch for the caretaker award.

     “I’m real appreciative of it,” Rausch said.