One of Janae Metzger's first childhood memories is donning a pair of blue jean coveralls and doing chores in the nursery barn at her family's diversified farm in northwest Iowa. She estimates she was only 4 years old then, but her desire to be out in the barn and around pigs only grew with age.

"During high school and college, I was heavily involved — especially on the weekends and after school — in the sow unit. Something about it, you know? It never seemed like a job," Metzger says.

When it came time for college, Metzger decided to take a different career path — nursing — something she attributes to pressure from community and friends. Also, the family operation at that time didn't have room for her, and there weren't any plans for expansion.

"My older two cousins came back to the farm, or they were on the path for that, and they were men; they knew how to drive a tractor, they knew all the mechanical things and they could do about anything," Metzger says. "I was a woman, wasn't raised driving the tractor, and I wasn't raised by a mechanical man; so, I didn't have the skill set that probably was needed, other than animal care, so I chose a different career field."

Already accepted into the nursing program, and with some scholarship funding, it seemed like the right decision at the time; but after one semester at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D., Metzger decided it wasn't for her.

She decided to pursue a degree in animal sciences, and after graduating from South Dakota State University in Brookings in December 2014, she took a job as a farrowing attendant on a brand-new farm in southwest Minnesota.

That opportunity only lasted six months, because three months in, Metzger got a call from her cousin Chet Mogler. He said the family had started construction on a new sow farm, and he'd like to hire her.

As the assistant manager of the 4,400-head sow unit at Pig Hill, Metzger says she has filled every position at some point or another, but her main duties today are operations management as well as employee recruiting and onboarding for the entire production system.

No 9-to-5 day
A typical day for the 27-year-old begins at 4:30 a.m. with devotions, coffee and getting ready for the day. By 5:30 a.m., she's heading to the farm to shower in at the unit. At the farm, she assists in production, overseeing barn flow, projections on weaned pigs, herd health issues and getting diagnostics to the lab.

Now that school is out for the summer, she's also onboarding three new part-time team members and anticipating the arrival of a few more TN (trade NAFTA) visa workers later this summer.

Production typically wraps up around 4 p.m., and Metzger then takes another two hours to work on TN visa details for the farm staff or details for other areas of the business. Once she gets home, she assists her husband, Vance, on his family's farm if needed.

The last four years have gone by fast for Metzger, but she says she wouldn't trade it for any other career, despite the initial challenges coming back — the biggest being gaining rapport with employees.

"I only worked with them on the weekends while I was the 'little Mogler kid' who came in and just did chores. Now I come back, and I'm manager," Metzger says. "It was difficult to gain that rapport — the fact that it's like middle-aged, older men and a young female; and I had zero experience with management. I obviously tried to do my best, but looking back, I'd say I'm a better manager today than what I was then."

Metzger now looks forward to professionally mentoring the next generation on the farm. The couple is expecting their first child this fall.

"I do get a lot of enjoyment out of seeing the younger generation get excited about pigs, and I've had some of Chet's girls say, 'I want to be a farmer like Janae,' and that just melts your heart," Metzger says. "I'm growing and raising that generation, and it definitely gives you excitement to keep going."