Magolski Represents Wisconsin in Pork Leadership Academy

By Sarah Young Livestock Editor
Thursday, July 24, 2008 12:23 PM CDT

Although attending graduate school at North Dakota State University some 500 miles away, Jim Magolski of New London is the Wisconsin participant for Pork Leadership Academy (PLA) sponsored by Pork Checkoff.

Jim is one of 22 participants nationwide selected to take part in the leadership training, which began at World Pork Expo in June. The PLA focuses on training producers as spokespeople who can relate the accomplishments of the pork industry to the public and communicate with producers one-on-one about hot topics and issues facing the pork industry.

The PLA participants will meet five times throughout the year, with each meeting covering a different topic or issue. During the meeting held at World Pork Expo, participants learned about public relations and took part in leadership training.

In September, Jim will head to Washington D.C. to learn about and discuss animal welfare research, consumer trends and legislative issues and in November learn about foreign trade and export markets in Mexico City, Mexico. In January, participants will head to sunny California to learn about niche markets in San Francisco.

“It’s designed to educate leaders of tomorrow for the industry,” Jim says.

The 23-year-old is currently working on his masters in meat science and muscle biology at NDSU. As a two-year program, Jim will graduate next summer. NDSU wasn’t on his radar for grad school until faculty he had been working with from another state took a position with NDSU.

Meat science and muscle biology is relatively new to NDSU, Jim explains. The university had hired three new faculty members within a year and a half. Jim enjoys the newness of the program.

“A new program and new opportunities,” Jim explains. “A lot of new open doors, it was just a good opportunity.”

“I’ve been working on several projects,” he says.

Currently he is working on beef temperament project, and muscle type and size of prenatal development in sheep, and super feeds swine project.

The super feeds project consists of looking at alternative feed sources and combining different alternative feeds while observing muscle quality and growth.

“I work with a little bit of all three species,” he says.

Jim has had the opportunity previously to work with swine, sheep and beef during his years as a member of New London FFA and Sandy Knoll 4-H.

“I showed hogs and cattle pretty much all the way through 4-H and FFA,” he says. “I showed sheep my last year.”

Jim has been working more often with sheep at NDSU because sheep are used as a model for human pregnancy in neonatal development and nutrition.

Jim and his father, Dave, run their swine show pig operation of 15 sows at the family farm in New London. Being in Fargo, N.D., Jim depends heavily on his father to run the operation. Both Jim’s father and mother, Carol, work off the farm.

“I work in partnership with my dad on the farm,” he says. The pair began farrowing in Jim’s last years of 4-H.

Jim became interested in livestock when his older sister, Jenny, began showing cattle.

“I was always in the barn helping her,” he says. “It was a natural flow into showing myself.”

That natural flow kept him moving right into an undergrad at UW-River Falls, where he majored in animal science and minored in chemistry.

Taking those extra chemistry classes was a benefit for Jim as he moved on in academia.

“Some of my biochemistry knowledge especially helps in the muscle biology department,” he says.

While at River Falls, Jim was active in Block & Bridle and worked 40 hours a week as the student manager of the swine unit for three years.

As manager, Jim organized the first show pig sale. In its first year, 160 hogs were sold, all of which came from the school’s swine unit.

Previously hogs had been sold private treaty, but that resulted in a biosecurity risk - hence the one day sale at a different location on the school’s farm.

At NDSU, Jim continues his busy schedule and finds time to teach PQA Plus; judge sheep, beef and swine at county fairs; and co-teach a swine production class.

“It’s great working with kids,” Jim says.

Following grad school, Jim may pursue a doctorate and possibly teach and do research, but he is not sure. Eventually he wants to have his own swine operation, hopefully in Wisconsin.

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