BROOKINGS, S.D. – Four South Dakota pork producers were recently recognized for their outstanding contributions to the state’s swine industry.
The 2025 South Dakota Master Pork Producer winners were announced Jan. 14, 2026, during the 57th annual South Dakota Pork Congress in Sioux Falls. Recipients are Jim Petrik, of Gayville; Brian Renelt, of Wilmot; and Ray Waldner, of Orland Colony near Montrose.
In addition, Eric Weaver, assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science at South Dakota State University, was named the Honorary Master Pork Producer.
"The 2025 South Dakota Master Pork Producers are outstanding examples of the commitment to excellence that the pork producers in our state continually strive for,” said Rafe Royall, assistant professor and SDSU Extension Swine Specialist. “While the production systems that these men manage may be extremely diverse, multiple common threads stand out. Each of them is an excellent leader of their teams who strives to utilize up-to-date science and real-time data in all their decision-making processes. Congratulations to these very deserving winners."
More on the honorees:
Jim Petrik
Jim Petrik is the owner and operator of Petrik Farms near Gayville, which has been in production for more than 40 years. Today, Petrik Farms utilizes 55-70 purebred Duroc and Berkshire sows, selling boars and gilts to producers around the country with a focus on high meat quality and direct-to-consumer markets. Meanwhile, a small cross-section of their customers still market competitively in traditional commodity pork markets. In 2025, Petrik farms farrowed out approximately 110 litters and sold more than 1,000 pigs, with the majority going to premium markets or directly to consumers.
Jim credits the farm’s success to the team at Petrik Farms, which includes Jim and Sharon Petrik, their hired workers Hudsen Drobny and Cael Hauger, and help from the neighbors. Petrik Farms credits the farm’s emphasis on keeping animals safe and healthy to maintaining a closed herd for approximately 10 years. Jim believes there are four primary keys to the continued success of Petrik farms: teamwork, consistency of livestock, healthy animals and a balanced selection of replacement animals.
Brian Renelt
Brian Renelt and his brothers Tim and Scott make up Renelt Brothers Farms by Wilmot.
While all brothers are equal partners in the farm, Brian and his wife, Cheryl, manage the swine enterprise. Their dad moved to the current location in 1937, and there have been pigs on the place ever since. They run a wean-to-finish operation and are co-owners of Turtle River Sow Farm, where they get 1,250 weaned pigs every two months. There are four barns on the site, and they use an auto-sort system in all the barns, crediting it with saving them up to $1,000 on each load they sell.
One of the unique things at the Renelt Brothers Farms is that the feed is moved pneumatically underground from the feed mill to the barns. They have their own trailer dedicated to moving only their hogs and utilize precision manure application to get the full benefit from their swine manure. Brian Renelt said keys to their success are location, all three brothers working together, hard work and pride. Their goal isn’t to be the largest; it is to be the best.
Ray Waldner
Ray Waldner manages the swine operation at Orland Colony near Montrose and has been working with pigs for more than 8 years. Pigs were the first enterprise at Orland Colony when it started in 1985 as a farrow-to-finish operation. To better control disease, the operation was converted to wean-to-finish production in 2019. Orland Colony is a shareholder in Banner Sow Farm. On-site, they have 4,200 nursery spaces and 10,600 finishing spaces. Recently they purchased a 4,200-head, wean-to-finish barn north of Salem.
Waldner credits much of the operation’s success to his team: Leon Waldner, James and Tanner Wurtz working on-site, and Aaron Waldner dedicated to the Salem site. George Wurtz manages the feed mill and is vital to their success, as well. Biosecurity is one of Ray Waldner’s primary focuses; since they’ve eradicated porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, mortality has decreased from 10% to 3%, and the average daily gain has increased. Ray says transparency, teamwork and people working well together are what make him and Orland Colony so successful in the pork operation.
Honorary Master Pork Producer: Eric Weaver
Eric Weaver is an assistant professor of Swine Nutrition and Physiology in the Department of Animal Science at SDSU with more than 25 years of experience across academic research, commercial swine production and allied industry. During his tenure at SDSU, Weaver’s research program has focused on developing a mortality risk profile for highly prolific sows to improve livability and lifetime productivity, late gestation feeding strategies, and biomarker-based predictions of sow mortality. Recently, Weaver and his students have been studying the feasibility of high soybean meal diets throughout all stages of pig production. Weaver’s research continues to focus on strategies to improve the sustainability and productivity of swine production systems in South Dakota and across the country.
Pictured left to right are Hudson Drobny, Cael Hauger, Sharon Petrik, South Dakota Master Pork Producer Winner Jim Petrik, and South Dakota Master Pork Producers Association President Mark Vanderwerf.
Pictured left to right are South Dakota Master Pork Producer Winner Brian Renelt, South Dakota Master Pork Producers Association President Mark Vanderwerf, and Cheryl Renelt
Pictured left to right are South Dakota Master Pork Producer Winner Ray Waldner and South Dakota Master Pork Producers Association President Mark Vanderwerf.
