When Your Team Doesn't Speak the Same Language

Communication That Drives Results
A SwineTime Podcast Series exploring the communication that drives pig performance.

Part 1 |  When Your Team Doesn’t Speak the Same Language

What happens when a farm manager from rural America and a pig care technician from Mexico are working toward the same goal but don’t speak the same language?

In Part 1 of our 3 part series on communication, host Dr. Spencer Wayne sits down with Giovanna Penuelas and Sam DeHaas to discuss one of the most important topics facing today’s pork industry: building successful teams across language and cultural barriers.

For many pig farmers, working with a multilingual workforce is no longer the exception. It’s the reality of modern swine production. But communication challenges are about much more than translating English into Spanish. They’re about trust, training, safety, relationships, and creating an environment where employees can succeed and pigs receive the best possible care.

Giovanna shares her experience of leaving Mexico and adapting to life in the United States, from navigating Midwest winters and learning new production systems to helping other agricultural professionals make the same transition. Sam brings the producer perspective, discussing what farm owners and managers can do to help employees feel welcomed, supported, and set up for success from day one.

The conversation is packed with practical insights for swine producers, including how farms are using bilingual leadership, translation technology, visual training tools, and hands-on coaching to improve communication. The group also discusses a common challenge on every farm: making sure employees truly understand instructions, protocols, and safety expectations rather than simply nodding in agreement.

Along the way, you’ll hear lessons on culture, teamwork, leadership, and why even a small effort to speak someone else’s language can make a lasting impact.

Whether you manage a sow farm, oversee a wean-to-finish system, or operate a family-owned grow-finish site, this episode offers valuable insights into workforce development, employee retention, farm culture, and communication in modern pork production.

Because at the end of the day, successful pig farms aren’t built on pigs alone. They’re built on people, and strong communication is often the difference between good teams and great ones.

Tune in to learn how better communication can lead to safer farms, stronger teams, improved pig care, and better production results.

Communication is about more than language. It’s about making sure the message is received, building trust, and working toward the same goal.

In Part 2 of our Communication that Drives Results series, we’ll shift from employee communication to another critical partnership in pork production: the relationship between pig owners and growers.