For the love of swine
Herd manager mentors students and improves genetics at Oklahoma State University Swine Research and Education Center
Jim Coakley has been involved with the swine industry for as long as he can remember. He turned his passion into a career when he became the herd manager at the Oklahoma State University Swine Research and Education Center.
Coakley enjoys having the freedom to make decisions that will benefit a larger group of students. He can take his passion for working with youth and apply it to his job at the center, where he mentors the next generation of swine industry professionals.
“My family has been raising hogs for as long as I can remember,” Coakley said. “Before accepting this job at the school, my kids and I operated a small show pig operation in Hobart, Oklahoma, raising primarily crossbred hogs.”
“He interacts with his students great, and holds them all to a high expectation,” said Scott Carter, animal science associate professor and swine center facility supervisor.
Coakley attended OSU and graduated in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. He was an agricultural education teacher for 22 years before becoming the swine herd manager at OSU in 2018. “I love interacting with students, which is exactly why I’m still doing it,” Coakley said. “However, at the college level this is a different kind of interaction I have.”
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Coakley not only has these expectations for his students but also for the center, and has a niche for seeing good genetics, Carter said. “He is producing not only hogs for a show, but also education and multiple other purposes,” Carter said. “He produces hogs to meet a purpose for everyone.” Coakley believes in growing the genetics at the center while blending both new and old techniques. He is wanting
