“It might not be your fault, but it is your problem.” by Leslie McCuiston

Leslie McCuiston has focused her career on building relationships. Whether it has been working with pigs, or dogs and cats at a veterinary hospital in Dallas, it is still about people. Her favorite quote has been “Pigs (or pets) are easy, people are the hard part”. We can teach almost anyone the right things and how to care for an animal. Investing in and developing people takes time. We spend more waking hours each day with the people we work with. We become an extended family at times. Learning how to navigatethose waters and help others do the same is not something that happens overnight. The “aha” moments when you get to see someone blossom, learn, grow into something even better than they believed they could, this is when it gets fun! Leslie McCuiston grew up on a cattle ranch and small grain farm in southwest Oklahoma. She was involved in 4-H and FFA all through school showing cattle and a few pigs. In college, she competed in livestock judging while exploring a degree in psychology. Ultimately, when she transferred to Oklahoma State in her junior year, she came back to her roots in agriculture and finished with a degree in Agricultural Economics. After completing an internship with Cargill Pork before graduating, she went to work for them upon completion of her degree. She has worked, in some capacity, in almost every facet of a pig’s life cycle. From field research to sow farms, from research in the harvest facilities to wean to market startups, and eventually back to working with company managed facilities, Leslie has had many opportunities to put those early psychology classes into use working with people. Leslie currently lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her 8 year old Bernese Mountain Dog, Isa. She enjoys traveling, spending time with her family (6 nieces and nephews in Oklahoma and Kansas), volunteering with children’s charities and speaking publicly for the pork industry through Operation Main Street.