A fact about pigs is that they have a very good memory. So whenever you walk them around the barn, they are more likely to perform better in the ring. This fair season I have really started to understand the actual meaning behind the fair.
On April 23rd, right after school, me and my dad left to go to Rossville, which is about an hour and a half from Emporia to pick up little piglets. After a bag of goldfish and some Gatorade later, we arrived. The first thing we did was go into the barn, and the person who was selling us the pigs told us about all of them. He had just a couple cross breeds left so we got the last two. When we loaded them in the trailer, I was still thinking about which one I wanted. After a long nap we arrived at the farm and unloaded. Whenever I got into the pen, one of the pigs came up to me and I suddenly had a name. There was a white stripe around its legs so I figured it looked like a dilly bar from Dairy Queen, so my pig’s name is now Dilly! After we bring them home, we need to make sure that they are living in the right environment. That consists of constant high protein feed to help them gain weight. Snack time, as we fill up water in the evening, includes marshmallows and dry cake mix to gain some extra fat.
After a few months of constant feed and snacks, they are ready for the fair. Taking care of the pigs at the fair and at the farm are fairly different. They require special bedding so it’s softer on their feet and easier to clean up. They require frequent baths which get pretty messy. It can get very chaotic with making sure gates are closed and lots of people coming to see show animals during the fair. Showing at the fair began on July 31st for weigh in. This can determine whether your pig is eligible for sale. This is the point where it determines whether or not your hard work is going to pay off. The morning of the show, August 3rd, starts very early in the morning with a fresh bath and breakfast so they are calm and constantly brushing to keep them clean. Then it’s show time. There is constant in and out of the pens for showmanship and market class. It gets pretty crazy because everyone is going to the same place at the same time. You always want to help each other out by opening gates and keeping track of pigs. When you walk into the arena, there are two pens, a holding pen and a show pen. In the holding pen is whenever you brush off any extra flakes and make final preparations. When they call off your class, they open a gate and once you step in you present your hard work to the Judge, keeping them at arm’s length by your side with a pig stick. After a few minutes of walking around the judge makes his final decisions on your placement of how well you show your pig. Market class is the same way except you get judged on how well your pig looks. Even simple things like a scar or sunburn can make your ranking go down. When the Judge announces the places you get your ribbon and shake the judges hand and walk your pig back to its pen. Once I get my ribbon I staple it on the paper sheet above the pen to show off my hard work.
After showing, I like to sit on the fence across from my pig and just remember all the hard work it took to get here. The day after the show is usually whenever people pick up. The first thing we do is bring out the stock trailer from the farm and load the pigs into the trailer, its usually harder for them to get into the trailer than it is to get them out. Then we get them loaded up and dropped them into their pen at the farm.It is really hard to scoop up all of the flakes because their water hose always leaks so there is water all over the pen. Once all of the pen is scooped you put it in the wheelbarrow and you haul it to the HUGE pile of used flakes and you dump them in there and call it a day. Then when you get back to the pen, we usually have a storage pen to keep all of our feed, washing supplies, chairs etc. We start to pick up the storage pen and load all of the stuff in the bed of my dad or brother’s truck. Then whenever everything is clean we take the broom and sweep the whole isle because it gets so crowded up with people taking their pigs in and out of their pen.
If you ask me, pigs are the hardest livestock animal to show because with any other animal you guide them with a halter. But pigs are free roaming and most times have a mind of their own. This fair season has meant a lot to me because with any other year I have just been mad at myself for not placing well. But its not about the placement, it’s about how you are raising a living thing that deserves the world just like you.
