The process of pigging out

COEUR d’ALENE — The Kootenai County Fairgrounds was awash with squealing pigs and muddy kids during the 4-H swine weigh-in day Saturday.

Teresa Balderrama, 4-H program coordinator for Kootenai and Shoshone counties, said they were expecting to weigh about 300 pigs for 217 4-H members throughout the day.

"We've had them weigh in as light as 23 pounds today, and as heavy as 200," Balderrama said.

The 4-H members must bring the pigs to the spring weigh-in to participate in the program. The pigs are weighed, tagged with an "earring" and photographed for identification. The kids had to purchase their pigs 100 days before the North Idaho State Fair in August, so the pigs were purchased around May 15, which does not leave much time to fatten up a pig that only weighs 23 pounds.

"It's like Weight Watchers in reverse," said Sharla Wilson, extension educator with the University of Idaho.

The pigs must weigh 230 pounds by fair time or they will be disqualified and will not be sold at auction. While the pigs need to be at 230 or more to qualify, Wilson said they discourage the kids from letting the pigs become "garbage disposals," and encourage them to feed them with commercial feed with labels that show the vitamins and minerals the animal will need.

But the weigh-in is just the beginning. The kids will learn a lot throughout the summer about responsible pig ownership and raising quality animals for the market.

"In addition to just raising the animal, they are also learning educational things about swine," Wilson said. "They are learning about what it takes to do the nutrition, they are learning about the reproduction, they are learning about healthcare and management of those animals."

Keeping track of the pigs weight is a science. If the pig is not gaining enough weight they may need to change the feed or up the food intake somewhat, and if the pig is gaining weight too fast they may need to feed them less and exercise them more. The kids are required to log activities and keep track of expense records. They will also give a presentation to their peers, which is another area where they learn valuable life skills.

Sierra May, 15, of Coeur d'Alene, volunteered to help usher the pigs from the trailers to the weigh station and back to the trailer. May has been in 4-H for six years with the horse program and this is her second year raising a pig.

"I love doing it just because it teaches you so much about managing money, especially the market part of it, and it teaches you a lot to work with others — team effort," Sierra said. "Working with other people, volunteering, building trust with animals."

Sierra's pig weighed 127 pounds and its name is Lamb Chop. Wilson said many of the kids name their animals something like "Pork Chop," or even "Chicken and Waffles," to remind themselves what the purpose of the swine program is. She said many kids have a difficult time at auction, knowing their pigs will go to the butcher, but the families and club leaders are always honest with the kids from the beginning.

Another daunting task for the kids is teaching the pigs to walk with them at the fair.

"You walk them with a stick, so it is a little tricky," Balderrama said. "They don't have any kind of a leash or a lead."

During the fair, the judges will look at the quality of the animal and a fitting and showing is held to see how well the child presents the animal.

"Even if the pig doesn't have the best genetics to start out with, you can still excel in the fitting and showing because that's all about you," Wilson said. "Or if you are more into the production aspect of it, you can show how well you can select feed and raise those animals."

The pigs will receive a blue, red or white ribbon for quality by the judges at fair, and those that receive a white ribbon are not eligible for auction. Wilson said the animals that do not go to auction can still be sold, it simply means the kids have to put on their salesperson attitude and sell it to a buyer themselves because it is still a marketable product.

To get a good quality pig, the owner not only needs to feed and exercise them properly, but they need to keep the pens clean and give the pig fresh water on a regular basis.

"Whoever is buying that end product knows that it was taken care of in a one-on-one hand-cared environment," Wilson said.

Prior to the fair, the 4-H members will go out and let the public know about the auction, marketing their own pigs while they are at it. They will often have a letter or brochure prepared to give to the prospective buyers.

Erin Ranny of Hauser has four kids in the 4-H program and is swine leader of the Mountain Gem club. She said the kids get anywhere from $500 to $3,000 for their pigs at the auction. Some of the members purchase pigs from breeders and some raise them. To purchase a piglet in May, the cost is around $100 to $150 and Ranny said the market for a 4-H pig is very competitive because, out of the 70 program areas in 4-H, swine is the most popular.

"They specifically raise the price because these are born in a certain timeframe, so they know these are 4-H pigs," Ranny said.

If a sow does not produce the amount of piglets the breeder expected, Wilson said it "throws a whole wrinkle in the system."

In her 14 years in the 4-H program, Wilson said she has seen many of the kids start at 8 years old and has seen them grow through the program. What they learn in 4-H can be very valuable, and she said most of the kids meet life-long friends in the program.

"Really what we are doing is growing kids, but we want to make sure what they're growing is a good product," Wilson said.