Life Of A State Fair Pig: From Birth To Judging
LAKE CITY, Minn. (WCCO) -- Heading to the barns is part of tradition at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. But what does it take to get animals to the fair?
A Lake City, Minn. teen has only one more shot to win at the Minnesota State Fair with her prized pig.
Katie Loppnow shows pigs every year at the fair, but now she's giving us a glimpse into how it all starts for a prized pig.
"When she makes this noise, she's letting down milk," Loppnow explained as the pig gets ready to feed. "That's her nursing call, it's kind of a 'Everybody come to dinner.'"
Her little babies were born just two days ago, weighing just a couple of pounds.
"Pigs can gain about two pounds a day when they're really putting on the feed," Loppnow said.
In four to six weeks, they'll be moved to the barn. Once here, the pigs gain 6 to 8 pounds a day. They also gain personality.
"They love it. They're attention hogs," Loppnow joked.
Besides feed, Loppnow gives the pigs granola bars as a special treat. That's how the training process starts.
Then comes a walk and, finally, a potential state fair candidate is picked -- this time it's Rodney.
"Rodney is a market barrel and he's a registered purebred Yorkshire which is a specific kind of breed and he weighs about 280 pounds," said Loppnow.
Judges will look at pigs between 230 to 300 pounds.
"Rodney has to make weight, so he's kind of like a wrestler," said Loppnow. "We have to watch what he eats. He's got a nice diet plan and his weeds are not in it, but he sneaks a couple."
Rodney also needs endurance. Walking helps get the pig stretched out and easier to manage once inside the ring. Once there, judges will look at specific traits.
"So what they're going to look for is a lot of depth in chest in through here," said Loppnow. "And they're going to want the width of his shoulders to carry all the way back through to his loin and into his rear-end and really fill in the ham. They're looking for bone structure and size of foot."
Like all beauty pageants, there is grooming that must be done.
Once the fair is over, Loppnow will return to class at the University of Minnesota and will use the training she's learned on the farm.
"Someday I hope to enter the medical field and I've already dealt with nutrition plans and genetics," she said.
As for Rodney, there's already a man of the farm. So once the judging is over, he'll eventually go to market.
The 4-H Livestock Shows, including everything from cows to rabbits, runs through Sunday at the various livestock barns, the exercise ring, the Judging Arena, and Warner Coliseum.
