Puget Sound Junior Livestock Show and Sale Mt. Baker FFA

When? Where? June 2-4, 2016(Thursday-Saturday) Miss 1 day of school (Friday) and probably Thursday. Skagit County Fairgrounds Haul to FFA barn on June 1 or prior Students may stay there with adult 8:00 am Friday and 8:30 am Saturday Show pig in Type and Fitting and Showing Clinic on fitting and showing in April

Raising Pigs Info Can be kept at barn with barn agreement Student pays $275 to Mt. Baker FFA on tag date. Remainder balanced at the end. Animals kept at barn pay an additional $5 for wormer. Student must sign a barn contract!! Can be kept at home Need constant water supply Heat lamp and straw until March Mr. Rightmire will weigh 1 time for students never showing before, student weighs at least twice Must be kept dry and clean Shelter from wind and rain Plan on investing up to $500 in feed, hog, etc. Free choice feed until 220 pounds – that means all it will eat!!!! Worming and dusting pig Pigs will have all vaccinations Must feed a quality balanced ration Sicknesses must be reported promptly and with a rectal temperature Keep a notebook with all info in it, record book, and calendar.

Feeding a pig 18-19% protein (Crude Protein) Elenbaas Excel 18 or Laurel Farm Supply Feed 13 bags of feed usually (650 lbs) - $15.99 +/- a bag 1.0% minimum lysine content Free choice feed until 220 pounds – starts at 3-4 lbs/day. Gradual increase to almost 10-12 lbs per day Calculating gain per day Monitoring weight is important Keep fresh feed, no mold consider a self feeder if you will be doing this for a while

Pig Draw Based on activity points Expensive hogs vs. cheaper hogs Date – Location: FFA barn If not taken that day, $1.50 per day for feed. Or provide feed 2 pigs are better than 1

Sponsorship Basics Necessary for a student to make money Needs to be done early (April/early May) Money stays with the student who received it Sell hog (corporate sponsor) = $450/pig or whatever you want to charge (it is your pig) Additional sponsors = $150+ All animals sell no matter what. If you make or lose money, that is up to YOU!!! Mr. Rightmire bids on animal, Lynden Meat/Del Fox hauls pig to butcher Total money divided by weight = Price per pound This is an artificial auction in most cases. ALL SPONSOR MONEY DUE JUNE 1, NONE ACCEPTED AT PSJLS. Spreadsheet to keep!!!

Sponsorship $2.00 per pound Buyer “turns” hog $2.00 – Floor Price Floor is $.75/pound Sponsors pay $.1.25/pound Animal goes to market for the $.75/per pound Buyer “takes” hog Buyer pays $500 ($2.00/lb) Del Fox hauls and butchers after sale.

Swine Evaluation Traits for weaner pigs Muscle Leanness Structural Correctness Balance Growth Potential Volume Do not go off cuteness

Muscle: Loin Ham Wider standing Ideally you want a groove down the top and a dimple before the tail head. Wider standing

Leanness Over loin edge Jowl Observe shoulder blade movement when walking At the lower third of the ham. Toughest to evaluate and predict at weaning Picture of pig is lean, but very shallow body, no rib shape

Structural Correctness Length/width of body Width of eyes tells a lot about the future look of the pig. Taller/bigger isn’t better. Levelness of top Soundness of feet and legs – hocks and knees

Balance Design Proportion Completeness Ex. Pietrians are a breed that are not extremely well balanced as they may be overly muscled. Usually indicated by unusual black spotting

Tail set Higher on ham is more desirable, as close to being part of the back as possible. Pretty good indication of muscle and structure!! Lower tail set (down ham) – not desirable

Other important considerations Rib shape is more important now Depth of body, not a lot of space between belly and ground. Don’t base it on size (differs due to age, etc).