MARKET HOGS By: Kiona Elkins—Blue Mtn. Community College

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PLACING AND REASONS I placed this class of market hogs, I started the class with the white shouldered barrow as he showed me the best combination of leanness and muscle and was overall the most complete hog in the class. Ideally I would have liked to see him leveler and squarer off his hip, but nevertheless in my beginning comparison it is 3 over 4. He carried more dimension and expression down his loin edge which led to a ham with more pop and flare. He carries more natural thickness and comes down on a larger foot. I realize 4 was a taller, longer hog, however he rounds over his top giving up in the overall dimension and expression of 3 so he is second. In my middle pair I used the hampshire over the duroc. He carried more width and dimension down his top carrying down into the lower portion of his ham and is likely to produce more total pounds of product when sent to the rail. I grant 2 for being the leanest hog in the class who would require less trim on the table, but he is shorter bodied while being the shallowest in his ham so I left him third. In my final comparison it is 2 over 1. The barrow was a taller, better designed hog who is trimmer in his lower 1/3. I can certainly appreciate the york gilt for her rib shape, but after this she was the wastiest, narrowest based, and overall lowest performing hog in the class so she is last.