Pork Checkoff - Pork 4 Kids - Pork Show-and-Tell

Hi! My name is Mary and I am 12 years old. I live on a dairy farm and have been in the 4-H Swine Project for 3 years. This is Erika, the Duroc gilt I raised and showed last year- I was so proud of her- she won grand champion in the county fair carcass contest! One of my favorite parts about showing is talking to people and making new friends. When I am at the fair it is all about my pig. I lay down with her in the straw, mist her to keep her cool, brush, feed and water her, and get her ready for the show on my own. Little kids really like my pigs. They will come back sometimes more than once to see them because they are so tame and love people more than anything. I like to show pigs just for the fun even if I don't always win, the exhaltation of it is enough to last a life time. In my opinion one of the best parts of the year is getting and raising a feeder pig.