Pigs with Personality

August 11, 2017

When I was around twelve years old we had four pigs. It was one of my chores to feed the pigs, and when they first arrived I was excited. Baby pigs, after all, are some super cute little animals! I began my chores of feeding and caring for the pigs with enthusiasm. As they grew (and at the age of twelve I wasn't) they began to out weigh me, push me around when I brought their food and intimidation set in. I also began to tire of the clean up of pen duty. Shoveling after pigs is not that fun of a job. Once they got out of their pen and I realized then how quick, intelligent and evasive they can be.

These lessons had all but faded by the time I arrived at The Troy Fair this year to photograph the livestock sale. As the day went on I grew a better understanding of many of the pig related "sayings" that had been creeping back into my mind.

Pigs definitely have a personality. Some pigs trotted right into the ring stopped by the food container long enough for me to photograph them and went on out to the sale ring, while others squealed, ran and fought fiercely to stay out of the photo spot. By the end of the day I was smelling like a pig sty due to the fact that I was actually peed on by one of the ornery (or maybe it was stage fright) pigs.

I enjoyed the afternoon of photographing (despite the wet sneaker) and soaked in the quirkiness of the pigs and the pride and commitment the youth had in caring for their livestock.

Although I had never been a part of 4H or FFA I could see the importance of these organizations and the impact they have had on the youth that were at the fair that day. I was saddened to hear that the local chapter was losing funding and may have to cut some of it's programs. I truly hope these organizations can survive as they are relevant to our farming future.

Now on to some cute pig photos...