08/09/2026
WE NEED TO DO BETTER!!
Yes…this is a long post…and…Yes…I know that it may fall on deaf ears…But I am doing my part…Are You?
You know me…I am sometimes outspoken, driven towards things beyond myself, and yes go against things that are considered to be the “popular thing to do.”
I have had the chance to judge swine and other species across this country from Pennsylvania to Hawaii…and I have always closed the shows with basically the same words every single time I had the chance to do so….”I thank you for the opportunity to judge and I am thankful for the opportunity to leave a part of me with you…as I will take a part of you back with me…” And in this instance and at this moment…I want to say it’s time for us to do better!!!
I am not always a judge, a boar stud owner or breeder…sometimes I am there as a friend or as a spectator…And that leads me into this something that I feel that should be brought up and spoken about.
I had the chance to attend a county fair the other day in which I was invited to by a customer of LVS. He is an older gentleman, an older breeder that at one time topped a lot of county fairs, state shows and such. He had gotten out of breeding swine in the early 2000’s…But now…Now he has a granddaughter a 2nd year 4-H member…That has talked grandpa into helping her breed her own and too teach her to build her own herd.
I want to first off commend and congratulate this awesome grandpa and his even more his awesome granddaughter for not letting the “Bad” that I witnessed that day get to them…And remind you all…That it takes doing something bold and different to make big changes within in a world full of small minds.
See this project of grandpa and granddaughter is exactly that…a project in which they are doing something different…Something some people would consider not “popular” and not within the “trend”…A Berkshire sired cross with a Duroc x Chester mother…Yes, you read that right and yes it did have an interesting color pattern and yes the ears did break.
As I watched the show from behind the holding pens…I rarely like to sit in the stands…I watched grandpa and granddaughter getting her market barrow ready for her class…Grandpa giving her the words that we have all heard once or twice in our life…”Stay off the gates” “Drive good lines” “Stay out of the crowd” and most importantly “Have Fun & Good Luck”
As they came to the holding pens I watched on as others…Breeders, parents and yes other show youth…giggle, point fun and yes make derogatory remarks at the girls project.
“Would you look at that…the circus came to town”
“What are they thinking…don’t they know what…a show pig is???”
“How long did it take her to break that pig…Not worth the effort”
These are just a few of the comments I overheard…
Her 270ish pound market barrow that was 6 months old, had kind of a reddish and bluish spotted up pattern on its back, with most of the body white in color. He was fed all the right feeds, supplements and its skin and hair was in great condition. His bone was above average, his shape and dimensions fit his weight, and his skeleton was smooth and fluid….To fix him “in the way of today” his front 1/3 needed to be a little more showy and elevated…and his ears would need to be not broken.
Her barrow “Pete The Cat” stood out in a sea of belted swine…and that made them even more a bigger target to the “Bad” that took presence that day. But they had a good judge that day…a judge that was not influenced by what is deemed “cool.” She ended up 4th in a class of 12…The judge sounded off on all that I spoke of above about the barrow…He also did his part and took a moment and said “Give this one a different color pattern and make those ears erect and all of you guys around ringside wouldn’t think twice…moving this one up to a higher place in the class.”
But still on their way out…there was the “Bad” there again to try and knock the smile off a 9 year old girl’s face…And then there was grandpa…waiting at the gate to give her a big hug and the best words we all love to hear…”You done good my girl.” They didn’t let the “Bad” in…They just went back to their pen…and enjoyed the moment together.
I watched the rest of the show and talked to some other customers and friends…Yes, I was approached by some of the “Bad.” Heck even one of the bad guys wanted to sell me a boar…when I asked him what he thought of that girls barrow…He said and I quote “Yeah what a joke right” as if I was in agreement with him and the “Bad Crowd” …Guess what…I didn’t buy that boar…And I don’t care if he knows or not…he doesn’t buy from me any how…But I do hope that he does reads this…as I hope that it makes him become a better person in the long run.
Then here came grandpa and granddaughter…still smiling and her holding her 4th place ribbon…She came up and said, “Mr. Rusty I want to thank you for the semen…That “Mines Bigger” Berkshire boar improved my gilts for next years breeding…I am keeping 4 gilts out of him that are littermates to “Pete The Cat” my barrow that placed 4th today.” I asked her if she had fun showing him? She said “Oh yes, it’s been fun watching him grow…I was there when he was born…there where 12 in that litter and grandpa and I stayed the night in barn…she had the last one at 3am…I was a sleep but grandpa was there.”
I spent about another 45min or so with them…She filled me in on their game plan for this years breedings and how she was going to use some of her money from selling “Pete The Cat” to buy herself some new show clothes for next year…and help chip in for semen so grandpa didn’t have to pay for it all.
Grandpa stood there just grinning as any proud grandpa would do…She then asked if she could go play with some friends…but before she left she said “Grandpa we need to buy all our semen for the girls from Mr. Rusty.” As she walked away grandpa said “There goes my whole world.”
Me and grandpa continued to talk…We go way back you see…as I bought pigs from him when I showed…As we continued to talk I asked him…In the best way I know…”How did you shut them all out?” “ You guys could have easily bought “popular” females and “high dollar semen” and did it that route…He looked at me and said “Rusty you know better than that…I am the HD/F1 generation…we have to be different to make a difference…we are making ours from scratch and they are buying theirs premade.”
We said our goodbyes shortly after that and he booked a 10 dose contract to rebreed the sow and the new 4 gilts.
Thats what LVS is…That is what I am…That is what I want to pass on to my children as they can pass it on to their children to as well…Be the difference…Be the the Good and screw the Bad!!!
So…back to the moral of this whole story…WE NEED TO DO BETTER!!!
I see it at every show…what have we become…what are we teaching the youth…Are we not the mentors, breeders, and the youth of tomorrow…or are we just self righteous…small minded…and bullies?
So back to what I always say….When you leave a part of you somewhere is it the better part? Or is the part that you become ashamed of?
Encourage each other, promote difference, be the reason there is a future within our industry!!!
And Most Importantly Don’t Let The Bad Ruin The Good!!!
All My Best,
Rusty Bingham
Please fell free to share this post with others if you like…And if you do…You’re Alright In My Book!!!
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