Today, as I watched heifers and ewes being showed, I also watched the acrobatics of the IN ring photographers.  Today’s  livestock photography has evolved exponentially.  From the days of old, when JPT livestock photography simply had a backdrop and used an umbrella and a kazoo to get an animal’s attention, to present times of the photographer sitting the camera on the ground to get that wicked perfect angle of a showman and their animal–unreal.  Which brings up a question.  Has a judge ever tripped over the photographer?

No matter the species, you better start with a good one, then manage feed, environment, hair, hide and showmanship to the Nth degree and then have the final fit job dialed in to a T.  Then make sure you get them in the right class.  And sometimes that backfires.  We managed to weigh out a good one.  Oh well.  Like Ritson Urban always said, “If you ain’t ever weighed one out, you weren’t trying to win very hard.”

The OYE ag mechanics contest increased in #ers and in top end quality.  Hats off to all that stepped up their game.  It was impressive and will only get better.  We had a good day with a division champ, 2 reserve division champs and all of our projects in the top 3.  We came home with 4 new chop saws, 3 grinder sets, 2 John Deere air compressors and a Lincoln MIG welder.  Not all bad.

I like the double whammy factor of the Ag Mech contest.  First, you have to build a quality project.  Secondly, you have to be able to talk about your project.  I had a pair that talked a division champion down into 3rd in their division.  But, I also had a pair of senior girls that talked their pizza oven into a 3rd place in a really tough and large class.

On a goat note, we survived the OYE doe show.  There were some wicked wenches shown here.  The showmanship and fit jobs were unparalleled.  Although I didn’t always follow the judges placing, I truly felt like he picked does that he liked.  There was no stench.  If you wanted to place, then you better have a wide based, cool made one.  And she better look the part and be shown right in order to win.  I wish he handled them more but in the end, he found good goats.

And on an OYE high note.  The crew at OYE accidentally found a way to almost make this marathon enjoyable.  As I easily found a parking spot on Friday morning, then walked into a CLEAN bathroom and noticed that the middle street was not a major traffic jam, it dawned on me while it was enjoyable.  NO PIGS!!!   With the PED virus outbreak, the OYE gilt show is moved till after the market shows.  This freed up a week with no pigs.  The hotel hallways are not littered with wood chips.  The elevators don’t smell like hog $h!t.  The wait times at restaurants are shorter.  It is simple math–you remove several thousand pigs and their owners, and everything gets easier.   Monday morning, property values will greatly decline as the barrows move in.  They will put a strain on sewage, water, sanitation and the traffic.  Sheer #ers cause issues.

And for you morons that think that I am a hog hater.  I have a hog showing AND breeding resume that is better than most hog jocks and not as good as some.  I used to enjoy feeding and showing pigs.  But, the current modern chemistry experiment that is required to feed & keep hogs sound in today’s current environment is not enjoyable.  But thankfully, the other species seem to be headed down this same path.  Nice!

And when I get home from this marathon, Herfy the Hereford hog is waiting in the freezer.  Can’t wait.