Aaron Fisher, Youth Livestock and Equine Specialist

A very successful Tennessee State Junior Swine Show was held January 7-9, 2020 in Murfreesboro. The show featured 256 youth exhibitors from 37 counties that showed 543 hogs. This included 188 Breeding Gilts and 355 Market Hogs. In addition to the individual hog classes, youth competed in showmanship (257 youth), skillathon (212 youth) and the ultrasound carcass class (104 youth). The judge for the show was Breanna Lawyer from Shirley, Indiana.

The 2020 Tennessee State Junior Swine Show was held in conjunction with the Tennessee Pork Producers Association annual meeting. A special thank you to all the Extension staff, specialists, parents, volunteers and sponsors who made this year’s show a success!

Award and general sponsors are included below:

Champion Show Supply, Farm Credit Services of Mid-America, Harford Livestock Insurance, James Meat Company, Jenkins Show Pigs, Lindner Show Feeds, PIC USA, Prater Show Pigs, Reese Brothers Mule Company, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation, Tennessee Farm Bureau Insurance, Tennessee Farmers Cooperative, Tennessee Feed and Grain Association, Tennessee Livestock Producers, Tennessee Pork Producers Association, Tosh Farms, Ty Jones Show Stock, UT Animal Science, UT Herbert College of Agriculture, Zoetis

More information on the Show Result Highlights.

The Prospect Classes are part of the Market Hog Show. The Champion Prospect was Bethany Sims from Roane County and the Reserve Champion Prospect was Jared Smith from Clay County.

The Grand Champion Drive is where breed champions and reserve champions compete for an overall top 5. Below are the participants and winners from the grand drive.

Breeding Gilt Champion Drive

Breed	Champion	County	Overall Placing		Reserve Champion	County	Overall Placing
Berkshire	Jake Ozburn	Bedford			Jake Ozburn	Bedford
Chester	Mary Carter	Putnam	4th		Gracee Woods	Henderson
Duroc	Ellianna White	Clay	3rd		Emma Rue	Roane
Spot	Casper Cossitt	Warren			Matt Roach	Henderson
Yorkshire	Bethany Sims	Roane			Ellianna White	Clay
AOB	Hannah Sanders	Bledsoe	5th		Audra Hart	Bledsoe
Crossbred	Ellianna White	Clay	1st		Bethany Sims	Roane	2nd

Market Hog Champion Drive

Breed	Champion	County	Overall Placing		Reserve Champion	County	Overall Placing
Berkshire	Turner Harville	Smith			Jake Ozburn	Bedford
Chester White	Kyra White	Macon	2nd		Bryce Collins	Anderson
Duroc	Blane Collins	Anderson	5th		Macy Gamble	Anderson
Yorkshire	Emma Rue	Roane	3rd		Ellianna White	Clay
AOB	Hannah Sanders	Warren			Hannah Sanders	Warren
Crossbreed	Kyra White	Macon	1st		Luke Lay	Monroe	4th

In the Carcass Class, hogs are ultrasounded to collect measurements of important carcass traits, with 24 hogs qualifying for the purple award. To be a Purple Award, hogs must have a live weight between 250-280 pounds, a 10^th rib fat thickness between 0.50-0.80 inch and a loin muscle area between 7.0-9.99 square inches. A special thank you to Dr. Rob Fitzgerald of PIC for performing the ultrasound measurements. Below is a list of the Carcass Top Ten.

1. Abby Starnes – Monroe County
2. Jasper Donaldson – Clay County
3. Brie McLerran – Clay County
4. Cary Eslick – Lincoln County
5. Emma Woodcock – Macon County
6. Keegan Hansel – Jefferson County
7. Cordell Eslick – Lincoln County
8. Caden McKnight – Monroe County
9. Payton Croft – Bradley County
10. Nate Larrance – Jefferson County

Showmanship Winners

Skillathon Winners

Premier Exhibitor Winners

The purpose of the Premier Exhibitor Program is to provide 4-H and FFA members the opportunity to demonstrate the skills and knowledge that they learn through participating in the junior livestock projects. Premier Exhibitor winners are a result of adding the points earned in the animal show, showmanship and skillathon. Below are the top 5 winners in each division.

Explorer Division

Junior Division

Junior High Division

Senior Level 1 Division

Senior Level 2 Division