Why are Spotted hogs relevant in commercial and show pig production today?

There have been hogs on my family’s farm for nearly 70 years. Our breed of choice for those years has been Spotted hogs. The herd was started as my Grandfather’s FFA project and it has developed into a business. A business that has stood on a solid foundation of honesty and integrity for all of these years, a foundation we plan to sustain for many years to come.

I called our family farm a business and I believe our management decisions must reflect this attitude. However, our family farm is also a way of life and a source of pride and happiness. That happiness comes from many places but two of the most meaningful our repeat customers that are buying our genetics for use in their commercial herd and new young people that are looking for a FFA or 4-H project.

Although the number of independent commercial pork producers is dwindling, I believe they still need superior genetics that are functional and help their bottom line.

Over of the years, the breeds that compose our 50 sow herd have diversified, but none are as special as the Spotted breed. I love the opportunity to have a new customer come to the farm looking for a boar. Typically they will see the Spotted hogs and ask several questions because they have never experienced the breed in their own operation. My favorite moment is when they ask what the benefits of the spotted breed are.
In my opinion there is no other breed that offers as many benefits in a commercial herd as Spotted hogs.

The strength of Spotted hogs begins with a uniform, productive sow herd. Spotted sows can lay down and farrow large numbers of pigs that are robust and uniform. Sows farrow with ease and are able to milk like any maternal breed. The piglets are big and vigorous giving us high weaning weights and continue to excel in the grower as they are one of the most aggressive eaters. Combine that with great feed-to-gain ratios and you can be assured they will go to market sooner which helps a producer’s bottom line. When hogs are marketed, producers can expect high dressing percentages and extremely high quality flavorful pork.

Spots are the best dual purpose breed in the industry, as they have the terminal traits needed in crossbreeding programs that come from high quality rugged boars that are durable and can breed naturally and pass their positive production traits to their offspring. The spotted breed also has the maternal traits that allow us to sell pure bred replacement gilts with confidence that they will perform for their new owners.

We have all seen our breeding programs switch from selling 200-300 boars a year to selling any where from100-150 showpigs for the same money. I believe there is nothing wrong with this transition and see it as a great opportunity for the Spotted breed as we go into the future. Many of the traits that we emphasized for commercial breeders are also relevant in the showpig sector. The hogs we sell for show purposes need to perform well for the buyer so they want to come back. They need to grow with ease in a package that is appealing in the show ring but also sound and durable enough to handle everyday production with out the use of special care to fix a problem that shouldn’t be there in the first place. To me this is where the spotted breed can shine as we have always been known for sound durable hogs that will perform in all environments. Young people should be listening to their peers and judges to learn how to select proper pigs. They need to be able to pick out the differences between their hog and the ones ahead of them and behind them so they can understand the placing and appreciate a good honest hog for what it is. When a FFA member or 4-H’er comes to our farm I do not see it as an opportunity to make a sale I look at it as an opportunity to create a relationship in which I can try and help foster a passion for the breed I love.

In summary, I truly believe there is a place for spotted hogs in the future whether it is in a commercial herd or in a young FFA or 4-H’ers back yard. There are three things we as breeders need to remember to ensure this.
1) PURE BRED PRIDE. If we do not have pride enough to support our breed how can we expect the breed to support us?
2) Advocacy. This comes with pride. Be an advocate for our breed and breeding program and don’t expect anyone else to do it for you. Being an advocate goes beyond the individual. You must be an advocate for the entire purebred business and hog industry as a whole.
3) Know who your boss is. Many of us love farming and raising hogs because we are our own boss but in reality our boss is the buying public. Our consumers are the boss and they vote on how well we’re doing by the vote of their dollar. Whether it is in the sale ring or the number of people that are coming to your farm to buy, we must always have our consumers best interest in mind. When they recognize we have their best interest in mind, success will follow.

My passion for hog production and more specifically Spotted hogs runs deep. Feel free to stop by or give me a call I would love to visit about hogs – Spotted or otherwise!

~Steven Resler