Life in the Pig Pen: Raising Hogs for Show & Sustenance

Raising hogs isn’t for the faint of heart. They’re stubborn, occupy a lot of space, are notoriously vocal, and tend to be smelly. But, all that said, they also have a way of rooting their way into the hearts of those who get close to them. 

This January, young agricultural enthusiasts gathered at the Guadalupe County Fairgrounds to compete for ribbons and sales rights with their project animals in this year’s Guadalupe County Youth Livestock & Homemaker Show. 

In a corner pen of the hog barn, a young girl clad in a pink t-shirt and blue jeans let out a boisterous laugh and threw her arms across two pigs who lay snoozing in the sawdust. Bethany McCormick was her name and she is a Guadalupe County eleven-year-old who attends Lockhart Jr. High. In third grade, she started showing pigs with Navarro 4-H. Ever since then, her whole world has revolved around them. 

“You’re with them constantly,” Bethany said. “People are going to be complaining, and be like, ‘quit talking about pigs, talk about something else,’ but I spend six months out of the year with them.”

A typical day involves getting the pigs fed in the morning. She does this herself on weekends, but her family helps out on weekdays. Then she sets off to school, where she has to maintain passing grades to compete with her animals. Once the school bell rings, Abigails heads home to work with her hogs. 

Since show pigs aren’t allowed on a leash, they must learn to obey their handler’s commands, which are given using a stick called a hog bat. By waving the bat in the pig’s field of vision and tapping them on their shoulders, a skilled showman can deftly maneuver their pig wherever they want.

“Once they get comfortable, we go everywhere,” Bethany said. “We walk to the gate and back, down around the field….to the pink palace and back –– which is my deer blind. They’re stubborn, they’re they’re own creatures. They have their own brain, their own personality. On the weekend I wake up and I’m just like meh, but dad’s like, ‘go feed your pigs,’ so I go feed –– give them their certain feeds that help them bring out the gut and keep them muscular. One of my favorite pigs, Pumpkin, gorgeous thing, he was so sweet. You’d be walking and he’d be climbing up on the fence, like ‘You got stuff for me? You gonna come say hi?’” 

Bethany gets two pigs each year just in case one cannot show due to injury or illness. This year’s duo is a colorful pair –– one white, the other black. They go by the names Mr. Swagger and Romeo and enjoy all the best things in life, like snacks and snuggles.

“They can get super lovey,” Bethany said. “Take Mr. Swagger here for example. I’m over there sitting with my legs out, and what does he do? He sits on them. Romeo is a Berkshire and little Mr. Swagger is a cross. Both pigs are very sweet. They love belly rubs and marshmallows. My friend told me pigs like Nilla wafers and marshmallows, so that’s their treat. When you walk them with their head up, they’ll get a marshmallow and you reward them. Every now and again it can get a little bit hard when you’ve got a crazy pig, but all you’ve got to do is feed them a treat and soon they’ll walk good and be all happy. It takes a lot of time. We’re walking about a mile and a half a day. They pick up sticks while they’re walking. Mr. Swagger, he’ll be carrying a branch from a tree that just dropped. The other day, I let him out and he just goes barreling –– running around and around. And then he starts tumbling, and he’s literally just going in circles. We’ve watched him roll so many times. They’re funny.”

All of this time and effort leads up to the stock show, which of course, requires even more work to get ready. Leading up to show day, hogs need their coats clipped and to be washed to look their best for the judge. The smallest details matter in a class where multiple animals look similar. This can mean the difference between selling your animal or going home with an full trailer and empty pockets. 

“You have to bathe them because you’re going to need clean skin,” Bethany said. “Let’s say there’s a pig that looks exactly like your pig, but your pig has mites all over his stomach; he’s going to pick the pig with the better skin. So after the show, we keep them for a couple of months and then, well…we have to eat them because it’s part of their life cycle. I’m a meat eater. I’m not a vegetarian. It’s hard. I cry my soul out, and then I take my blanket that I’ve had my entire life and throw it over my head. It may get tough sometimes, but just keep going –– just keep cruising along. Like Dorey says, just keep swimming.” 

A life lesson learned at only eleven years old. 

Abigail’s father, Tommy, is a master electrician for the city of Seguin and fully understands the importance and weight of the things he’s helping teach his daughter because he learned them at home as well. 

“My family did it to me, too,” he said. “It’s just part of agriculture. Now, I don’t make her dress it out; we take it to a processor. We have a local guy we use. We’re also deer hunters, so we make our own sausage. Normally, we just get ground pork and use it like hamburger meat. But then we have the pork chops and roast.”

According to Tommy and Bethany, there is a significant difference in the flavor and quality of the meat they produce at home as compared to what you might purchase at the supermarket. 

“Store bought is more flavorless,” Tommy said. “You know, if you get a good steak that’s got great flavor, well that’s what these pigs have. There’s actually another breed that my cousin raises, they’re called Herefords. She’s had several of them, and they are by far the best tasting.”

Bethany enthusiastically added that Herefords are the “Wagyu of the pork world” and that she loves them.

Bethany didn’t make it to sale this year, but isn’t bothered. Next year, her brother will start third grade, which means finally getting to show animals. Then, as his big sister, Bethany will take on a new responsibility to guide him on a journey full of fun and help comfort him when the hard part comes. Right now, Bethany sees agriculture in her future –– unless she becomes a lawyer, but no matter where she ends up, the lessons learned lying in the corner pen at the county show with two happy pigs will stay with her for the rest of her life. •