Kicking off their fifth and fourth years of 4-H animal raising, Blake and Wyatt Nordlinder, 15 and 13 years old, respectively, welcomed four squealing piglets into their lives last month – two future show pigs and two buddy pigs for companionship.
“Pigs are very social creatures,” Wyatt said as the boys danced around the scurrying piglets in a shed behind their Boulder Valley home. Wyatt added that the show pigs, about 4 months old, need their slightly younger buddies for “emotional support”.
Spring has arrived, which means 4-H season has begun in southwest Montana. Of all the programs run by Boulder Outlaws 4-H, the local chapter of the national youth agricultural initiative, none has broader appeal than raising animals for the Jefferson County Fair.
“Our fair is a giant community event,” said Outlaws president Maylea Dawson. “It brings people not just from within the community, but from out of the community.”
Participation within the 300-member Jefferson-Madison counties 4-H has steadily increased in recent years, with Outlaws offering about 20 locally raised animals for sale at last year’s fair.
“Everything really leads up to the fair,” said Blake. “I’m excited to see how well they can perform, what the judges think of them…I’d like to see the reward of all the hard work.”
This is Blake’s third year raising a pig, and Wyatt’s second, but both have already won county fair grand champion with their hogs, in showmanship and market competitions.
After the Nordlinder boys shake hay onto the shed floor, the piglets root through their new bedding, grunting happily. The pig enclosure occupies about half of the shed, with the rest of the space dedicated to hay bales and feed pails. A wood plank covers an opening that will lead to an outdoor enclosure once the weather warms enough for the pigs to roam outside.
The boys bought the show pigs at Townsend’s Braaten Show Pigs in early March, and their buddies a couple weeks later. At Braaten, buyers browse the previously priced animals and find their preferred choices. Braaten then picks names out of a hat to determine buyers’ order for choosing their animal. The Nordlinder boys, who spent $500 for their pigs, most of it saved up from last year’s fair, felt confident they’d come away as winners.
Using knowledge from their 4-H course on judging swine, they looked for the perfect ‘Coke bottle’ shape judges seek: broad shoulders, narrow and deep stomach, and large hocks. They also sought straight backs, even when the pig is looking up, and a strong, broad stance.
Blake ended up with his second-choice pig but wished he’d seen his brother’s pig first. One month in, Wyatt’s show pig had the ideal ‘Coke bottle’ shape. Blake thought his pig looked good, with a nice straight back, but not as shapely as he would have liked.
You can’t raise your way out of an unshapely pig, he explained, but you can raise a well-behaved animal that shines in showmanship – an evaluation of how well animals respond to owners’ handling. Looking after the pigs is hard work and requires coordination.
When Blake went with the Jefferson High band to Disney World last month, Wyatt took on the added responsibility. “You have to be there for each other,” said the younger brother.
Part of the value of participating in 4-H is learning cooperation and a host of life skills. The boys appreciated that their mother, Kassie Nordlinder, who oversees Boulder Elementary’s after-school programs, encouraged them to “try it for one year,” Blake recalled.
“I really liked 4-H,” he added. “You get to do some of the community service projects and all the fun events we do. And the fair is always the most fun.”
Kassie views 4-H as a great educational tool, even for kids not planning to go into agriculture. “You learn the value of hard work because it’s a lot of work to raise an animal,” she said. “It’s only six months, depending on your animal, eight months, but it’s hard.”
Just then, a curious piglet stood on its hind legs to peer over the gate and the boys giggled as the other pigs rummaged around the sty, spurred by sudden bursts of energy. Then they flopped agreeably on their sides to be groomed with a thick horsehair brush.
Experienced 4-H animal raisers, the boys are aware of their limited time with the animals. Blake tends to keep his charges at arm’s length, while Wyatt’s happy to go all-in.
“Why not have fun with the time you have with them?” he said, pointing out that many 4-H animal raisers get attached before the big sale at the county fair. “There’s always at least five people crying.”
As hard as the goodbyes are, the boys know giving the animals a good life is also about creating the best product. Stressed or sad pigs make for chewy meat.
“If they’re fat and happy,” Blake said, “then the meat’s gonna taste a lot better.”
