Showpig News
On this week’s edition of The Inside Scoop, we caught up with Evan Green, owner and operator of Coulson Showpigs. Evan gives an inside look at his operation and even shares some fun facts that you may not know! Read his interview below.
Describe your operation in terms of scope, size, breeds, etc.
Coulson Showpigs (CSP) farrows about 80 litters a year, with 99% of those being crossbreds. We did buy a purebred Yorkshire at OYE this year that I’m excited about working with. We also operate a boar stud focused on elite boars that we trust and use ourselves.
What, in your opinion, makes your operation unique?
I think we have a lot things that make us unique but the two that stick out the most are that we started in 1982. My grandpa (Fred) farrowed the first sows in Warwick. Our sows today still run in the same sow pens that those did. In a business that is ever evolving we have seen a lot of turnover and people come and go, lasting this long is rare. The second thing I think makes us different is there are essentially 5 of us (all family) that work at the pig farm everyday. Everyone has their roles and things they are good at, that seems to really ease the burden that pig farming can create. We also get along really well, most of the time!
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
I don’t know if it was ever said to me, but more taught to me the saying of “treat people how you would want to be treated.” Both sides of my family have been in businesses for most of my life that rely and thrive on customer service and I think that has served us well here. “Papa Fred” as he’s known by most has always been very big on doing the right thing, even in times where we easily could have not done that, he’s preached that my whole life.
Describe your ideal customer.
The ideal customer for me is one that learns your program. That person comes back year after year, knows the kind that work from you, and values our thoughts and opinions. The ideal customer is also someone who is very capable of getting one fed or is in the right camp to get one fed. We have so much going on here, it’s hard to fully help a customer win at the highest level via video. Get a professional in your corner!
Share a story of one pig that stands out amongst the rest of the ones you have raised.
2014 Houston Grand, “The American Bad Boy” as Rash called him. We have been able to raise some big show winners over the years but what that pig did for our brand at that time is immeasurable. Winning a Texas major is hard, winning one for fun is nearly impossible. That pig put us on a different level from a selling standpoint and set the stage for what our brand represents today.
One thing you can’t live without as a breeder.
I have a couple: My wife, her organization, coffee, and a bourbon from time to time.
What is one chore that you hate to do but must be done?
Vaccinating sows
If you could raise pigs anywhere in the world BESIDES the state you are in, where would it be and why?
I love Oklahoma. Wouldn’t trade it for any of em’, but if I had to move, Texas. They are the second most red-blooded conservative state in the union and they like to show pigs.
What’s playing on your radio while working in the barn all day?
Morgan Wallen speaks to me.
A thing you can’t live without unrelated to pigs
Whitetail deer hunting. It’s my happy place.
A fun fact that many people may not know about you.
I’m very competitive. To levels that are borderline strange.
This or that:
Picturing or Videoing?
Picturing
Crossbreds or Purebreds?
Crosses
Stay in a hotel or stay in a camper?
Hotel
Stay home or go to a show?
Stay home. I wouldn’t leave my house most days if I didn’t have to. It’s my paradise.
Frozen semen or fresh?
Fresh