Jennifer Slagle, her dad, Ron Smith, and her husband, Don, are the principals behind WinMor Farms, a 65-sow show pig operation located in Grinnell, Iowa which is one hour east of Des Moines on I-80. Don and Jennifer reside in the Des Moines suburb of Johnston with their two children, Will (7) and Anna (5). They both work full-time in the ag financial services industry. Don also manages their row-crop farm. They feel very fortunate that Jennifer’s dad, Rob, is able to fully devote his time to managing the show pig operation.
DL Showpigs houses 180 sows and 20 boars in Lamesa, TX. Owned by Josh, Bridgette & Kenley Krohn this operation is focused on providing both purebred and crossbred seedstock and showpigs. In addition to pigs, the Krohn’s also raise cotton, hay and cattle.
Photographing picture-perfect pigs is about as easy as trying to say photographing picture-perfect pigs ten times fast; not very. Wrangling baby pigs to photograph is often the hardest part of the business. Here are some of the secrets from the experts in the business to help you get the perfect shot.
Sale day can be a stressful and intense time as a seller. This stress can be compounded if you feel like every other seller is holding their sale the same day as your sale. Rather than fretting, choose to stand out from the sea of sellers with these tips.
Purchasing hogs online is a bigger undertaking than purchasing, say, a pair of boots online. You can’t box a barrow back up and send it back like other online purchases. It is a long-term commitment, whether you are an exhibitor, an ag teacher buying for students, or a parent buying for young exhibitors.
By, Jackie Lackey, Encore Visions CEO and Creative Director
1.) Start Early
Just because Facebook offers immediate and timely communication to your audience doesn’t mean you should take time for granted. Planning your social marketing campaign is a must to achieve effective results. Multiple posts or paid campaigns, spread out over a 1-2 week period is ideal per sale. Use a calendar to jot down when those posts need to take place and what the focus of each post will be.
W-D Swine Farm - Home of the Watje Blue is family owned and operated, located in Turlock, CA. They run around 150 sows that farrow year-round. Ryan started raising pigs when he was 8 years old and has had a passion for the industry since. He now shares that passion with his wife, Stacey and their 3 kids, Trent, Drew and Stella.
Arlington, Indiana is the home of Premium Blend Genetics and owner, Ted Laird and his wife of 30 years, Regina. Ted and Regina have four children: Jacob, Morgan, Nolan & Mitchell. We asked Ted to share with us a little bit about how he keeps everything running and this is what he said…
We think it is important for you to have the information and tools that will help make your online sale a success. To help ensure that you have a master list of everything you need to do for your online sale in one place, we have created this handy, printable online sale checklist.
As a husband, father, pig farmer and agriculture enthusiast, Jesse Heimer has found his way to the top of our business over the years and created a name for the HH brand both in the ring and as a provider of elite genetics. From the Hill in Taylor, MO, Heimer’s progressive approach to all facets of the business and unique take on our industry has provided differentiation for him in the marketplace and one that many look to as a current benchmark. Want to know the inside scoop on how he operates? Well here it is…
Fall litters are starting to hit the ground and you have decided to sell your pigs online. Booking your sale early will ensure that you maximize your marketing efforts (see more about this here) but picking the right date is just as important. Here are three factors to keep in mind when picking a sale date.
State Fairs are underway, farrowing is in full swing – you’re busy, no doubt. But one thing you don’t want to push to the back burner is booking your fall pig sale dates. Rather than waiting until you know when others are selling or waiting until you think they are ‘ready’ to sell, we recommend booking early and allowing those dates to drive your marketing efforts.
While online sales offer endless options from breeders all over the nation, hauling baby pigs to their final destination can be a challenge. Transporting your pig can be one of the most stressful steps of the online buying process – not just for you, but more so for your pig. Long-time hauler Trent Lahr out of Indiana shared his top five tips for hauling baby pigs to reduce stress and ensure they unload to a great start.
Final Drive Genetics is a 50-sow, showpig operation located in Shipshewana, IN. It is owned and managed by Jordan and Katie Leatherman and Jordan’s dad, Todd Leatherman. In addition to her duties with the operation, Katie is also a 4-H Extension Agent for Purdue University in Elkhart County, IN.
