As the 2014 fair season begins, Montana Pork Producers Council is pleased to announce the top honors for light and heavyweight youth carcass hog projects in Montana in 2013. Kyleigh Salois of Conrad had the top heavyweight hog and Kyle Hamm of East Helena received top honors in the lightweight category. Recipients all were honored with plaques at the annual meeting of MPPC in Great Falls in January. Montana State University Extension Service and MPPC were sponsors of the 31st annual Symbol of Excellence (SOE) program.
To earn top lightweight ranking, Hamm entered his 4-H market hog in the Lewis and Clark County Fair where his 243 pound live hog posted a 167.48 pound hot carcass weight, .55 inches of adjusted backfat, a 9.85 square inch loineye and 62.11% lean. For the top heavyweight market category, Salois entered her 4-H hog in the Marias County Fair where her 260 pound live hog posted a 187.62 pound hot carcass weight, .50 inches of adjusted backfat, a 10.00 square inch loineye and 61.26% lean. Curt Dallas of East Helena supplied the pig Hamm raised and Jordan Stoltz of Valier supplied Kyleigh’s hog. Dallas has repeatedly provided top hogs within the SOE program. Meanwhile Stoltz is a sophomore high school student in Valier and garnered 2 of the top 4 hogs in the heavy-weight category. She is the daughter of Trent and Holly Stoltz and belongs to the Wingina 4H Club in Valier.
Kyleigh Salois is a sophomore at Conrad High School and belongs Conrad’s Sandrockets 4H Club. She is the daughter of Tim and Amy Salois. Kyle Hamm is a junior at Helena High School. He is the son of Eric and Patti Hamm. Kyle is a member of the Farm Kids 4H Club in Lewis & Clark County.
Salois says her favorite parts of her project were, “Watching my pig grow, seeing my accomplishments with the work that I put into it and the lasting friendships you form with other people at the fair.” With seven years under her belt with pig projects, her advice to a young Cloverbud includes,” By raising pigs, you take on some responsibilities such as having a good environment for them to live in, checking on them daily to make sure they have enough food and water and working with them from Day One.”
The 2013 Symbol of Excellence competition measured 1,722 market hogs in youth carcass contests representing 46 counties and 234 individual breeders. County agents and other youth contest officials submitted carcass data to MSU Extension Educator Travis Standley, who calculated individual indexes and ranked all the hogs entered. To qualify as a Symbol of Excellence market hog, the animal must meet standards set for carcass weight, muscle quality, backfat thickness, loineye size and percent lean muscle. Of the 1,722 entries, 313 market hogs met Symbol of Excellence quality standards. All qualifying youngsters along with the producers who provided the project hogs received certificates of merit.
The top four Symbol of Excellence hogs in the heavy-weight category in Montana in 2013 were:
Youth County Percent Lean Producer
Kyleigh Salois Marias Fair 61.26% lean Jordan Stoltz, Valier
Jeffery Colesworthy Marias Fair 60.80% lean Midway Colony, Conrad
Mariah Stoltz Marias Fair 60.54% lean Jordan Stoltz, Valier
Gryphon Lombardi Madison-Jefferson 60.25% lean John Smith, Whitehall
The top four Symbol of Excellence hogs in the light-weight category in Montana in 2013 were:
Youth County Percent Lean Producer
Kyle Hamm Lewis & Clark 62.11% lean Curt Dallas, East Helena
Ty Running Fisher Marias Fair 61.91% lean Seville Colony, Cut Bank
Kelty Raciborski Dawson 61.62%lean Julie Lander (4 Kids Farm), Sidney
MaKenzie Williams Custer 61.59% lean Pembrook Colony, South Dakota
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