SWEETWATER COUNTY — Following a week of festivities at Wyoming’s Big Show, the Sweetwater County Junior Livestock Auction will close out the fair Saturday.

The 4-H and FFA members of Sweetwater and Daggett Counties have been raising their animals for several months, and this week they showed them at the fair in both showmanship and market. In showmanship, judges look at how well the exhibitors can control and lead their animals, and for market, the animal is judged on its weight and look. Saturday, the 4-H and FFA exhibitors will show their animals one last time in the livestock auction.

Green River FFA advisor Liz Thoman said the auction, which starts at 2 p.m., will feature 57 market beef, 18 market goats, 21 market sheep, 131 market swine, eight turkeys, and four meat rabbit pens. The sale order will be rabbits, turkeys, sheep, goats, beef, and lastly, swine.

“Steer kids started their projects back in November, and swine, sheep, goat kids started in March and have been working nearly every day since then to halter break, feed to finish, and train to show,” Thoman said.

Green River FFA member Madison Korkow raised three pigs this year, and she showed two of them at the fair. Her pigs are named after the nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Doc; Hickory is a Hampshire, Dickory is a Hampshire cross, and Doc is a Duroc pig.

“I think pigs teach you a lot about responsibility and about holding yourself accountable because pigs are very temperamental and you have to learn to problem solve with them,” Korkow said.

For example, one of her pigs split its hoof two weeks ago and had to be scratched from the fair and auction due to its inability to walk on it.

“There’s a lot of things that go wrong, and you have to think fast,” she said.

Preparing for Fair

This is Korkow’s second year of raising pigs, however, she said raising pigs has been a family affair for over 20 years as her siblings all did it. While swine makes up 131 of the animals being auctioned on Saturday, 4-H and Green River FFA member Jakob Lloyd showed his last sheep, Puff, this week after five years. Prior to showing sheep, he also showed goats. Lloyd said he’s feeling bittersweet about showing his last sheep, as he is happy he’s nearly done but sad because he’s enjoyed his experience with showing animals at the fair and has learned a lot.

A lot of work goes into raising animals, with Korkow and Lloyd both starting in late March. Korkow bought her pigs in late March when they were around 50 to 60 pounds, and she had to work throughout the spring and summer to build their weight up to 250 to 290 pounds. She explained that pigs have trouble regulating their own body heat, so she had to provide them with heat lamps and saw dust and raise them inside until May when the temperatures were between 70 and 80 degrees.

Along with keeping their temperature regulated, Korkow had to walk her pigs two or more times a day so they could have success in the showmanship performance, and they had to be fed twice a day. She also weighed the pigs weekly to ensure they were putting on weight on a proper timeline.

Lloyd got Puff at auction March 30, and he said the work began that evening.

“Getting Puff ready for the fair is at least a two-time daily thing. I feed him every morning and evening and change his water at least one time per day. I also clean his pen at least one time every two to three days. I also walk my sheep daily and practice ‘setting’ my sheep up to be ready for show. Sometimes, I will just hang out with Puff to have him become more comfortable with me. I put in one to two hours per day in getting Puff ready for the fair. I also went to the Menck Club Lambs in Mountain View almost every Monday to work with my sheep,” Lloyd said.

Korkow and Lloyd both brought their animals to the fairgrounds this week to prepare for their showings. Korkow said after getting her pigs settled in their pens at the fairgrounds, she stayed with them for two to three hours to minimize their stress as pigs can lose weight rapidly when stressed.

Heading Into the Auction

It all starts with the buyers barbecue luncheon at noon prior to the auction. Lloyd said he always experiences some anxiety and nerves before going into the auction, but he looks forward to the luncheon. He said his showmanship on Wednesday wasn’t his best performance, and he faced some disappointment with his fifth place finish. However, market went a lot better.

“I bounced back in market and got Reserved Champion in Heavyweight Black Faced Market Lambs, Reserved Champion in Overall Black Faced Market Lambs, and third in Overall Market Lambs,” Lloyd said.

“I am always nervous going into the auction, but I usually do well and sell my project at a good price,” he continued. “I have always been good with talking to potential buyers and enjoy that part of the auction.”

Korkow also said communicating with buyers is a strength of hers, and she feels confident heading into Saturday.

“I like talking to people so I’m feeling really good about it,” she said. “I know if I put myself out there the community will give back because that’s just kind of how it is in Wyoming.”