One campaign that has taken the social media channels by storm this past year is the #RealPigFarming campaign. For those of you who don't know much about the campaign, here's a little background info. It was started this past summer by the National Pork Board, and the goal of the campaign is for pork producers across the U.S. to share the stories of their farm with consumers. Within the first 50 days of the campaign's launch, it reached just shy of 100,000 people, had posts from 47 states, and made around 5,000,000 impressions. I have been fortunate enough to be a part of the campaign, though my pig farming background is not the typical swine background you would think.
I have always had a passion for the swine industry, even though I didn't grow up on a large swine farm. In fact, we didn't even have any sows until this year. And by sows, I mean we had one York gilt we kept from state fair who had 2 live piglets....needless to say Kahler Breeding and Farrowing saw it's first and last year in 2015. We also don't have any large finishing barns. In fact, my dad isn't even a full time farmer. How did I get into this pig thing? Well, to put it simply, it's in my blood. My grandpa and his brothers owned and operated a hog buying station in southeast Iowa for about 40 years. You don't see many hog buying stations nowadays but essentially he bought pigs when they were ready for market from local producers and then transported them to the packing plants and received the carcass money. When my grandpa sold the farm to my uncle, my uncle began breeding and raising show pigs. That's where my pig story begins.
My show pig career began when I was three. My dad, grandpa, uncle, and I raised derby pigs and truckloads for the Iowa State Fair open show and ISU Block and Bridle show in the spring. Once I was old enough to show in 4-H, naturally I showed pigs. I have had the opportunity to show at county, state, and national level shows. Each year, my sister and I buy our pigs from various breeders when they are about 40 pounds. We then spend all summer feeding, walking, and conditioning 15-20 head of barrows, gilts, purebreds, crossbreds, etc (each year brings something new). Through my years showing pigs, I gained a strong interest and really a passion to learn more about pigs and the swine industry as a whole. My grandpa died when I was 12 which is ironically when I really started getting into the pig stuff. I like to think it's something he passed on to me before her left and I can tell he leaves signs that he's doing the pig stuff with me in spirit sometimes. My interest led me to run for my county Pork Queen, which I was fortunate enough to be crowned. That led me to run for the Iowa Pork Queen and my agvocating for the swine industry has just taken off since then.
In January of 2014 I was crowned the Iowa Pork Princess, which gave me the opportunity to spend a whole year talking to consumers about the industry I absolutely love and want to pursue a career in after I graduate college. Through a training seminar at the World Pork Expo, I learned about the #RealPigFarming campaign and right away knew I wanted to be a part of it. I may not have the traditional pig background, but my pigs still enter the food supply. How I raise my pigs directly affects what ends up on people's plates. Most of my posts are pictures or Tweets about the daily chores and care that goes into my show pigs. However, my barn is pretty empty after October. Therefore, I spend the winter months sharing my knowledge and fun facts about the swine industry on my social media channels using the hash tag. I'm also a part of many pig related clubs and organizations on campus so I also use the hash tag to share what's going on with those events. Although my term is finished now, I also used the campaign to share my adventures as Pork Princess. My "farm" may be small, but it still has a role in feeding the world!
What I love best about the #RealPigFarming campaign is that you don't have to have that commercial background to share your story. Each farm is different and each farm has its own story. This campaign has allowed producers of each size and shape to be able to share their stories with consumers in an easy and effective way. If you haven't seen much on the #RealPigFarming campaign, I encourage you to search it on Facebook or Twitter. Who knows? You might just learn something new about the swine industry! Also, if you have any questions about my farm or what I do don't hesitate to leave a comment!
I have always had a passion for the swine industry, even though I didn't grow up on a large swine farm. In fact, we didn't even have any sows until this year. And by sows, I mean we had one York gilt we kept from state fair who had 2 live piglets....needless to say Kahler Breeding and Farrowing saw it's first and last year in 2015. We also don't have any large finishing barns. In fact, my dad isn't even a full time farmer. How did I get into this pig thing? Well, to put it simply, it's in my blood. My grandpa and his brothers owned and operated a hog buying station in southeast Iowa for about 40 years. You don't see many hog buying stations nowadays but essentially he bought pigs when they were ready for market from local producers and then transported them to the packing plants and received the carcass money. When my grandpa sold the farm to my uncle, my uncle began breeding and raising show pigs. That's where my pig story begins.
My show pig career began when I was three. My dad, grandpa, uncle, and I raised derby pigs and truckloads for the Iowa State Fair open show and ISU Block and Bridle show in the spring. Once I was old enough to show in 4-H, naturally I showed pigs. I have had the opportunity to show at county, state, and national level shows. Each year, my sister and I buy our pigs from various breeders when they are about 40 pounds. We then spend all summer feeding, walking, and conditioning 15-20 head of barrows, gilts, purebreds, crossbreds, etc (each year brings something new). Through my years showing pigs, I gained a strong interest and really a passion to learn more about pigs and the swine industry as a whole. My grandpa died when I was 12 which is ironically when I really started getting into the pig stuff. I like to think it's something he passed on to me before her left and I can tell he leaves signs that he's doing the pig stuff with me in spirit sometimes. My interest led me to run for my county Pork Queen, which I was fortunate enough to be crowned. That led me to run for the Iowa Pork Queen and my agvocating for the swine industry has just taken off since then.
In January of 2014 I was crowned the Iowa Pork Princess, which gave me the opportunity to spend a whole year talking to consumers about the industry I absolutely love and want to pursue a career in after I graduate college. Through a training seminar at the World Pork Expo, I learned about the #RealPigFarming campaign and right away knew I wanted to be a part of it. I may not have the traditional pig background, but my pigs still enter the food supply. How I raise my pigs directly affects what ends up on people's plates. Most of my posts are pictures or Tweets about the daily chores and care that goes into my show pigs. However, my barn is pretty empty after October. Therefore, I spend the winter months sharing my knowledge and fun facts about the swine industry on my social media channels using the hash tag. I'm also a part of many pig related clubs and organizations on campus so I also use the hash tag to share what's going on with those events. Although my term is finished now, I also used the campaign to share my adventures as Pork Princess. My "farm" may be small, but it still has a role in feeding the world!
What I love best about the #RealPigFarming campaign is that you don't have to have that commercial background to share your story. Each farm is different and each farm has its own story. This campaign has allowed producers of each size and shape to be able to share their stories with consumers in an easy and effective way. If you haven't seen much on the #RealPigFarming campaign, I encourage you to search it on Facebook or Twitter. Who knows? You might just learn something new about the swine industry! Also, if you have any questions about my farm or what I do don't hesitate to leave a comment!