Carpenter's Notes From the Road

Another outstanding week on the road it has been for me. State fair season is here folks and it seems as if it has brought my herd visit opportunities to a screeching halt, with the exception of a few firms in Ohio. The better portion of last week was spent at the Ohio State fair accompanying Ralph and helping out in a variety of fashions. Ralph and I both spent time at the beginning of the week at the junior gilt show there in Ohio and then helped with the junior barrow check-in later in the week. I was flattered to have the opportunity to assist with a variety of tasks at these two shows. Ohio has a remarkable set of leaders that work hard to make these shows a success.

                Tuesday the 31^st Ralph and I made a quick visit to Watsons in KY to look at their Indiana Yorkshire entry. George and Eric have a solid entry going to Indiana that is sure to play hard up there. I look forward to seeing how that hog does. Later that day Ralph and I peeked in at Sharret’s place and saw some hogs that are right there with the ones that have been making noise all summer long! Dr. Sharret has got an evident passion for the Purebred deal and when you visit with him about his hogs, it really shows! The visits that day were well worth while!

                Later that week I took time to get away from the fair and make two visits that simply put, just had to be made the way I saw it. My first stop would be made north east of Columbus at Shipley Swine Genetics. Randy and I had the opportunity to get acquainted and look through a lot of good hogs. As many of you could possibly assume, DOC 100K might have been the highlight of this visit. This hog has only gotten better and should continue to do so. Randy shared with me a little bit of philosophy and approach he takes in producing purebred seedstock that will go into the real world and be productive for his customers, something Randy is noted for.

                Following the visit to Shipley’s, I had the opportunity to cruise down into Bloomingburg, Ohio the very next day. Jim and I met up and went through the boars in stud. Guy’s this place has got to be at the top of your list if you’re wanting to make that next generation of hogs better. An outstanding set of Yorkshires here and a line-up of cross boars that are as deep as they come. I had a great time visiting with Jim about his hogs and how they have come to be so successful. Really a neat visit.

                Monday the 6^th Ralph and I met up at Moyer’s for a visit at the Genetic Edge boar stud. Ben showed us a line-up up hogs that have flat gotten it done lately. If I were to write up here on the blog all the success these boars have brought the Moyer family, I might wear out the keys on this old laptop of mine. Maybe the more frightening aspect of this firm is the set of young boars they have recently acquired. A solid, complete map of boars laid in at Genetic Edge, I am not convinced you can make a wrong turn when you buy out of this one.

                After the stop at Moyers I made the short drive to Austin, MN to meet up with Michael Wednesday morning. Michael and I helped collect samples and take a few different measurements from the NBS Progeny carcasses there at Hormel. I saw it to be a privilege of mine to be able to help out with a portion of this whole process. I am really glad I took the time to do this.

                Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana State fairs are on the agenda for the next couple of weeks and I can’t wait to see you folks that I have had the opportunity to visit with over the previous weeks!