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!

Carpenter's Notes From the Road

                The week of July the 23^rd was spent with only a few days out on the road as I had the annual NJSA Junior Board retreat to tend to. I am incredibly excited to serve as your 2012-2013 NJSA President. I take every opportunity presented to share with people just how fortunate I have been this year with the once in a lifetime opportunities that have come my way. I truly feel privileged!

                Monday the 23^rd I had to make the stop in Chrisman and look in at a Yorkshire herd that has made a rather significant impact on the breed in the past several years. Tracy Lorenzen has an infatuation with making Yorkshire better each generation. His determination is paralleled by only a select few breeders in the business. Like many visits I have been on, the sow herd here is the element that allows success to come Tracy’s way. I saw a few baby hogs here that may be showing up at a few shows here as fall approaches so be sure to check them out.

                Tuesday the 24^th I spent in Morrison, IL. Now this wasn’t exactly what I would consider a herd visit but it was time well spent. I met up with Justin Whitley of PureTek genetics to do some scanning at a finishing floor near Morrison. For the duration of the time I was present, we scanned about 500 head of fat hogs and collected the data for research. I was glad to be able to lend a helping hand.

                Tuesday and Wednesday of that week would be spent in the office with the rest of your 2012-2013 NJSA Junior Board planning events for the year. Friday the 27^th I spent some time neat Lafayette making a couple of herd visits that I knew at some point during the summer I needed to make, as I completed them it sure made sense why.

                Del Guard and I spent a better portion of the morning discussing the belted breed and Del’s approach to how he aims to better the breed. Del has got a pair of boars he is dialing in for Indiana. The first boar hog would be an OPTIMIST son born the mid part of January. This one I appreciated for being a well balanced hog that shouldn’t take your belted hogs in the wrong direction. Del has got a HOMEMADE 17-3 boar that I really liked. This hog was big footed, square made and had plenty of shape. Maybe the best thing about this hog was his ability to tie it all into a well designed functional package. Look this one up come Indiana.

                A visit that will stick with me for quite some time will be one I made near Chalmers at a place people recognize as Purple Power Boar Stud. Chris didn’t hesitate to make sure I understood his philosophies and general outlook on this purebred and crossbred deal. This is not to say other breeders didn’t by any means, but this along with the hogs I saw may be in equilibrium in terms of what I took from this visit. I really appreciate when breeders do all the talking simply because I can come away with that much more that I didn’t already know. I won’t go into detail about the hogs in large part because I really don’t need to, Purple Power is no stranger to the business and most of you are very familiar with their impact on the hog breeding business. One thing I will say about a hog there is WOW is still WOW. Age on that hog has not compromised his ability to impress you from a phenotypic stand point. Chris has got an extremely deep set of Yorkshire and Duroc hogs on the place. Many of you will end up having to do one of two things; using the boars at Purple Power or trying to beat their offspring. I’ll let you decide that.

                Crossroads Genetics was another visit I enjoyed on Friday. I was glad I stopped in because Adam has certainly got some boars on stud that are surely a force to be reckoned with. Adam has got a good understanding of what it takes to survive in the semen selling business and I appreciate his time for letting me stop through.

                It’s my pleasure to chat with you folks over the phone about what I have seen so please do not hesitate to continue to do so. See all of you over the next few weeks.

Carpenter's Notes From the Road

                Michigan Livestock Expo was held July 13^th-17^th. Ali, the NJSA Intern and I would spend the weekend at the show helping out in any fashion we could. Hats off to Al Snedegar, Brad Mortenson, Ernie Birchmier and crew for organizing a great event. The NSR breeds were very well represented and your grand and reserve overall hogs would be two Yorkshires. My first Michigan experience was great! My favorite part may have been meeting a lot of new people!

                After wrapping up my trip to Michigan Livestock expo I would make my way back down into Indiana where I would finally make my way to a few well marked places on the map for those that scour the country come spring time looking for that next great one.

                 I spent Tuesday morning visiting with Dave Kilmer about their program and what allows for their success. Dave has seen the industry change time and time again, which gives an advantage when it comes to decision making. BULLETPROOF was Yorkshire hog that still wows me today. This one makes them right! ABOVE ALL is a belted boar that has made a lot of Hampshire hogs better! Two herd sires that have done Dave a tremendous amount of good lately.

                I would spend a few hours that afternoon discussing some new purchases and some herd boars that have improved the program there at Top Cut Genetics with Jeremy Lipps. I saw a lot of boars at this visit so for time sake I won’t discuss them on here but feel free to call me with any questions you may have regarding what I saw. An unreal set of sires to look through!

                Terry Shaffer of Shaffer’s Gold Rush met with me Wednesday morning to show me their program and how the philosophy over the years has developed into one that allows them to operate a few different entities. Between two separate boar studs and running the show pig sow herd, Terry and his family certainly have their hands full. An outstanding visit with some sires on stud here that maybe unmatched by any.

                Thursday I spent my time back in Michigan where I would look though a few more herds. Pat & Doug Albright would share a little bit about what they do to make the purebred deal work for them.  I saw a pen of keeper gilts at this place consisting of some reds and belted hogs that were downright good. The baby hogs coming off of this farm come early spring next year are going to be tough ones to get around!

                I would make my way a little further north to Kent City where I would see some Hampshire hogs that would excite me! This has got to be one of the deepest most consistent set of Hampshire hogs across the farm I have seen all summer long! A lot of noise has been made in the last few years by the genetics that can be found at this farm and for me that was exciting to see.

                Last but certainly not least, Brian Hines and I would meet up Friday morning. Now Brian warned me there wouldn’t be a huge number of hogs to look through but after spending the first few minutes there I was glad I stopped in! The mother of Gold Standard and Hinesight is still cranking them out. I saw a considerable amount of young pigs that could make some noise come the end of the year here so be on the lookout for those.

                Another great week spent on the road looking through breeding hogs. I have enjoyed speaking with many of you regarding what I have seen. Don’t be afraid to call or email me in the weeks ahead. I hope to see many of you at the state fairs here in the next few weeks.

Lackey's Notes from the Road

Hey folks, I saw a really nice set of hogs this week. If you are looking for some breed changers, I have seen some hogs that will make an impact. I had a great visit at numerous places, including Meekers, Peters, Showtime and Hi Point. Give me a call or check out their websites!

Carpenter's Notes From the Road

               What an impressive week it was there in Louisville folks. Once more, I was impressed by the amount of outside help and commitment displayed by the youth, parents, and breeders of our outstanding organization!

                The opportunity to spend the week before Louisville at the office in West Lafayette brought upon an opportunity for me to experience first-hand just what kind of “prep” went in to making this show run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Needless to say, I may have fine tuned my organizational skills that week by a mere margin.

                July 9^th would mark that start of a week that was sure to be an eye opener for me not only in terms of the hogs I would set me eager eyes upon, but maybe more so the philosophy and passion possessed by the gentlemen behind these two lucrative firms. Now readers, on a more personal note, as I naturally spend an ample amount of time behind the wheel of a trusty steed, these last few weeks I started asking myself a few questions in this time. Aside from the hogs ( I understand they are the reason we go to herd visits), why have the firms I have visited been able to be so successful? As far as the things that work for each farm, why does it work for them? What is it that ties it all together to write the story of success on a farm to farm basis? In what ways are these farms exclusive to each other? Now these are just few of the questions and the point I am trying to drive home here ladies and gentlemen is that I have quickly learned that reflection on a day to day basis play an integral role in how I decided what it is that I need to take away from the last visit in order to mentally prepare for the next visit. When I say mentally prepare, each visit for me is an opportunity, in order to make the most of any opportunity you have got to have a plan or an idea of what it is you want out of the opportunity. I do my best to have a sincere visualization of what I may be fortunate enough to get out of each visit, if not I considered it time well wasted.  I consider the men currently in the full time position of my job and previous field men of the NSR, talented minds that have conquered this task and have mastered the ability to do so. Enough with the Corey Carpenter Summer Intern philosophy soap box, you’re on here to read about what I’ve seen so here it is.

                Tuesday the 10^th of July brought me maybe the most unique visit to date. Monday the 9^th I had traveled down to Jonesboro, AR which sits about 20 miles from Lake City. I arrived at the Cobb Family farm about 9 o’clock that Tuesday morning with anticipation at capacity. Now everyone I have talked to so far asked me how it was and the first thing I tell them is that my hopes for this visit were as such; that both Steve and Aaron would just talk and talk and talk and talk and if I got real lucky they would talk some more! Still to this day I firmly believe that if you just don’t say too much and let them share with you than you will get more valuable information that you ever thought. Long story short Tuesday the 10^th must have been my lucky day because I got all of what I had hoped for and more. Steve and Aaron possess one of the most evident passions for the purebred and crossbred hog industry that I have experienced. I struggle to describe with words the dedication they have had to the industry. CHECKMATE , FINAL MOVE and REVOLUTION were all three Yorkshire sires Aaron drove out of the stud for me. All three hogs had pedigrees with history behind them! I was able to see sows that go back to these three hogs and you talk about breeding boars that pass it on, these hogs flat get it done. For those of you looking to make barrows, REVOLUTION is the sire for you as he sires the most barrow shaped muscle in Steve and Aarons experience. CREATURE, BEAR, SUPER SPECIAL and MODERN MARVEL were cross hogs Aaron drove out for me. I can say with much confidence you folks don’t need me to describe and tell you all the good I saw in these hogs, they have simply beaten me to it through the offspring they have produced off that farm. Tremendous breeding pieces across the board, everyone knows what they have done! I want to thank Steve and Aaron for taking their valuable time to show me their operation and share with me a little bit about their operation and how they have become the reputable firm they are today. A herd visit for the books!

                Hillsboro, KY would be my next stop to see some Yorkshire hogs that are unique in their own right. Eric Watson and I would meet up at the farm around 2 o’clock on Wednesday  afternoon and get acquainted. Like many visits we made the short walk to the herd sire pens where one could find, SPUD, MAGNUS, DIEGO and a little boar they call SPONGEBOB. Now I maybe telling you all something you already know but I’ll go ahead and say it anyways, if you want to make complete, correctly angled, functional, production oriented hogs that will give you all of that on top of that showpig look you may already have, you need to study the Watson firm. It is really that simple. Lay in a set of females with Diego and go whatever direction you want from there, you will have good hogs! Eric does an amazing job doing what he does with the hogs there and it is no mistake! We have seen these guys in the sale ring at shows around the country and it’s for a good reason. Folks the value is in that flesh and bone that sits in front of a lot of you at the shows. This has got to be one of the most predictable, consistent set of Yorskshire hogs in the country. I was truly privileged to be able to spend my afternoon discussing Yorkshire hogs with Eric and I thank him dearly for sharing his thoughts and ideas regarding Yorkshire hogs with me.

                 Another great week on the road has served me well and my summer only gets progressively better in terms of my ability to take advantage of every opportunity I am presented with. I hope to see a lot of you at the state fairs coming up here in the weeks to come. Again, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions regarding the hogs I have seen in the past weeks. I have thoroughly enjoyed discussing hogs with those of you that have!

Until next time.