By David Ross
VP & CMO
GVF Group of Companies
After restarting in 2022, the Ontario Junior Swine Show (OJSS) drew an increase in students competing in 2023. Students competed by showing their gilts and barrows around the show ring where they were judged by Phil Smith of Seven Star Farms and Bodmin Genetics on showmanship and confirmation of their pig(s). It’s great to have Phill in the ring with over 40 students competing for one of the top 25 spots, who are entered into the OJSS sale.
Additional competitive elements include the barn competition which has students decorate their pig’s stall to help inform show goers about various elements of raising pigs, while also making the stall look unique and appealing. Grand Valley Fortifiers was honoured to sponsor the Lean Challenge Award and the Group of Three county competition as just a few of the additional awards that continued to be celebrated in the ring.
Following the awards ceremony, the OJSS sale was hosted by Katie Sinclair and auctioneer Scott Bessy. Once again, Katie and Scott did a fantastic job creating excitement and encouraging bidders to dig deep in their wallets to support these students who represent the future of the Ontario pork industry. It was encouraging to have eleven different buyers participate in the sale that provided the students with prices ranging from $3.00 to $8.50 per pound for their winning pigs.
We congratulate all the competitors and their parents who put in many hours to raise and show their pigs this year. We want to say a big Thank You to Phil Smith and the organizing committee, made up of many volunteers from the pork industry, as without their efforts running the OJSS and sale would not have been possible again in 2023.
This article was written for the Spring 2023 Swine Eastern Dairy Grist. To read the whole Swine Grist, click the button below.