08/20/08 — WEST MEAD TOWNSHIP — In shape and well-groomed, Sparky and Sugar strutted their stuff Tuesday, earning themselves the coveted distinctions of being two of the most beautiful sights to behold at this year’s Crawford County Fair.

Among the swine crowd, that is.

The two pigs can thank their owners, Brittany and Amanda Roberts of Conneautville, for those accolades. The sisters, both members of Conneaut Valley FFA, were “head and shoulders above the rest of the competition in both showmanship and fitting,” swine Judge B.J. Eicke of Wooster, Ohio-based Livestock Promotions told the crowd at Tuesday’s FFA swine event.

“You just go out there and do your best and try to have fun,” 15-year-old Amanda said after leaving the packed-house show arena. “That’s what it’s all about — having fun.”

But make no mistake: Getting there takes a whole lot of hard work and dedication, according to the sisters.

Working to raise their animals together, Amanda and Brittany said they usually take the pigs out and walk them — a sort of pig pageant practice run — each day. Brittany, 19, also raises horses and is involved in equine events at the fair.

“Between that and pigs, it gets kind of crazy,” she said. But it’s worth “the joy of going out there and being a role model to the young kids in 4-H. We try to give them pointers on how to do better” in their efforts.

Amanda, a first-year FFA member, is also still involved in 4-H as a member of the Bridle Benders 4-H Club. Involvement in both organizations has instilled values like leadership and responsibility, and “teaches you to work with others,” she said.

FFA “is a great thing to get involved in,” said Brittany. And, contrary to what some may believe, “it’s not all about showing pigs.”

Just as 4-H is an integral part of the nation’s cooperative extension program, FFA is an integral part of its schools.

Known for the first 60 years of its existence as Future Farmers of America, what is now the National FFA Organization was founded in 1928. Today, the organization — whose national membership tops 500,000 spread across more than 7,000 in all 50 states — describes itself as “dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.”

FFA focuses its educational program in three core areas: classroom/laboratory instruction; supervised agricultural experience programs; and FFA student organizations activities and opportunities.

For members, that translates into school presentations, field trips, contests and more activities in a wide variety of areas touching on all things agricultural, said Brittany.

“If I ever have kids, I want them to be involved in 4-H and FFA,” she said.



Did you know?

There are currently about 2 billion pigs on the planet, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Here are a few more interesting points on pigs:

–– Pigs are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals.

–– Pigs cool themselves by rolling around in mud because they don’t have functional sweat glands.

–– Pigs are considered a valuable asset to biomedical research because their eyes and hearts closely resemble those of humans.



Learn more

To learn more about 4-H and FFA, go to www.ffa.org and www.national4-hheadquarters.gov on the Web.



TODAY AT THE FAIR

9 a.m.

–– Judging of saddle horses and ponies, ayshire, brown swiss, guernsey, jersey, milking shorthorn, red and white, hitch classes, open class swing and 4-H swine, horse show.

10 a.m.

–– Draft horses, home department begin sponsors.

10:30 a.m.

–– “Make it with Wool” contest –– office pavilion.

noon

–– Horse racing

1:30 p.m.

–– 4-Star Homemaker Award, judging beef breeding stock –– open class and 4-H

–– “National Dying of Wool and Mohair” –– Annex Exhibit Building #1

3 p.m.

–– Judging of 4-H dairy goats

5 p.m.

–– Market beef judging

7 p.m.

–– Sheep department demonstration, sheep/swine show pavilion

7:30 p.m.

–– Gretchen Wilson and Blake Shelton