PEORIA, Ill. – Showpigs are trained athletes, and showing pigs is a sport. That was the message a central Illinois showpig feed specialist brought to a diverse gathering of area ag-tech professionals during a Sept. 17 Greater Peoria Ag-Tech Connect meeting at Peoria’s Distillery Labs business incubator.

“A lot of people ask me what showing pigs is like,” said Brice Hintzsche, a livestock feed specialist for Early Bird Nutrition headquartered in Goodfield, Ill. “I tell them it is a sport, and a lot of people laugh at that. But some families participate in travel basketball, and some go to AAU tournaments or do other activities. This is like a sport where everybody gets together and shows their livestock off.”

Hintzsche, who grew up in Franklin Grove, Ill., showing livestock as a youth in 4-H, also has an answer for those who bristle at the cost of competing on the show circuit. “Yes, it is expensive, I agree. But so is going to basketball camp and things like that. Lots of families, all they do is show pigs and travel the country,” he said. 

The feed specialist went on to deliver a tutelage in Showpig 101 for those in attendance, beginning with the PPP, or price-per-pig, for commercial swine compared to the show variety. Commercial pigs, he said, are roughly valued at around 50 cents per pound, while a showpig is worth whatever the customer is willing to pay.

Producing photos of showpigs that have been marketed by Early Bird Nutrition, Hintzsche disclosed just how much some customers are willing to pay for top-quality animals. One castrated male pig was recently sold via online auction for $9,500 by Early Bird to a show circuit customer who went on to claim a blue ribbon at the Illinois State Fair.

“This is a pig that has no breeding value whatsoever. After they are done showing him, he has no value other than being turned into bacon and pork chops,” Hintzsche said. “What determines his value? What someone is willing to pay. This is true price discovery in the auction world.”

Whether a show or commercial variety pig, a pig needs feed. It can be considerably more expensive to feed a show pig, Hintzsche informed the Ag-Tech Connect crowd.

“With showpig producers and buyers looking for those extra attributes, we provide them through the feed – much like regular humans compared to professional athletes. I tell people that showpigs are professional athletes, and people laugh at that too. But I guarantee that most showpigs get better nutrition than people do,” he said. “They’re washed and rinsed four times a day, they’re exercised two to three times a day, they get haircuts and pedicures, all the things that don’t make sense in modern livestock production.”

As for feed costs, commercial swine containing 16 percent crude protein, 1.0 percent lysine and 3.5 percent fat feed valued at $400 per ton can cost as much as $860 for a showpig, according to Hintzsche. The difference in cost is attributed to feed additives that produce desirable growth and performance qualities such as heavier muscling.

Hintzsche grew up in a family that strongly supported agricultural education, FFA and 4-H. His father was agriculture and FFA adviser at Rochelle High School for 35 years, and his brother currently holds the same role at Streator High School. 

“I started off showing sheep, but both my brother and I went to pigs after a couple of years. It started for me in 4-H and FFA and going to shows with my family. I was one of those kids who did sports a little bit through high school, but I realized my true passion was in livestock and being involved in the livestock industry,” Hintzsche said.

Early Bird Nutrition, which has four facilities in Illinois and one in Missouri, works with many of the major showpig feed brands in manufacturing the feed that goes into their bags. These brands are Sunglo, Lindner, Showrite, Premium Advantage, Honor Show and Umbarger. As part of their services, certified showpig feed specialists work directly with swine owners to develop swine nutrition programs designed to enhance pig performance and appearance. They will also make on-farm visits to help determine the best nutrition program for swine.  

The company is also one of the largest licensed Purina feed dealers in the state of Illinois. They also have a fertilizer division and offer aerial applications via their fleet of crop-dusting vehicles.