This blog post is written by our daughter, Courtney, age 12. This post is part of our children’s 4-H market hog project, where they are learning responsibility, animal care, record keeping, and what goes into raising livestock. [Learn more about their 4-H projects here.]
Today was the day, I thought, the day we would finally get our show pigs. It was March 28th. Last month, this day felt so far away, yet somehow it had finally arrived: the second annual Baker family pig show.
To be honest, I was nervous. I had never been to a livestock auction before. Would the prices be too high? Would there be enough pigs? Would they be friendly? A cloud of worry stormed into my head as I hopped into my family’s truck and let my little brother, Kent, in.
We buckled up and got ready for the ride ahead of us. After a somewhat quiet 20-minute drive, we arrived at the Salem County Fairgrounds. We parked and immediately noticed all of the trucks—there were so many!
After getting our buyer ticket, we went into the barn. There were lots of pigs staged in metal pens. I hadn’t seen that many piglets since the previous year, which felt like eons ago. We walked around, inspected the pigs, and wrote down which ones we liked best on the list we were provided.
Then my friend Morgan arrived. We’ve been friends for over two years now, and it has been so much fun! We first met through 4-H at the Gloucester County Fair before our family became members at the Salem County Fair (In 2023, Salem County was full of members so we were able to join Gloucester County until spots opened up in Salem County).
My family then bought lunch from the event’s food trailer, Creek's Edge Catering & BBQ I got a hot dog, mac and cheese, chips, and a Sprite. I was starving, and it was delicious! We sat in the bleachers and ate our lunch while we waited for the auction to begin.
Right after we finished eating, the auction began. First, they auctioned off cakes and Easter baskets to help support the new 4-H club, the Milk Duds. One of the coconut cakes sold for over $300. I couldn’t believe it—you could buy a piglet with that kind of money!
Finally, the pig auction started. After what felt like forever, my dad finally began bidding on pigs. I was so nervous when he was bidding on pigs that we picked out! We bought four pigs. I was shocked by that number because I didn't think we would get that many!
After the auction, my mom went to the office to pay for our animals while my dad, Kent and I went to get in line with the truck and trailer. We loaded up the pigs and headed home to get the pigs settled in their new home. I’m glad this was my first livestock auction experience. Stay tuned for more updates about our show pigs!
