Swine Discovery - Judging - Crossbred Market Hogs

Written Reasons

Crossbred Market Hogs Will Banks

I like the crossbred market hogs 4213.

The best built 4 barrow is good looking and an outlier for power, I've got him over 2 to start. My class winner is the heads up option who's more natural in his head carriage, and whose length of hip only aids his demanding drive from ringside. It’s truly impressive and not always common that the biggest rib caged and backed barrow drives off the stoutest most secure rear leg. No doubt, I sorted the product driven, heaviest weight hog in class 2nd. However it's her drive from the side that keeps her from winning; she's the short fronted, higher chined gilt that rounds out of her hip, and it’s obvious she can’t replicate the same look as 4. 

Still it's 2 over 1 in the middle, for it's her big blade and stout forearm which allows her to feed back out of her chest floor into the boldest most pliable rib shape, but it's not her muscle that keeps her over 1, it’s her skeleton. The loud colored gilt reads more attractive and relaxed in the angle to her blade and knee, while hinging looser and freer out of her hip and hind leg. Make no mistake the black gilt is certainly the highest cutability most expressively muscled hog and I would make the argument that she's the leanest option of the class who should take to the rail with the highest percent muscle. But I also call her raw muscle pattern a problem within the class; she's the dry ribbed, hardest bodied gilt, who even more concerning pushes out at her elbow and bows her hock when driven away. 

Even so in a contrasting final duo of hogs who could be modified for different reasons to better meet end production values, I prefer the leaner designed gilt over 3. Sure the larger scaled 3 barrow is softer centered, but what true value does this hold in a market scenario when the excessively fat, plain muscled hog will be the least profitable on the rail. 

Thank you