Stremsterfer children share in hog responsibilities

Many young children look forward to entering fourth grade and being able to join their local 4-H Club. It allows them to compete with other 4-Hers at the county fair, where they show exhibits, projects and livestock.

Jefferson County residents Wade and Elly Stremsterfer said their older child, daughter Sydney, had been excited at the chance to join 4-H and show her pigs at the fair. Sydney just completed her first year of 4-H, and her brother Jackson, just a year younger, will join the program this year. During Sydney’s first year of competition at the county fair, she and Jackson cared for the family’s three show pigs.

“I think her dad was just as excited, as it had been 16 years since he had shown pigs for his last time,” said Mom Elly.

Wade was born and raised on a small farm in Illinois, and raised his own pigs in middle and high school. He worked for Cargill as a hog buyer, and has worked in commercial pig production for 10 years. Today, the family owns a hog barn with 1,200 pigs, where the pigs are raised from 40 to 290 pounds.

Though Mom and Dad are always nearby to give guidance, Sydney and Jackson are responsible for feeding and cleaning the animals. The show pigs are fed two to three times per day since the family does not have a self-feeder. They are penned together when the pigs are young, but usually separated as they get older and the summer shows drawn near.

Their pens are cleaned every other day if not daily, which keeps the pigs comfortable and clean. They are exercised daily, bathed and conditioned to ensure their skin and hair are in good shape. Elly said these tasks involve the whole family.

“We all do it together. We give [the children] the right instructions, and try to guide them to get the job done,” she said. “Allowing a little bit of failure with guidance helps teach those important parts of life through these projects.”

The Stremsterfers select a handful of pigs in the spring to show in competition. Elly said they look at how each pig walks, its muscling and thickness, and its overall appearance to guess how it will look when it’s mature. They pick the best ones that they think will score well at the fair.

The kids name the hogs, and Elly said they can come up with some “very crazy names.”

“It helps [make] it fun when the kids are young and just starting out,” she said.

Elly said everyone in the family gets close to the show pigs, but she and Wade make it clear to their children that the animals are raised for a reason, “and that is ultimately to become food which sustains more life.”

“It’s never easy to say goodbye to anything you have a relationship with, but Wade and I truly believe this is one of the most important lessons that these livestock projects can teach our children,” Elly said. “As in life, we are all going to face circumstances that we have to say goodbye to a job, to a friend or to loved ones. Saying goodbye to a pet or to a 4-H livestock project can teach how to better handle those circumstances.”

In addition to showing at the Greater Jefferson County Fair, the Stremsterfer kids have shown their pigs and goats at open shows throughout the area.

“Private entities have started hosting open shows for juniors across the state and nation to give kids more opportunities to show their livestock, and more importantly build relationships and friendships with other peers from across the state and beyond,” Elly said.

Elly grew up in the town of Ashland, Illinois, and she said moving to a farm has been an adjustment. The family makes sure their animals are taken care of before sitting down for dinner each night, and it seems like they spend all summer preparing for the winter months. They have to turn down a lot of social events because of their farm responsibilities such as tending to the show pigs or helping to deliver a baby calf.

“It is hard to get the kids to understand sometimes, but the older they are, the more they can help and understand how it is,” Elly said.