Editor’s note: This is the second in the series “State Fair Stories,” where we visited with youth exhibitors at the Missouri State Fair from Aug. 11 to 21 about their projects and experiences. Look for five more stories like this one over the next few weeks.

Away from the hustle and bustle of the center aisle that divides the 4-H and FFA show rings in the Swine Building at the Missouri State Fair, Kate Koch kneels in the yellow shavings of her pig’s pen. It is about time to make the walk past the crowds and into the ring for her class, so she offers her crossbred gilt assurance.

With an outstretched hand, the pig starts to nibble. Koch’s family and friends stand on the outside of the silver pens, offering encouragement and support for both of them. You see, this marks Koch’s fifth and final swine show at the state fair.

Building an SAE

Koch started this show pig journey as part of the Elsberry FFA. It was her Supervised Agricultural Experience. The chapter in northeast Missouri offered students a chance to raise their animals at a communal barn next to the school. “That is where I first had my pigs,” Koch says. “It was a great way to learn about raising animals.”

Since then, she carved out space for the show pigs at the family’s homestead. “I’ve learned a lot about raising pigs over the years,” she says, “anything from nutrition, health care and showmanship. Most of all, they taught me a lot about responsibility.”

The Missouri State Fair Swine Barn celebrated not only the building, but also the people this year. It marks a century of showcasing the best of the state’s pork industry.

Throughout FFA, Koch took advantage of more than just showing pigs. She also showed sheep, horses and raised vegetables, and competed in public speaking events and trap shooting. Still, she finds people and pigs can develop a relationship.

“When you are around them, caring for them, you get to know them,” Koch explains. “They rely on you, and know who you are when you walk into the pen. It is just fun raising show pigs.”

Beyond the show ring

But it is more than competition that brings Koch back to the Missouri State Fair — it’s the friendships. “You meet so many new people when you come here,” she says. “It is fun to come back every year and see them again. It is also fun to meet new people from across the state.”

Koch attends Crowder College.

As she and her gilt make their way to the ring to finish this show career, a banner on the other end of the barn sums up the type of legacy exhibitors like Koch leave during their time in the Missouri State Fair Swine Barn.

It reads “A Century of Memories” with this quote from J.R. Reid, “The Swine Barn, Where Competitors Become Friends and Friends Become Family.”