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A family lesson in giving and serving is provided through the Hogs for Hunger program.

Mindy Ward, Editor, Missouri Ruralist

October 18, 2021

4 Min Read
Josh Humphreys with his children and feed pigs
HOG HEAVEN: The Humphreys (left to right), Gideon, Rowan, Henry and their dad, Josh, enjoy working with the feeder pigs at their farm outside of Fulton, Mo. The family donates hogs to their church’s food bank as a way of giving back and filling a need for protein for those in need. Mindy Ward

Josh Humphreys knew there were those in his community who struggled to find their next meal. He saw it firsthand through his church’s own food bank. So, last year, his family donated 11 hogs to Southside Baptist Church in Fulton, Mo., to be given away to people in need.

Then this year, an email from the Missouri State Fair allowed this Callaway County pork producer to take part in another opportunity, teaching his young family the importance of giving back and serving others.

The Missouri Farmers Care Drive to Feed Kids has a Hogs for Hunger program that allows Missouri State Fair 4-H and FFA swine exhibitors to donate their animal after the show. These show pigs are loaded and sent to a processor, where ultimately the animal’s meat ends up at food banks.

Humphreys’ stepdaughter, Jill Pry, was one of those swine exhibitors. The family talked about it and decided to donate 3½ hogs to the program. But there was a caveat. Humphreys wanted the donation to remain local, so he opted to bring them home and work with Central Missouri Meats to get the animals in and processed quickly.

“I wanted it to go to our Southside Baptist Church here in Fulton because the benefit would be able to be seen in our community,” he says. “I wanted to know that they would not only receive the food, but more importantly they receive the gospel of Christ.”

It was a life lesson for not only Pry, but also Humphreys’ twin boys Gideon and Henry, along with daughter Rowan, to understand. “Hopefully, with the food and help from church their circumstances in life can improve.”

Alternative pork production

Since the 1970s, hogs have been a part of the family farm outside of Fulton. Humphreys is a third-generation pork producer. He started in the business with his father in 2001 raising commercial pigs for a niche market. When his father, Jim, died in 2018, Humphreys persisted in the family pork business.

Today, he continues to raise hogs for Iowa-based Lynch Livestock. The company focuses on rearing animals without antibiotics and in a humane manner. Humphreys has seven hoop buildings that offer deep bedding for animal comfort.

Humphreys family with pigs at the Missouri State Fair

FAMILY AFFAIR: Exhibiting market hogs at the Missouri State Fair is an outing for the entire Humphreys family (from left to right), Josh, Gideon, Rowan, Henry, Jill Pry and Angela. This year, Jill (second from right) donated her hogs to the Missouri Farmers Care Hogs for Hunger campaign.

He finishes anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 feeder pigs annually purchased from producers in southern Missouri, then ships them to Iowa for processing. “This allows us to stay independent in the hog business and remain on the family farm,” Humphreys explained.

Along with the commercial hog operation, Humphreys is a biologist with Boehringer-Ingelheim. His wife, Angela, is a local veterinarian. The family also raises show pigs in hoop buildings as well, which their children show during the summer and at the Missouri State Fair.

Statewide pork effort

This year, Missouri State Fair swine exhibitors provided more than 900 pounds of ground pork to the Hogs for Hunger campaign. Missouri pig farmers can still donate to their local food bank through this program. Missouri Farmers Care Foundation offers to reimburse $1 per pound donated to cover processing fees.

The Drive to Feed Kids campaign continues to expand its partnerships and ways to donate, says Ashley McCarty, executive director of Missouri Farmers Care Foundation. Like the Humphreys, farmers can donate to their local charity or wait until the Missouri State Fair. However, the number of hogs eligible for the August event is 50.

“For years, Missouri agriculture raised awareness of need and gathered resources to help close the gap for our neighbors facing food insecurity,” McCarty says. According to Feeding America, one in five Missouri children are food insecure and face uncertainty as to where their next meal may come from.

young feeder pigs

PURPOSE DRIVEN: These young feeder pigs are raised humanely in a hoop barn with deep bedding. They are not given antibiotics. It is Josh Humphreys’ method of pork production that allows him to sell into a niche market. These commercial hogs or some of his show pig stock have been donated to feed the hungry in Callaway County over the years.

Food banks continue to report that protein is the most requested and hardest to attain. Through Hogs for Hunger, Missouri pig farmers and 4-H and FFA swine exhibitors have an opportunity to change the lives of neighbors, friends and classmates who don’t have enough to eat, McCarty adds.

Humphreys says his family will continue to donate to those in need. “We’ve been blessed to raise hogs here,” he says. “It’s a good opportunity to give back. Hopefully, as my kids get older, they will be able to see the return.”

Giving is not only about a one-time gesture. Hog producers are encouraged to contribute pigs throughout the year to their local food banks. To learn more about how the Missouri Farmers Care Hogs for Hunger program works and plan your giving, visit mofarmerscare.com/drive.

About the Author(s)

Mindy Ward

Editor, Missouri Ruralist

Mindy resides on a small farm just outside of Holstein, Mo, about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis.

After graduating from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural journalism, she worked briefly at a public relations firm in Kansas City. Her husband’s career led the couple north to Minnesota.

There, she reported on large-scale production of corn, soybeans, sugar beets, and dairy, as well as, biofuels for The Land. After 10 years, the couple returned to Missouri and she began covering agriculture in the Show-Me State.

“In all my 15 years of writing about agriculture, I have found some of the most progressive thinkers are farmers,” she says. “They are constantly searching for ways to do more with less, improve their land and leave their legacy to the next generation.”

Mindy and her husband, Stacy, together with their daughters, Elisa and Cassidy, operate Showtime Farms in southern Warren County. The family spends a great deal of time caring for and showing Dorset, Oxford and crossbred sheep.

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