Youth earn certificates to show livestock

COLUMBIA, Mo.
February 20, 2008

Note:  4-H members must complete the appropriate level of MSQA certification to be considered a 4-H member in good standing in that project.  http://4h.missouri.edu/events/livestock/#quality

Livestock exhibitors should be careful how they handle their pigs, as bruising can be caused on the farm, during transport or in the pens before a show. This is one of several animal care lessons that Missouri youth learned at the Show Me Quality Assurance (SMQA) certification in Columbia during the Missouri Pork Expo, Feb. 20.

“Pigs understand body language. They often feed off human behavior,” said Marcia Shannon, University of Missouri Extension swine nutrition specialist who helps teach the program. “If the pig won’t move, don’t yell or scream. Be gentle, or tap on lower value body parts like the shoulder.”

Youth exhibitors are encouraged to have SMQA certification to take part in county, regional and state fairs. Attendance at the Expo program this year was excellent.

“I had 186 youth sign the sheets for SMQA certification. That does not count the adults who chaperoned many of the youth,” said Shannon.

At the packed morning quality assurance session, youth learned how to raise quality livestock. Proper animal care, the importance of good handling, minimizing animal stress, and how to protect meat quality while raising show livestock were emphasized. One meat-quality issue centered on bruises and how they can affect carcass quality.

“This is still a major problem, and it’s a bigger issue with some animals – especially beef, or even poultry,” said Shannon. “It can take 60 to 90 days for a bruise in the muscle tissue to heal, so it’s not as fast as humans. This can affect the quality and value of the carcass as the bruises must be cut away and discarded.”

Shannon also addressed some perhaps less-known issues that can affect a pig’s well-being or performance.

“If your pigs are housed outside, and particularly if they’re light-skinned pigs, they will get sunburned,” said Shannon. “So, at the fair when you start trying to move your pigs around or wash them, they’ll be very sensitive. You have to protect pigs from the extremes and provide shade.”

Swine eyesight differences also can affect pig behavior, Shannon said. While pigs have wider-angle vision than humans, they have poor depth perception. It can be difficult for them to tell how far away something is, which can make them cringe at shadows or unfamiliar places. Practice and good handling are important to help minimize this during show day. Working with pigs at home can help familiarize them with potential obstacles, Shannon said.

Another major topic of the morning focused on the role of animal health products and proper injection techniques.

“This is the nuts and bolts of SMQA,” said Shannon. “If an injection isn’t done right, you can have muscle damage, abscesses and a devalued carcass.”

Participants learned about the two main types of injections (in the muscle or under the skin), as well as the preferred injection sites for each. Youth then had a chance for hands-on practice by injecting dyes into bananas. The dyes let them look inside to see the accuracy of their injections.

After lunch, youth were bussed to the Trowbridge Livestock Center on the MU campus. Groups rotated between concurrent sessions focusing on show pig nutrition, showmanship, grooming, and how to select a pig for showing.

At the showmanship workshop, Mike Perry of Perry Genetics in Liberal, Mo., explained what judges look for at state and county fair contests. He also demonstrated some dos and don’ts of handling a pig in the ring and offered advice on working with pigs at home to prepare them for the event.

“These are some of the smartest animals out there. They know when they get off the truck that they’re somewhere unfamiliar,” Perry said. “If they get nervous, they’ll probably run to the corners and hide. A judge can tell in an instant when you walk into the ring if that’s the first time you’ve ever handled that pig or if you’ve spent time at home working with that pig.”

Perry said that pigs have personalities and will react differently to stress and new situations. Thus, it’s essential for youth to get acquainted with their pigs at home, he said.

For those who missed the expo’s youth certification program, there are other ways to get certified this season. County MU Extension offices host certification courses. Call your local office to find out when the next one will be. An online program by MU Extension can be also completed any time at http://www.agebb.missouri.edu/smqa/