Mean Gene a massive winner as Big Boar, Big Ram, Super Bull contests open Iowa State Fair
"Big" was the word of the day Thursday as the Iowa State Fair opened with the annual naming of the livestock champions for sheer size: Super Bull, Big Boar and Big Ram.
Super Bull winner beefed up 700 pounds in one year
The biggest weigh-in of all is the Super Bull contest, and Jerry Bedwell had had an inkling that he might have a potential winner ever since his Charolais bull was just 2 years old.
His premonition proved accurate Thursday night when the 4-year-old affectionately named Mean Gene captured the title. The white, heavily muscled bull tipped the scales at 3,060 pounds, beating his only other competitor by nearly 300 pounds.
“He weighed 1,400 pounds as a yearling and then 2,100 pounds when he was 2. When they gain 700 pounds in a year, you know they are going to be big,” said Bedwell.
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Then came nearly 1,000 pounds more in the two subsequent years. But the bull’s solid frame allows him to carry the weight without difficulty, Bedwell said.
Mean Gene gets a steady diet of protein, but also gets frequent wettings and a fan to keep him cool during the hot months leading up to the fair, said Bedwell.
Owned by Bedwell Cattle Co. of New Virginia, the bull was named after Bedwell’s father, Gene.
This year’s competition was the 40th anniversary of the event. The winner the first year weighed 2,725 pounds. The record came in 2009, with a bull weighing 3,404 pounds.
Big Boar has a big pedigree
In the tale of the scale, the results tipped toward Sasquatch. But then, at 1,012 pounds, a lot of things tip toward the porcine porker that ended up taking the title of Big Boar.
Being the winner is a big deal at the No. 1 annual attraction in the No. 1 pork-producing state. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates Iowa’s pig inventory at more than 23 million animals ― almost eight times the state's human population.
But only two boars stepped up to the scale this year, the same number as at the 2022 fair. As the hog industry has changed over the past several decades, artificial insemination has become the primary method of bringing piglets into the world, so a few select boars can service a large population of sows. A study released in December of 2021 by the National Institutes of Health found that 95 percent of all pig litters in the U.S. are sired via AI, meaning boars have been replaced by technology at most swine operations.
This year’s Big Boar is an exception, however. Sasquatch is still a vital part of the breeding program for an operation owned by Charles Bieber and his son Zach near Waukon.
Sasquatch is a 3-year-old Red Wattle, a hog breed recognized for its red color and fleshy wattles located on each side of the neck. And while Sasquatch does receive a special diet of corn, soy, corn soaked in molasses and minerals, Bieber said 90 percent of the hog's massive size comes from good genetics ― he shares a heavyweight pedigree that includes Reggie, the all-time State Fair record holder at 1,335 pounds in 2012.
Finishing second was 4-year-old Big Joe owned by 10-year-old Jack Theobald of Muscatine.
Big Joe is described by the Theobald family as being “friendly, with a good attitude,” which isn’t a bad thing for pig tipping the scales at 894 pounds.
Big Ram loves Iowa's biggest crop
Taking home the Big Ram banner this year was Rascal from Shell Rock, weighing in at 437 pounds.
Rascal has a distinct advantage in attaining his winning weight: He likes to eat and he especially likes to eat corn, which is readily available in the top corn-producing state, said owner Abby Willson.
Despite being crowned champion, 6-year-old Rascal will “probably go on a diet” when he gets home, Willson said.
Willson, who had the reserve champion runner-up at the 2022 State Fair, said she will likely be back next year but is unsure which ram she will bring.
There were a total of seven rams vying for the top spot this year.
Kevin Baskins is the metro jobs reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Big Boar, Big Ram, Super Bull contests open 2023 Iowa State Fair