Exhibitors showing a pig in the 2014 Florida Strawberry Festival Swine Show hauled their pigs to the festival grounds Nov. 4, to be tagged for the upcoming show.
Eighty-six exhibitors are expected to show at the 2014 show, and festival officials require each pig be given an ear tag at an early age for identification purposes.
“Our swine exhibitors take great pride in their projects, and that was obvious today in the enthusiasm of the exhibitors and the quality of animals we saw,” Florida Strawberry Festival General Manager Paul Davis said. “I strongly encourage our visitors to attend our livestock shows and support the hardworking young people we have in our community.”
The swine show is a popular competition among the youth of Eastern Hillsborough County. Nearly 200 applications are received each year, forcing the festival to hold a drawing to determine who will fill the allotted exhibitor positions.
Swine exhibitors range in age from 8 to 18 years old and must be a resident of Hillsborough County and a member of a 4-H club or FFA chapter. Once exhibitors are drawn, they purchase their pigs in October and spend the next several months growing and training their animal in hopes of winning grand champion at the show.
The 2014 Florida Strawberry Festival Swine Show will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014, at the Agriculture Center, 2301 W. Oak Ave. The sale will follow at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28, 2014.