By Janee Kale
The title of this article are words spoken by a young man who has spent a significant amount of time in his life breeding, raising and showing pigs. Jacob Welch of Spring Valley owns and operates JW Show Pigs with his fiancée Olivia. Together they run a 10 head show pig sow operation, consisting of Durocs, Spots, and Crossbreds. They farrow two times a year, and market baby pigs through online sales and private treaty sales for young people to show at a variety of levels across the country. Jacob also is an ag lender at First State Bank Minnesota in Spring Valley and works on his family’s row crop farm, where they raise corn and soybeans. Olivia is from Indiana and currently finishing her education at Purdue University. Olivia spent her summer in Minnesota helping Jacob with the pigs and interning at the Harmony Veterinary Clinic. She wears many hats in the operation, with one she considers to be particularly important: naming each of the sows, as well as the baby pigs that they think will be special in the show ring.
Jacob’s involvement with showing began when he started 4-H in kindergarten. The first few years he showed lambs then during the summer of fourth grade he bought his first two pigs, thanks to interest curated by a cousin who showed pigs in North Dakota. He farrowed his first sow when he was in seventh grade. His farm has only grown since then. He is particularly grateful to his parents who took care of the pigs while he attended college. We could say “the rest is history” but there is a lot more to Jacob’s story. Between 2010 and 2023, when his show career ended, he traveled with his pigs to show at many events including the Fillmore County Fair, Minnesota State Fair, jackpot shows in Minnesota and Iowa, and national shows; AKSARBEN Stock Show in Grand Island, Nebr., and American Royal in Kansas City, Mo. Thankfully the time Jacob stepped into the ring as a junior exhibitor was not the end of his involvement in showing. He now hosts a two-day jackpot show as part of the Minnesota Youth Swine Series in Preston each June. The show is called Rumble on the River and typically brings in around 500 pigs from Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. The exhibitors who show look up to Jacob and certainly many of them call him friend.
As is true with any showperson, having a quality product to show is key but equally important is the ability to present your specimen to its greatest advantage. Jacob is a talented showman, with his awards including being a Top 10 Showman at AKSARBEN Stock Show and the American Royal, as well as two-time Grand Champion Showman at the Minnesota State Fair. As for the quality product, he has exhibited the Champion Duroc Gilt at the Minnesota State Fair and third overall Purebred & Champion Duroc Barrow at AKSARBEN Stock Show. On top of his personal awards, JW Showpigs has raised multiple county fair winners and most recently Jacob and Olivia raised the fifth overall Purebred Gilt at the Minnesota State Fair Open Show. Helping others succeed with their projects is a goal of their business.
People who aren’t involved in livestock and/or showing may wonder, “Why do it?” Jacob’s answer to that question is that showing is more than presenting an animal. He was drawn to it because of the “people you are able to meet and connections you are able to form.” It is more than just you, others form a support system for you and you become a member of a team. Jacob says, “I met my best friends and biggest mentors through showing livestock and through the swine industry. The swine industry actually brought me to my fiancé, and that is something I thank it for every day.”
And following up on his comment that leads this article. “Showing is a small part of it all, it is the work ethic, accountability, and connections you gain. Winning a show is rewarding, but the true reward is what you learn and experience from the project. Every day isn’t easy, as you have to learn how to face obstacles head on and find a way to overcome and grow from them.” Truer words could not have been spoken.
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