Born, raised and living in Wisconsin, you’d think I enjoy the snow and cold. Nothing could be further from the truth. Don’t get me wrong, I love Wisconsin and particularly enjoy the change of seasons, with late spring and early fall being my favorites. I’m just not a big fan of high heat and high humidity in the summer, sub-zero temperatures in the winter, and shoveling mountains of snow. When the opportunity arises to go south for a few days during this time of year, I certainly look forward to it! I am not the “winter-type”.

January brings with it not only a new year, but a new farrowing season for many who live in the world of showpigs. While farrowing sows and gilts is an everyday occurrence for my friends and associates in commercial pig production, it’s typically much more seasonal (and stressful) for those of us with investments in showpig females. While those commercial maternal sows will pop out a litter of 15 or more live-born pigs with ease and little assistance, the modern showpig female isn’t nearly as maternal or prolific. The internet is flooded with stories of problem gilts, long nights of pulling pigs, c-sections, and dead sows and piglets.