University of Minnesota Extension

Minnesota 4-H


Swine Project

Explore the swine industry, including market hogs, breeding hogs, or both. Raise or show one or more purebred or crossbred gilts, barrows or litters. Topics include breeding, health, feeding, fitting and showing, marketing and careers.

Girl with pig

State & regional events

To view county or local club events, visit the county website.

View all 4-H events

Livestock Quality Assurance & Ethics Training

All youth participating as a State Fair 4-H livestock exhibitor in beef, dairy, sheep, swine, poultry, rabbit, meat and dairy goat, and lama must have completed the Livestock Quality Assurance and Ethics workshop. Certification is good for three fair seasons. The level of training required is determined by the grade of the youth at the time the training takes place.

Dates and locations vary by county. Check this list for more information.

4-H regional & state Project Bowls

Project Bowls are an exciting way for youth to explore a project area. Teams compete in quiz competitions with questions about specific project areas. Project Bowls are available for Dairy, Dog, General Livestock (Beef, Sheep & Swine), Horse, Poultry, Rabbit and Wildlife projects. Winners of the Regional Project Bowls advance to the State Bowl. More info

4-H animal judging contests

Effectively evaluating breeding and market animals is highly important in the animal industry. Judging is an art developed through patient study and long practice. 4-Hers interested in dairy, General Livestock (beef, sheep & swine), horses, poultry and rabbits can learn to be a good judge by knowing the parts of the animal and their location, which parts are most important for meat and breeding stock production, making keen observations and comparing to the ideal, weighing the good and bad points of each animal, and much more. More info

  • Check with your county for local county judging contests.
  • State Fair contest details in the State Fair Premium Book - Minnesota State Fairgrounds, St. Paul

Minnesota State Fair

4-H plays a pivotal role in youth development and public education at the Minnesota State Fair. Over 7,000 4-H youth have the opportunity to interact with the public and educate fairgoers through 4-H exhibits, demonstrations, performances, and 4-H promotion. More info

Swine project resources

The Incredible Pig

Swine 1 - The Incredible Pig
Price: $3.95 (40 pages)

Putting the Oink in Pig

Swine 2 - Putting the Oink in Pig
Price: $3.95 (40 pages)

Going Whole Hog

Swine 3 - Going Whole Hog
Price: $3.95 (40 pages)


Baby Pig Pattern cover

Baby Pig Pattern
Price: $2.70


Swine Medallion

Swine medallion
Price: $7.50

Pork Quality Assurance Plus

Swine Chart (178 K PDF)
Best when printed at least 17 x 22

4-H Youth Record Keeping

Swine crossword puzzle (59 K PDF)

Pork Network (website)


Project leader resources

Swine-set of four books

Swine - Set of four
Price: $15.40 (40 pages each)

Exploring Farm Animals

Exploring Farm Animals - Helper's guide
Price: $3.95 (40 pages)


Project meeting outlines

Project Meeting Outlines Lesson plans to be used with youth.
Blank project meeting outline
(61 K PDF)

 

Livestock Care and Showmanship (56 K PDF)
Herdmanship (45 K PDF)
General Livestock Project Meeting Outline 63 K PDF)

Clover Update

 

Project policies

Scholarships & grants

You may qualify for funding for your
4-H project, your club or your university studies. Learn more.

Be a better 4-H leader

Learn more about measuring the quality of your program, club or project -- how to engage youth, developing a service learning project and much more. The Youth Work Institute offers classes across the state on practical ways to apply the latest youth development research to your daily work. We have a class for you!


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