R is
tar S g n i Cale Merritt
C
ale Merritt, a senior attending Rockwall High School, is a passionate, loyal and competitive young lady, especially when it comes to the show ring. It all started when her best friend took her to the county fairgrounds to help get his pig ready for the stock show and has been hooked ever since. Cale has been showing pigs since the 5th grade and immediately developed a passion for the pork industry and helping others. She credits much of her knowledge about pigs to the Hill family, where she has had the opportunity to learn and be active with their successful swine breeding program. You can now find Cale exhibiting pigs all over country and participating in NJSA and TPPA programs and events. Tell us about your first showing experience. The first time I walked into a show ring was at my county show in the fifth grade; to say I was a nervous wreck is a huge understatement! I remember walking in and everybody just yelling at me to breathe! I got third place and was on cloud nine! Willard, Keisha and Peyton Hill told me they were proud of me and that I did a great job! I had a blast and remember asking my parents how long until I get to do it again. What is your favorite show to attend? World Pork Expo and Houston have to be my favorite shows. I love seeing all my friends I have made over the years. At WPX I get a chance to see people from all over the US that I only get to
see once a year, and to share the passion for hogs and the swine industry with so many people is amazing. The best of both of these shows would have to be the level of competition; nothing is more satisfying than knowing you had competition when you win! What is your most memorable experience? This past year winning the Commercial Gilt show at Fort Worth. I worked my tail off getting this gilt prepared for the show and ready the ring. Anybody that knew the gilt was confident in her showing ability but knew she was good. Noone expected me to pull off the win with this gilt, but when the judge shook my hand, it was the greatest moment of all! To know my hard work paid off is the best! What is the worst and best part of showing for you? The worst would have to be parting with the pigs; whether it’s selling the gilts to breeders or selling a barrow at the show, it is always hard for me because every pig I show always gets a little piece of my heart. However, the best thing about showing is the people I get to meet from so many areas of the country. I also love getting to watch my piglets grow up and see all their different personalities, each one is different and has to be worked with in different ways, just as people do. Who’s your favorite hog? I had a gilt, Fruiti, and she took me to the winners circle in 2012 at the Houston Livestock Show as the Reserve Supreme Champion and helped me win showmanship at the Fort Worth Livestock Show that same year. Winning aside, I loved her personality. She was so calm and gentle, anybody could love on her; not to mention she was
a natural in the show ring. She always made me look good with her showy style. I always had a friend in the barn because she would greet me every time I walked in. Now she is in Kansas producing winners and still making me proud.
MY BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS * Champion York Gilt - 2014 Fort Worth Livestock Show * Champion Commercial Gilt - 2014 Fort Worth Livestock Show * Reserve Champion Spot Gilt - 2014 San Antonio Livestock Show * 4th Overall Division 2 Durocs - 2014 World Pork Expo * Champion Sr. Showman - 2012 Fort Worth Livestock Show * Overall Reserve Champion Gilt - 2012 Houston Livestock Show * Champion Showman Rockwall Youth Fair 7 Years in a row
What has been your biggest challenge when raising pigs? My biggest challenge is learning to be patient with not only the pigs, but also with people. I have to remind myself that things aren’t always going to go as planned or the way I want them to go, so I have to be patient and flexible…always have more than one plan. With pigs, they don’t all learn what I want from them the first time, and when I first started showing it was difficult for me to have the patience. I still have to work at it but in the end it teaches me flexibility! Another big challenge for me, and EVERYBODY that knows me will agree… are the early mornings. I am NOT a morning person at all and after 8 years of showing I still have not gotten used to it! (After working with Cale on the Texas Pork Leadership Camp, we can attest to that as well!) What has being in production agriculture taught you? So many lessons have been learned that there are too many to list here, but the biggest one I have learned is to never let others stop your success. There will always be people rooting against you, but I’ve learned to let that drive me in a positive direction. Who would you like to give a “Shout-Out” to for their help? My dad, Brett, and Uncle Craig have helped teach me about feeding and helped me train the pigs as well as hauling me everywhere I want to go! They also help me with any crazy ideas or problems I come up with or create and usually they end up fixing it!
My mom, Loya, is always there to support me and tie my hair bow; she also always manages to take great pictures of me showing. My sister, Callie, has gone from the student to my biggest competition; she kept me on my toes and pushed me to always get better. Now she is my number one fan, even though it is mostly through FaceTime. Willard, Kiesha and Peyton Hill have provided me with great hogs since day one and taught me everything I know. So I would just like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all of them and I love y’all very much! What is the best advice you have been given? Lose gracefully. We can all win and be happy, but to lose and still be happy for whoever won shows true integrity and character. I would like to give future showmen some advice: Be humble and stay true to who you are. Don’t do something you wouldn’t be proud of, just for the sake of winning. Win with integrity and win the right way, don’t take shortcuts. Stay humble with your winnings because you can’t win every time and it’s always a blessing when you do. Cale plans on continuing to show at national shows when she can throughout college. She wants to attend either Texas Tech University or Oklahoma State University, pursue a vet degree and one day open her own vet clinic with a showpig operation as well. We’d say Cale is well on her way as she is currently in the National Honor Society, ranked in the Top 5% of her class and was elected as “Student of the Year” in addition to helping out with the Collins County “Special Needs” Livestock Show.