We caught up with Mr. David Korb of Korb Farms, breeder of the Grand Champion Crossbred Gilt at the 2022 NJSA Southeast Regional.

Pedigree/Genetics of Champion:
Believe In Me x Rockstar x Never Before x Leaps and Bounds x Distinct. Mom is one of the “86” litter sows. We kept 3 littermate sisters and she would also be a full Sib to our boar “60-17x” that we have here at Korb Farms

What boar has had the most influence on your operation??
If I had to pick just one I’d say Leaps and Bounds definitely changed the trajectory of where we were headed. His maternal influence is unmatched! Never Before would be a close second. 

What was the first sow you ever owned?
I don’t own any sows. They’re all my dads.

What equipment or product is used the most at your farm?
The 4020 hooked up to either the hog cart or the feed grinder stays pretty busy.

What's next for your showpig business? (Upcoming sales, exciting matings, future goals/expansions, etc)
We are currently working to finish up our new 6 pen slatted barn to house overflow and gilt development. Next we will look to add more farrowing/nursery space so we can expand and potentially and off site boar barn. We purchased a boar this fall with Hilty and Tres Amigos we call “No Huddle”. I’ve been breeding majority of our cross sows to him and I’m excited what impact he can make on the industry!

This or That
Fresh Semen or Frozen Semen
Fresh Semen

Cleaning Pens or Bedding Pens
Bedding Pens

Online Sales or Live Sales
Live Sales

Backdrop Pictures or Candid Pictures
Backdrop Pictures

State Fairs or National Shows
National Shows

We caught up with Mr. David Korb of Korb Farms, breeder of the Grand Champion Market Hog at the 2021 NAILE.

Pedigree/Genetics of Champion:
Next Intention x Family Ties x Leaps and Bounds x Distinct

What's your favorite sow on the farm?
99-2 is moving up the ranks pretty fast after this win but hard to top the old Blackhead sow!!!

If you could offer one piece of advice for families wanting to show pigs on a competitive level, what would it be?
Spend your money on the things that will help your animals be the best they can be rather than the animal itself. Spend that extra dollar on the best shavings, feed, facilities, etc,. I think the biggest mistake people make is they think spending more on a pig is going to help them win and in some cases it will. But if you’re not presenting that animal at the highest level it doesn’t matter what pig you start out with.

Favorite or Least Favorite Ear Notch?
Love this question because I’m very particular about my ear notches. A -8 or -10 in the left ear seems to be my go-to! But mainly anything that fills up the ear and makes it look tighter or smaller. I can’t stand ear notches that are too small or too big.

What's next for your showpig business? (Upcoming sales, exciting matings, future goals/expansions, etc)
We are just getting started farrowing but from a bigger picture standpoint we are excited to be adding a small finisher to eliminate the outside portion of our gilt development. Moving forward I hope to make a boar good enough to use here on all of our sows and help create a small boar stud to help expand our brand!

Pedigree/Genetics of Champion:
Never Before x Outta Sight x Prophet x Capone x Wanna Play x Reality Check x Double Shot x Stonewall

If you have a person starting out, what is one tip on facility design you would suggest to them?
Having a heated wash rack will make your life much easier.

What do you consider the most influential sow/boar in the showpig industry or your herd?
We have 5 different breeds counting crossbreds and they all trace back to 6 original sows. That being said I bet over 2/3rds of our sowherd can be traced back to Leaps and Bounds mom and the Blackhead sow. The Distinct sow is starting to make a similar name for herself as well. If you want to go way back the original Stonewall yorkshire sow is the foundation of those 3 sows pedigrees!

My favorite barn snack is..
We don’t eat in the barns a lot but my Uncle Jim will throw some bullseyes in the fridge and my Uncle Hank bought us a jar of pickles for the barn fridge so I’m gonna with those 2.

In 2021 I most look forward to...
Making even more genetic advancements and progress and hopefully getting back to normal!

Pedigree/Genetics of Champions:
Pedigree of the gilt reads Ring The Bell x Sit Tight x Leaps and Bounds mother! Ring The Bell stands at Baade's and was a boar we utilized hard as an outcross for our yorkshire herd. This was the Sit Tights first litter and we look forward to breeding around her for years to come! Obviously Leaps mom needs no introduction. Her genetic potency can be felt at every yorkshire show in the country now with Leaps, Chest, and Encore making a big impact on the dam sides of the pedigrees! This win was very rewarding as a breeder because it proved to myself that I dont have to follow the popular pedigrees to win shows and I can still do it while trying to create outcrosses!

How did you get involved in the swine industry?
I was born into it! Dad's been raising pigs for years!

With this being one of the major shows of the summer, how rewarding was it to capture a win?
Without pig shows I am out of work. So winning or losing I'm just happy to see kids and pigs in the ring!

With the pandemic, what struggles have you faced as a breeder and how do you think the show world will evolve with the problems we are facing?
The uncertainty of the buyer sure makes it hard to breed as many and spend the money on semen as we have in the past. However replacements shows are becoming the new norm. After experiencing several as a judge and a spectator I think that having livestock people in charge of livestock shows creates a better experience for everyone!

What breeding decision are you most excited about for the next breeding/farrowing season?
I love this question however its nearly impossible to answer as I'm excited about more than one. The mating I'm most excited to see would be Next Intention x 43-1. She's a Never Before x Leaps x Distinct and has done an incredible job in her first 2 litters. Our Next Intentions have been stout and I think her shoulder design matches well in this mating!