Behind the Boar: the story of the MN State Fair's big pig

(KMSP) - It's a fair tradition loved by both young and old: a stop by the swine barn to see the piglets and the year's biggest boar.

Under the same roof as the big boar, visitors can find several tiny piglets, too.

"I think they are really cute and small, and I kind of want to take one home with me,” one visitor said.

Just a few feet away, one gigantic, sleepy boar lies perfectly content. At 1,400 lbs, Rocky the Boar is a throwback, a generic holdover from a time when the pork industry grew them a bit bigger.

"It's an interesting contrast, you can see how much progress has been made when you compare the old style boar to the newer genetics you will see here at the Minnesota State Fair," a Fair staffer said.
 
A drop in demand for lard helped spell the end of big boars. But the shock factor of an animal this large remains.