Prize-winning Maple Ridge pig to provide food for people in need

A prize-winning hog raised by Maple Ridge 4-H member Rachael Fiehn will be donated as food to organizations serving people in need after its sale at the Pacific National Exhibition’s annual 4-H auction.

Malibu, born in February and raised through the Pitt River Stock 4-H Club, was named Reserve Champion Market Hog at the Vancouver fair. The Abbotsford 4-H Beef Club bought the animal for $6 a pound, or $1,692, and plans to donate the meat to the Abbotsford Food Bank and Patricia House in Langley.

The Abbotsford club said its members voted to buy a pig through the auction as a way to support a fellow 4-H member while helping people who need food assistance. Iron Butcher Custom in Pitt Meadows will cover cutting and wrapping costs, while Chilliwack-based Johnson Meat Packers will pay other associated costs.

Fiehn, 19, has participated in 4-H for seven years, including six years with lamb and four with hogs. She said Malibu’s lean, well-muscled condition helped secure the award. She also showed a hog named Tito and entered a purebred shorthorn market steer named Percy in the beef competition for the first time.

Other Pitt River Stock 4-H auction winners included Pitt Meadows residents Nora Bitter, Reserve Champion Market Goat at $1,160, and Brooke Barclay, Champion Market Goat at $1,332. Maple Ridge’s Joe Fiehn earned $1,717.50 as Champion Carcass Hog. The auction generated $336,810.25 for participating 4-H members.