The 2014 Iowa State Fair began August 7 with the crowning of the champion Big Boar. A hog named Peabody won first place, weighing in at 1,273 pounds. The 5-year-old crossbred boar was raised by a group of owners known as Friends of Peabody. Peabody will be on display in the Swine Barn throughout the entire Iowa State Fair, which runs through August 17.

BIG PIG: Winner of the 2014 Iowa State Fair Big Boar contest is Peabody, who weighed in at 1,273 pounds. The runner-up is Big Mac who weighs 1,142 lbs., 131 lbs. less than the champion.

Peabody the boar was named in honor of Brad Peyton, who died in September 2013 from pancreatic cancer. Brad's college nickname was Peabody, says Lori Dvorak, who showed Peabody in the Big Boar contest at this year's fair. She is a 4-H member from North Polk. "This was truly a team effort. John Sweeney picked him out, and I raised him with support of Craig Rowles of Elite Pork Partnership and Tom Dittmer of Grandview Farms."

Madeline Peyton, daughter of Brad, said her father grew up showing pigs at the Iowa State Fair. He wanted to win the Big Boar competition with his entry two years ago. But he lost. Here's what happened: Peyton's crowd-favorite "Fred Hoiboar"—named after Iowa State University's basketball coach Fred Hoiberg—lost to an out-of-state "ringer" named "Reggie" of Austin, Ind. Reggie set a new weight record at the Iowa State Fair, at 1,335 pounds. Fred Hoiboar weighed in at a wimpy 1,079 pounds.

Big Boar contest helped raise money for charity
This year though, Peabody at 1,273 pounds won the title beating out Big Mac of McDonald Acres of Ryan, Iowa. Big Mac weighed 1,142 pounds. Peyton's family joked that Peabody added the pounds by eating marshmallows and cupcakes along with a diet of feed made from corn and soybean meal.

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The $3,000 the Peyton team raised by selling T-shirts supporting the four-legged Peabody will go to the Shining City Foundation, a group that Peyton and his friend Scott Raecker helped found which builds orphanages, medical clinics, churches and other projects in China, Africa and other countries. Raecker says Shining City has raised about $500,000 for projects around the world in places suffering poverty.

The Big Boar contest "has been a lot of fun for a bunch of people who were friends of Brad Peyton," says Raecker, executive director of Character Counts In Iowa. "And it helped raise money for a cause that's greater than ourselves."

Iowa State Fair competition helps showcase swine industry
"The Iowa State Fair Big Boar competition is a staple for swine industry relations to the public," says Mike Shindelar, executive director of Feed Energy, a Des Moines-based feed company that sponsors the annual Big Boar competition at the state fair. "While our company and the swine industry focus on developing lean meat for consumers, today's event showcases the great families that bring the food to our tables. Congratulations to all who exhibited."

The Iowa State Fair Big Boar competition celebrated its 39th year in 2014 and continues to be one of the top attractions during the state fair. This year's big boar competition hosted nine entries, all from Iowa. In the competition's history, only one Big Boar has ever come from outside of Iowa. Reggie, raised by the Stockdale Family from Indiana, won in 2012 weighing in at 1,335 pounds, which is the heaviest boar on record.

Big Boar contest at State Fair is sponsored by Feed Energy Co.
Feed Energy is an agribusiness firm primarily engaged in further refining vegetable oil as a high-energy, feed ingredient. The company produces and distributes throughout the Midwest scientifically balanced ingredients specific to their customers' needs. Feed Energy's headquarters and original production facility have been in Des Moines for more than 25 years, with additional Iowa production facilities in Sioux City and Pacific Junction. For more information visit the Feed Energy website.