Emma Ott with her Supreme Champion award banner and her parents Justin and Tammy Ott holding her trophy coat rack at the 2024 Nebraska State Fair.
Emma Ott, a sophomore at Heartland Community School, had quite a bit of success at the Nebraska State Fair in August. With her crossbred breeding gilt Callie, she won the Grand Champion 4-H Breeding Gilt and the Supreme Champion Open Class Breeding Gilt. Emma’s been involved in 4-H for the past seven years and enjoys working and exhibiting her breeding swine.
Before the Nebraska State Fair, she won the Supreme Champion Breeding Gilt at the Cornhusker Showdown and finished second in points overall in the Nebraska Swine Circuit Summer Jackpot Series. Her other gilt, Mollie, placed third overall in the Purebred Berkshire Breeding class at the State Fair.
“This is the best I’ve ever done at the State Fair. I’ve enjoyed meeting lots of people and appreciate all the support I’ve had that’s helped me with my success this year,” said Emma.
Emma lives on a farm with her parents, Justin and Tammy Ott, southwest of Henderson. “I do the daily feeding and chores and walk them regularly,” said Emma. She currently takes care of eight gilts and has been showing seven of them. Her gilts still have a few more shows in the next few months, but according to Emma, they will eventually be sold for breeding.
According to 4-H standards, judging breeding gilts is done in much the same manner as market hogs. Gilts should be lean and muscular and have a fairly large skeleton. More emphasis is put on selecting structurally sound gilts without sacrificing muscle and leanness. Performance must be considered when selecting breeding animals.
Congratulations to Emma for receiving such outstanding awards at the Nebraska State Fair for her work with her gilts!
