April 20, 2015 - 12:31pm -- smith.263@osu.edu

Due to concern for bio-security, similar to last year barrows participating in the MQP program will not be weighed at the beginning of the project in July. In place of the performance component of the scoring that resulted from the weights of the barrows in the past, placings will once again be based on how closely the animal fits an industry acceptable marketing grid, along with the meat quality factors that have been included in the past.

Due to the fact that the OSU Meat Lab is limited by the number of barrows it can harvest and process for freezer pork at one time, entries will be limited to the first 30. Advance entries are being accepted now and are on a first come first served basis. A waiting list will be maintained when 30 entries have been received.

Entries may be made by contacting the OSU Extension office. This “advance” entry is simply to reserve a slot in the program and does not replace the project enrollment or formal Fair entry process.

Again this year, each exhibitor in the Barrow MQP contest is required to secure a purchaser for their own freezer pork.

For information regarding the marketing grid portion of the contest, see the YouTube presentation embedded below that was recorded last year. More details on the scoring parameters that will be included for placing this year’s MQP program will be available soon from Advisors and/or the Extension Office.