Preston Miller, a seventh-grade student at Milford Middle School, shows off the first-place ribbon he earned last summer showing his York pig at the fair. He’s had great success at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair with his pigs through the years. His goal is to someday earn a banner given to the top five award-winning pigs. Photo provided by Amy Miller.

By Laurie Lechlitner
InkFreeNews

MILFORD — “I’m in my fifth year of 4-H and love it,” stated Preston Miller, a seventh-grade student at Milford Middle School. “Through the program I’ve learned that hard work can be fun.” Miller earned a first-place ribbon for his champion York pig this past summer at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair.

“I show both pigs and chickens at the fair. With chickens, I just need to get them out of the cage and put them on a table in front of the judge. The real work comes in parading my pig in the arena.”

Miller lives on a small farm and the family raises the pigs he shows. “I start working with my pig in April. We raise cross, Yorks, spots and Polands. Some of the pigs I’ve worked with have attitude problems. That’s when I have to use my training whip. I walk them through the yard, starting with about 15 minutes a day. When it gets closer to fair week, I increase the time to 30-minute sessions. Consistency is important. I try my best to work with my pig every day.”

Miller has had great success at the fair with his pigs, and has even higher aspirations. “I still haven’t achieved the top prize of a banner, given by the judges to the top five award-winning pigs,” he added. “That’s what I’m working towards this year.”

Although Miller has never shown an animal at the state fair, he and his dad Jerry enjoy going to watch the pig shows. “Someday I may want to be a fair judge. I want to know what to look for in a prize-winning animal. I’ve learned that judges look for muscle, bone size and strength in a pig.”

Miller would encourage any young person to join 4-H. “It teaches us a good work ethic. We learn how to take care of an animal, including what to feed them. But I’d warn the person that it’s not all fun and games. There’s hard work involved and a lot of it. But it pays off in the end by giving us a sense of accomplishment.”

On the Miller’s small hobby farm, affectionately called JP Show Pigs, the family raises pigs for young people to show in 4-H, so Miller meets a lot of 4-H’ers beginning in March of each year. “We also raise chickens for eggs,” he added.

Country living suits the young man very well. “I love having enough space to ride my four-wheeler with my brothers Brayden, 15, and Clayton, 10.” The family adopted a 4-year-old little girl, Tessa, this past December. Although Miller loves his sister with his whole heart, he admits, “Having a girl around can be a challenge at times. It’s a lot different than when it was just us guys and Mom (Amy) and our black lab, Wally.”

Miller enjoys doing math problems at school. He’s also in FFA. “Right now, we’re learning about soil and dairy cow judging.”

The Millers are a close-knit family. This past spring, they went to the Missouri Ozarks to hike. “This coming fall break we’ll visit the Wisconsin Dells. I like hanging out with my family members.”

Most of all, Miller enjoys working with his family on the farm. “Someday I want to raise my own family on a farm. A special bond is formed when we work together.”