The swagger was there and so was the weight as roly-poly Duke took the title of Big Boar at the Iowa State Fair on Thursday in front of a standing-room-only crowd.
While Duke’s girth was enough to take this year’s title at 1,268 pounds, he still fell short of last year’s fair record breaker, Finnegan, who tipped the scales at a hefty 1,420 pounds. Finnegan was 85 pounds heavier than Reggie, the previous recordholder of 1,335 pounds set in 2012.
Bryan Britt, owner of Duke and Finnegan, knows the way to the winner’s circle. In addition to those two, he claimed the top boar honors in 2019 and 2021. There was no fair in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But Britt said not to look for him in the next couple of years.
“I’m not coming back next year. Maybe in three years, but it’s time for others to win,” Britt said after his win on Aug. 7.
“I accomplished what I set out to do and that was set the State Fair record,” Britt added.
The title of Big Boar is a coveted one in Iowa, which is the nation’s largest pork producer with 23.4 million head as of March, according to data from Iowa State University.
Britt said this year’s champion Duke grew up in the same pen as Finnegan, but Finnegan was sent to market after last year’s fair.
“It was just time,” Britt said.
Finishing second was state Rep. Heather Hora, a Republican from Washington, with Double Chocolate, who weighs 1,236 pounds. The announcer said Double Chocolate was known to have “never had a girlfriend and enjoying a steady diet of watermelon, sweet corn and beer.”
A total of seven boars competed for the title.
The Guiness Book of World Records lists Big Bill, a Poland-China boar from Tennessee in the 1930s, as the largest domestic boar ever at 2,552 pounds, an almost unimaginable 1,000 pounds more than Finnegan. Standing 5 feet high at the shoulder, Big Bill was on his way to the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1933 when he tragically broke a leg and had to be put down.
Big Ram winner tops the 500-pound mark
Earlier on opening day of the fair, Judah took the title of Big Ram, weighing in at a robust 505 ½ pounds. Judah is owned by Abby Willson of Shell Rock.
Judah wasn’t the only ram coming in at the 500-pound mark coveted by sheep owners. Jim Fisher of Mercer, Missouri, brought Big Fat Jake, who weighs 501 ½ pounds.
Last year’s winner, Whip, a ram owned by Craig Fetters of rural Lucas, flirted with the 500-pound mark, ultimately settling at 498 pounds to take the title.
Like Britt, Willson also has enjoyed a successful run at the Iowa State Fair, having competed for the Big Ram title four times in the last four years. She finished second in 2022.
With 12 rams in this year’s competition, it was certainly the biggest turnout in recent history, said Don Hummel, superintendent of the sheep competition.
“We’ve had some years that had seven or eight,” said Hummel, who could not remember ever having as many as 12 entries.
The size of the rams in competition is “good for creating interest,” but like many of the contestants, the animals have exceeded a weight that makes them useful for breeding purposes.
The largest domestic ram on record, according to Guiness, was Stratford, a Suffolk ram from Oregon that officially weighed 545 pounds, although the Whispering Hills Farm website says he eventually reached a weight of 628 pounds.
Bud the bull is a big winner
Despite being shy, Bud has a lot to brag about.
Bud was big enough to take home the title of Super Bull at the Iowa State Fair, weighing 3,110 pounds, besting the next closest competitor and 2025’s runner-up, Rampage, by 350 pounds. Bud beats out last year’s winner, Teddy Bear, by 46 pounds. The 2025 Super Bull competition included four entries.
Bud, owned by Mark Till and John and Bridget Costello of Maquoketa, was the only bull who had to be backed into the weigh station due to his timid nature. He shook the truck hauling the trailer, and the results of his weigh-in were delayed until he was safely back in, when he ultimately came out on top.
Bud will be on display at the Cattle Barn until the end of the fair, Aug. 17.
Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at kbaskins@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Meet the Big Boar, Big Ram, Super Bull winners at the Iowa State Fair. Were they records?
Reporting by Kevin Baskins and Jessica Rish, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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