DES MOINES — At the Iowa State Fair on Wednesday, Bryan Branderhorst walks out of the grandstand during the intermission of the annual tractor pull. The Prairie City farmer and father of four is taking in some well deserved entertainment after a week of assisting his kids in loading, hauling and showing pigs.

With 15 of his childrens’ hogs shown and three more ahead in open class, Branderhorst laughed as he acknowledged both the labor and exhilaration involved in their efforts.

“It’s very enjoyable. I’ve said all along that it’s basically a learning and responsibility experience for the kids,” he said. “Our kids will go out and walk pigs at 9 o’clock at night. They get up, anywhere from 6 to 8 a.m., and do the chores in the morning. At night, they’ll be working anywhere from 6 to 9 p.m., depending on how hot it is. They do a lot of walking of their pigs. They’ll break them to walk, and over the last month they walked pigs around the house, in the yard and walked them right back, just like you would in the show ring.”