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By Christy Couch Lee

makingDr. Bob Hines of Manhattan, Kan., has built countless memories in his half-century in the swine industry. And, more are being created every day.

Among many fond memories, Dr. Bob Hines takes pride in capturing the high individual title at the 1956 Chicago International Livestock Exposition judging contest.

It was to be a surprise, and they couldn’t wait.

Dr. Bob Hines and his wife of 50 years, Treva, loaded their car at their home in Manhattan, Kan., and set out on a 1,000-mile journey east to Harrisburg, Pa., to watch their granddaughters in the show ring at the National Junior Swine Associa-tion (NJSA) Eastern Regional.

the swine industry in elementary school. “My uncle was a milk hauler,” he

says. “It was my job to hand out checks and supplies. One summer, my uncle got me five day-old veal calves, and I raised them. We took that money and I bought a bred Berkshire gilt.”

From then on, Hines raised and showed Berkshires in 4-H at the county and state fairs, and he

were pillars in the swine industry. So, to get to work with that same kind of a person was tremendous.”

Hines married Treva in 1957 and began making plans for graduate school, but learned he was being called to serve a two-year tour with the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).

He was assigned to Fort Eustis, Va., as a transportation officer and

Treva (l) and Bob Hines have spent more than 40 years in Manhattan, Kan., where Bob served as an adviser, instructor and livestock judging-team coach in the Kansas State University animal sciences and industry department.

Hines earned his bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in 1957, and began a tour with the ROTC in Greenland.

As they pulled up at the fairgrounds gate, they found themselves paral-lel in their car to the truck filled with their family – Brian, Donna, Cailyn and Payton Hines of Quincy, Mich.

“About that time, they saw us,” Hines recalls with a laugh. “And they just went bananas.”

After 45 years of judging swine shows from coast to coast and serv-ing as an adviser, mentor and coach to countless Kansas State University (K-State) students, it’s moments like these that make life great, Hines says.

Hines’ life has been filled with memories of good times with fellow breeders, staying atop industry trends as a leading judge in the show ring and serving as a mentor to young swine breeders across the country. And, he says, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

How it began. Hines was raised in Sheridan, Ind., and got his start in

showed Berkshires for Olin and B.D. Harvey in Whitestown, Ind.

It wasn’t long before judging got into Hines’ blood. As a high-school freshman, he was a member of the Indiana state champion live-stock judging team and later won the state dairy judging contest.

Hines attended Purdue Univer-sity, majoring in animal husbandry. There, he was a member of the 1956 Purdue livestock judging team, where he was named high individual at the Chicago International Live-stock Exposition judging contest.

“When I was at Purdue, I had the great honor of working for Cliff Breeden at the swine barn,” Hines says. “It was almost like getting your degree when you got to go to the barn to work for him. He had you sign in his herd book. You’d look at those names, and there was Jack Rodibaugh, Don Brown – people that you knew

The Hineses were married more than 50 years ago, on Aug. 18, 1957.

reported for duty with a stevedor-ing company – one that unloads ships – headed for Greenland.

Once his tour was complete, he began graduate school in 1959 at Michigan State University (MSU). As he was working on his master’s degree in animal nutrition, he as-sisted Harlan Ritchie with the MSU judging team. The state swine exten-sion specialist position opened as he completed his master’s, and he served three years in that position.

“That was a great experience,” he says. “I got to know producers and the problems they were having, and that really helped me with teaching. You had a feel for what was important to them.”

He completed his Ph.D. in animal nutrition following his term as the state swine extension specialist, and then accepted a position with K-State in 1966. For the next 25 years, he held the responsibility of oversee-ing the K-State swine farm staff.

Through the years, Hines taught courses in swine sciences, basic labs, livestock production management and livestock and meat evalua-

tion, which he helped to develop.But, perhaps one of his favor-

ite responsibilities was coaching the livestock judging teams.

“When you just lecture in the classroom, you don’t really get to know the students very well,” Hines says. But, he says, working with the livestock judging teams allowed him to get to know the students on a more-personal level.

Serving as an ad-viser to about 35 un-dergraduate students and numerous gradu-ate students each year also allowed Hines to develop close relationships with his students.

“It’s always fun to watch students succeed,” he says. “They go out and at least live part of that dream that they were looking for.”

Despite how rewarding he found his career with the university, Hines made the decision

to retire in 2000, when he was 65.

“I pretty much decided that by the time I reached 65, I wanted to retire and let the younger peo-ple do it,” he says.

In 2000, Hines also decided to hang up his hat on his 45-year judging career. But it wasn’t without many fond memories.

A step in the ring. Hines judged his first show in 1957 – the Indiana State Berkshire Bred Gilt Sale in Lebanon, Ind.

He had the opportunity to judge in 35 states, including Ha-waii, and Canada. During the course

of that career, he is most proud that he remained consistent.

Hines recalls a phone conversa-tion he had about 10 years ago with a

gentleman noting his judging record. “He said, ‘I’ve been looking through

herdsire issues from the 60s until now,’ ” Hines recalls. “ ‘You are the most-consistent person I’ve ever seen

Father-and-son duo Bob (r) and Brian Hines discuss their views as judges at the 2002 World Pork Expo Duroc show. “It was with great pride that we worked together,” Bob says.

Hines judged swine shows for nearly a half-century in 35 states across the country, including the Hawaii State Fair.

judge hogs. You didn’t change much during all those swings in type.’ I said there’s one type of hog that I believe in and once you get past the basics, they don’t need to change a great deal.

“I think even today, I would want the ones that are thicker with a little more condition at the top, with the nar-row ones at the bottom,” he continues. “That’s how I judged for 45 years.”

During nearly a half-century of sort-ing classes in the show ring, Hines has witnessed many trends in the industry.

“Having seen type change tre-mendously through the years, I firmly believe that extremes are not good,” he says. “If we stay with the basics and breed the kind of hogs that have width, chest, depth of body, depth of forerib, boldness and muscle, how can we be wrong?”

And, Hines has kept these ide-als in mind with his own opera-tion, PrairieLand Genetics.

His place on the prairie. Hines began PrairieLand Genetics at a vacant farm in Manhattan in 1973. Because the K-State farm raised Hampshires, Yorkshires and Durocs, he chose Ches-ter Whites to begin his own operation.

At one time, Hines ran 100 sows and sold 300-400 Chester White boars in four production sales held each year at the farm. He held his

establish in 1986, was renamed the Dr. Bob Hines Swine Classic.

But, Hines says, three things rise to the top as his greatest ac-complishments in the industry.

“I was able to judge for 45 years and maybe was a voice for the moder-ate type of pig,” he says. “Secondly, I hopefully was influential on some students that have been very influential on the swine industry. I always thought there was a real future for some kids in Kansas to go out and raise hogs.

“And, we’ve been able to stay with it and survive and kind of enjoy what

we’re doing,” he adds with a smile.Hines advises new producers

who wish to become more involved in the swine industry to start small and not be afraid to ask questions.

“There are a lot of people out there who are willing to give you advice,” he says. “If you’ve got the enthusiasm and are willing to work, you don’t have to have great facilities. Just have enthusiasm, keep your eyes open and talk to the folks who have been successful. That’s some of the greatest experience you can have.”

Yes, Hines is quick to say that his greatest experiences in the swine indus-try are directly related to the friends he’s made along the way. That, and surprise cross-country road trips to cheer on the next generation of Hines showmen.

final production sale in 1983.In about 1990, Hines began

incorporating Hampshires into the mix, from the encouragement of his son, Brian, who was work-ing as a Hampshire fieldman.

“I’ve been in the Hampshire busi-ness since then,” Hines says. “I told the wife when we got back in the hog business that we’d never have more than 20 sows, and now we have 40.”

Although he keeps a few Mean Machine boars on the farm, nearly all breeding is done via artificial insemina-tion. Hines uses semen from Hi Point Genetics of Chrisman, Ill., Swine Genetics International of Cambridge, Iowa, Shipley Swine Genetics of Newark, Ohio, and Top Cut Show-pig Sires of Hollansburg, Ohio.

Hines says he enjoys the challenge of raising purebred Hampshires.

“I think they’re the most chal-lenging breed I’ve ever been around,” he says. “I think it’s a good hog, but it seems like it gets harder to get these Hampshires to be sound. They don’t seem to go together quite as easy as some others, it seems.”

Much of the PrairieLand Ge-netics herd can be traced back to a boar named Reach Back, which Hines purchased from Jerry McLemore of Ninnekah, Okla.

“He laid a foundation for some sows that really had some size and frame about them,” Hines says.

Miss Raw, purchased from Ste-phenson Partners Genetics of Vienna, Ga., and Alice, a Jerry McLemore sow, stand as the two main founda-tion females of the closed herd.

And, what a foundation they’ve been. PrairieLand Genetics has seen much success in the show ring throughout the years.

In the ring. “For no lon-ger than we’ve been in it, we’ve been very fortunate,” he says.

His winnings include claiming the Champion Hampshire Boar and Champion Hampshire Gilt titles at the 2000 NSR Winter Type Conference, the Reserve Champion Hampshire Gilt at the 1997 NSR Fall Clas-sic and the Champion Hampshire Boar at the 1995 NSR Fall Classic.

Hines is proud of the contribu-

tions his boars have made in the industry: Lasting Impression, which was purchased by Great Plains Genet-ics of Mooreland, Okla., Wolfman Jack, which was purchased by Triple B Sires of Eufaula, Okla., and oth-ers purchased by Top Cut Showpig Sires, Purple Power Boar Stud of Chalmers, Ind., and Maynard Hahn and Family of Wakarusa, Ind.

Perhaps some of Hines’ most-recent successes can be seen in the accomplishments of his grand-daughters, Cailyn and Payton.

In the past couple of years, the girls

have exhibited the Champion Bar-row Overall at the 2007 World Pork Expo Junior National, the Champion Hampshire Gilt at the 2007 NJSA Eastern Regional, and many high-placing gilts at the National Junior Summer Spectacular and other World Pork Expo events. Each winner origi-nated from PrairieLand Genetics.

Hines’ accomplishments are more than just through the show-ring winnings. Peers have recognized him for his accomplishments, as well.

He received the Hampshire Swine Registry Meritorious Service award last year at the NSR Summer Type Confer-ence in Louisville, Ky., for his significant contributions to the Hampshire breed.

Also last year, the Kansas Clas-sic, a show that Hines helped to

Recently, Hines’ PrairieLand Genetics has produced winners for his granddaughters, Cailyn and Payton. Payton claimed Grand Champion Barrow Overall at the 2007 World Pork Expo Junior National with a son of JM3 Make Me Famous 22-1.