The 4-H youth program has always been a family affair, and the people of Porter County, Indiana, stepped up this week to support a beloved, local family in need. A buyer’s group purchased a hog at the 4-H Celebration Sale for a whopping $340 per pound — which amounted to $102,000 for the 300-pound gilt.
No ordinary pig, this hog was shown to a reserve grand championship by the 10-year-old owner, Hudson Duttlinger, whose 38-year-old mother was just placed on hospice.
Jonathan Kraft detailed the events leading to the record-shattering sale on the GoFundMe page: “Several years ago Ashlee was diagnosed with colon cancer, and has been battling ever since. She was in remission, and then it all came back again. It has been an up and down battle for years but never once has Ashley had a bad attitude about anything in life….Unfortunately her fight has become too much, and they have brought in hospice to make her more comfortable. Though she texted Anna a few days ago, she said this is not the end, and she will continue to battle. At 38 years old, no mother should have to say goodbye to her children.”
County fairs across the country allow local businesses, politicians, and community members to support youth by bidding on and buying animals at the youth livestock sale. When Hudson’s mom, Ashlee Duttlinger, experienced her cancer coming back, community members and 4-H Celebration Sale co-chairs Jonathan and Anna Kraft stepped up to organize a GoFundMe for the family.
While the GoFundMe has garnered nearly $42,000, the support didn’t stop there.
The Krafts organized a bidding war for Hudson’s reserve grand champion hog, writing, “In the past, we have never reached out to you to support the fair because we have a very loyal community to support the youth of Porter County. This year Anna and I are leading a very important project, and we really need the help of our friends to make it happen.”
At the show, Ashlee Duttlinger sat ringside and watched her son in his second year of showing take home the prestigious title of Reserve Grand Champion Gilt at the Porter County Fair. The proud mother could again witness her son shatter records Livestream as the gavel fell on an astounding $340 per pound price.
The impressive price not only gives Hudson and Brooks Duttlinger, Ashlee’s two sons, a leg up by establishing a scholarship fund for college, but it also will hang their mom’s name on a banner in the show barn for generations to come. While it may not seem like things can get much better than that, the hog, once processed, will be donated to the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana to benefit other families in need.
