-Farm News file photo by Karen Schwaller
Trey Black, a senior at Spencer High School, had a chance to show a pig at the 2024 Clay County Fair with the help of George Lawson and Kinnick Seivert. These youth were all part of the "Bacon Buddies" competition at last year's fair.

DES MOINES — “Bacon Buddies,” an event that made its Iowa debut at the 2019 State Fair, was recognized by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig as one of four leadership causes worthy of statewide recognition.

The program was honored in late March at an awards ceremony in Ankeny with the 2025 Leadership in Community Award.

Iowa’s version of “Bacon Buddies” was created by the Iowa Pork Producers Association in partnership with Special Olympics of Iowa to showcase “the very best of Iowa and Iowa agriculture.”

It provides a learning and development opportunity for youth of all abilities, in that youth with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (“buddies” or “athletes”) show pigs and learn from their peer mentors (4-H and FFA youth) that share the show ring experience with them. In exchange, the peer mentors learn how to interact and work with youth with disabilities, giving them a new perspective, while at the same time giving youth with disabilities an opportunity to do something they may not otherwise get to experience.

Joyce Hoppes, promotional consumer information director for the IPPA, said the program showcases the way Iowa pig farmers care for their communities. It was an event idea seen in Wisconsin by some youth from the Earlham FFA chapter who had seen it and said it needed to be done in Iowa.

“It’s been awesome seeing it grow, seeing our counties getting excited about it, and seeing the impact it has on individuals with disabilities showing the pigs, their families and friends, and also the 4-H and FFA mentors and their families,” she said.

Megan Filipi is director of marketing and communications for Special Olympics of Iowa.

“It’s a fantastic program for our athletes because a lot of times when people think about Special Olympics they’re just thinking about the ‘Olympics’ part of that being in relation to sports — but we don’t just do sports — we do so many other programs,” said Filipi.

She said partnering with the Iowa Pork Producers and this program helps teach their athletes about leadership, responsibility and friendship in an environment outside of the traditional sports venues that people think of when they think of Special Olympics.

‘Bacon Buddies’ at Clay County Fair

“Bacon Buddies” was also introduced to the Clay County Fair in 2024 through the efforts of many, but spearheaded originally by the past president of the Iowa Pork Producers, Greg Lear of Spencer.

“As past president, I watched it and tried to figure out when we would have time to do that because we’re rolling those barns so fast,” he said.

Lear said when it became apparent to him that the length of the open class sheep show was becoming shorter, a place and time to squeeze in an event like “Bacon Buddies” presented itself.

The squeeze was not only in the schedule for the building, but also for a chance to pull it off — with only three weeks to make that maiden voyage happen. Lear had connections with 4-H and FFA youth through the Clay County “Friends of Agriculture” youth group, which he mentors weekly to help raise and exhibit pigs at the Clay County Fair. Within that group, he had the mentors and the pigs for the kids to show.

Lear reached out to others in the community to help gather a group of local youth athletes (“buddies”) with learning or developmental disabilities. His group located seven who wanted to be part of it.

He said he had more than twice the number of youth wanting to be mentors than there were athletes, or “buddies.”

Lear and his extensive team of extension staff, school personnel, Pork Producer Association officials and others, didn’t have much time to find the rest of the support needed for this event, including T-shirts for participants, promotional materials, protein snacks for those involved in the show ring experience, and even knowing and accommodating for the kinds of disabilities that would be present that day.

“We had one youth in a wheelchair,” said Lear, adding that they knew they would need a bigger mentor to help guide it through the thick bed of wood shavings in the show ring.

The youth worked together before the show began, with mentors showing athletes how to show their pigs and becoming friends with them before the show even began. No “Champion,” “Grand Champion” or showmanship awards were given out afterward because Lear said, “Everyone was a champion.”

Following a successful “Bacon Buddies” show, Lear said the local Pork Producers gave participants and their families pork burger dinners to eat on the fairgrounds.

The event was successful enough for Lear to know it would be part of future Clay County Fairs.

“We’re going to reload the thing,” he said, pointing to the local youth and Pork Producers (especially) who backed this event unfailingly. “We have to make this next generation of kids want to become productive members of society. Somebody helped me and somebody helped my son when we were showing pigs for years and years. I still think my job is to pay it forward — get somebody else started.”

Lear said the overall value of the “Bacon Buddies” event lies in the way it makes participants on both sides of it feel. Mentors felt gratitude and gained a new perspective in working with youth with disabilities, and the “Buddies” and families felt gratitude for getting to do something that other kids may take for granted.

“The value for the Clay County Fair was in that we had the platform and the building. We weren’t looking to fill the stands with something like this, but it’s just another part of the diverse experience that the fair offers,” said Lear, adding that this event added another level of competition that didn’t exist at the fair before that event.

Lear, also president of the Clay County Fair Board, has hopes for increased participation in coming years, while knowing there may need to be a “cap” on the number participating in order to maintain a smooth flow of the event.

Filipi said she and her Special Olympics of Iowa organization are grateful for the partnerships that allow this event to take place.

“We hope people will learn something about Special Olympics and the abilities of our athletes to do things that individuals without intellectual disabilities could do,” she said. “This event showcases the things our individuals with intellectual disabilities actually can do.”

Looking back and ahead

The “Bacon Buddies” program has grown significantly since 2023 when IPPA introduced “Bucks for Bacon Buddies,” which provides up to $500 for county pork producers to sponsor local events.

Thirty-one county fairs conducted local events in 2024, which was up from 28 counties in 2023, and a significant increase from two or three counties before 2023.

“The Bacon Buddies event at the Iowa State Fair always brings a smile to my face, and it’s one we look forward to every year,” said IPPA Past President Matt Gent, a pig farmer from Wellman. “Caring for our communities is a core value of Iowa pig farmers, and this annual event is a powerful way to strengthen those connections.”

Other leadership awards went to:

• Nationwide Agribusiness for improving awareness of grain bin and all-terrain vehicle safety.

• Pheasants Forever for their continued efforts to preserve, improve and protect Iowa’s natural resources.

• Iowa Foundation for Agricultural Advancement, whose initial mission was to provide funds to support the sale of grand and reserve champion projects at a premium price at the state fair.