Tipton — Although the Indiana State Fair celebrated the “Year of the Pig” — organizers expected to sell 20 tons to pork products — Tipton County has been celebrating pigs for years.
Yet, it wasn’t always that way.
In Indiana, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2007 data, Carroll County is the state’s most populous hog county; Howard is listed 15th and Tipton 25th.
Indiana sends more than 8 million hogs to market — the fifth largest pork producer in the nation. Annually, U.S. hog farmers sell more than $1.5 billion of pork products to Japan, America’s biggest customer.
“Tipton County is very important in pork production,” said Chris Hurt, a Purdue University agricultural economist, adding since 2007, Hoosier hog farmers have lost more than $200 million.
“When last year’s H1N1 scare reduced the demand for pork, people backed away from pork. Even when it was shown H1N1 had nothing to do with the ‘swine flu,’ the damage was done. That was really bad for the hog industry.”
Dr. Jeffrey Harker, of Swine Health Services in Frankfort, said there are more than 3,000 pork producers in Indiana — dramatically down from a high of 25,000 in 1979 — and the state’s swine industry contributes more than $3 billion to the state’s economy each year.
For three days in September, pork contributes to a Tipton celebration.
When it began in 1969, the Tipton County Pork Festival was more of an ice-cream social than a celebration of pork, said Brett Curnutt, who handles public relations for the festival.
“But it was also used to promote the local pork industry and to promote Tipton County,” he said. “We wanted to bring new faces and people down to the Courthouse Square. The organizers saw that was a good mix to promote all of these in the same event.”
Now in its 42nd year, the annual three-day festival attracts more than 100,000 people to Tipton to taste the festival’s signature sandwich: the pork chop sandwich.
This year’s festival will be held Thursday through Saturday in downtown Tipton. Events begin at 11 a.m.
Besides pork, the event also offers arts-and-crafts, chain-saw and blacksmithing demonstrations and the crowning of the Pork Festival Queen.
But, most of all, the festival is about pork.
“We have about 10 tons of pork chops. They are one-half pound and one-inch thick. Then we add our secret sauce that gives it a special flavor your can’t find anywhere else but the Tipton County Pork Festival,” said Curnutt. “It has reached world-famous status, I’d like to add.”
Promotions helping the pork industry are always appreciated, said Harker.
“The pork festival in Tipton does a wonderful job for the pork industry,” he said. “We need more promotion like that. We have a very good and healthy product that tastes good.”
Furthermore, with a special guest performing at this year’s event, pork may even reach heavenly status.
Known for his “God Bless the USA,” song, Friday evening, county-western singer Lee Greenwood will perform at a free concert that might lead to the festival’s signature sandwich to be blessed.
“He’s singing, ‘God Bless the USA,’” said Curnutt. “Well, it may be after having one, ‘God bless the pork chop.’ It is packed with so much flavor.”
• K.O. Jackson can be reached at (765) 854-6739 or via e-mail kirven.jackson@kokomotribune.com
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