We caught up with Mr. Will Hilty after he judged the NJSA Gilts at The 2022 Exposition. Check out his thoughts below…

What class was the deepest?
I thought the entire Yorkshire show was very good, but classes 1 and 9 both stuck out to me in terms of depth of quality. I could see several of the young gilts from class 1 continuing on to be very competitive throughout their show careers. In class 9 the initial trio of gilts were very good with all of them ending up in the top 5 of their breed

Toughest placing/call of the day?
There were several close calls throughout the day but I thought it was enjoyable, and challenging to rank the grand drive 1-10. I loved the gilts that ended up being in the top 5, but also thought there were a couple other gilts that were very good and so close to cracking that top 5. The Berk and Poland in particular.

Did any breeds/divisions surprise you?
It’s the expo, arguably the best purebred gilt show in the country. I expected them to be good and they sure lived up to it!

For you, what was the most memorable moment of the show?
The grand drive was incredible!

Best part about The Exposition returning to Des Moines?
I love the fairgrounds in Des Moines and it just seems like where the expo belongs to me. Having the Expo back there made it feel like all in the world was right again.