Producer Spotlight
Love what you do, Do what you love
T
here is a saying that if you love what you do you will never work a day in your life. “There are plenty of days where it’s extremely difficult and it can be emotionally draining, but on the good days I can honestly say that I’m living the dream.” Chris and Steelee Fischbacher, owners of Fischbacher Show Pigs and Next Level Genetics, feel blessed to live the life they live and grow their family in the show pig industry. Chris Fischbacher got his start in the show pig industry as a young 4-H member. As the son of well-known and highly respected County Extension Agent, Marcel Fischbacher, much of Chris’s life has been spent in the barn or at stock shows learning and growing in the livestock industry. Early on a love for show pigs took root in Chris and he decided that he wanted to raise his own show pigs, thus began the journey toward the establishment of Fischbacher Show Pigs. After graduating from Vega High School, Chris attended Clarendon College where he was a member of the livestock judging team. Chris completed his undergraduate education, in animal science, at Oklahoma State University where he was a member of the 2005 National Champion livestock judging team. After graduation, Chris returned home to take the reins of Fischbacher Show Pigs and continue his education by attending West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) to earn a Masters of Science in Agricultural Science. During his four years at WTAMU, Chris continued his passion for livestock evaluation by serving as the livestock judging team coach. Chris continued to raise hogs while he was in school and coaching, and he quickly made the decision that show pig production was his calling. “I always knew I wanted to be involved someway in livestock production,” said Chris. “When I was a senior in high school I started having serious talks with my dad about the possibility of making this a career. He always made me believe this was something I could be really good at. After high school, every move I made was designed to make raising show pigs my livelihood.” In order to take the next step, Chris began increasing the size of his sow herd. Currently, Fischbacher Show Pigs farrows their 50 sows eight months out of the year; raising pigs year-round to target any show, for anyone. Their sow herd is composed of Berkshire, Duroc, Spot, Yorkshire and crossbred females, to meet the needs of their growing and loyal customer base. In 2012, the Fischbacher family decided to diversify their operation and started a new business venture, a boar stud fittingly named Next Level Genetics. The goal of this new entity within Fischbacher Show Pigs is to offer fellow show pig producers high quality genetics for reasonable prices. Today, the genetics of their 15 head boar stud have been sold in 28 states and winning banners all across the country.