Breeder Spotlight
“Home is Where the Hogs are”
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mall Texas towns and good times: you can stop by the historic Luckenbach General Store, or take a spin in the famous Gruene Dance Hall, but when you go through Wall, Texas you have to stop at Mund Livestock, where talking hogs with family and friends is always a good time. This is a family affair, and Brad with his wife Laurie want to ensure that it remains that way. Along with their two sons, Casey and Brice, Mund Livestock genuinely enjoys all the ins and outs of the hog industry. As longstanding members of the Texas Pork Producers Association, we greatly appreciate and enjoyed sitting down with this family to discuss the past, present and future of Mund Livestock. It all started back in 1970 when Brad’s father, Jack, entered the hog business by becoming partners in a specific pathogen free (SPF) farrow-to-finish operation. The family further deepened their ties in the swine industry by partnering in one of Texas’ first independent boar testing stations. Additionally, Brad grew up showing hogs and had sows at their house in Llano. When Brad and Laurie started a family of their own they started showing as soon as the boys were old enough to hold a pig whip, and it was clear to see a strong desire for show pigs was embedded in the Mund family. The Mund men lucked out and married forgiving women who too share their interest in hogs. Casey and wife Menda live in Wall with their four year-old daughter Brynlee and are expecting a boy. Brice and his wife Callie reside Brenham along with their one and a half year-old daughter Brylie. “My father was passionate and that bled into a desire for hogs myself,” said Brad. “When we started showing pigs as a family again, I quickly noticed the drive my two sons had for the business. It was only a matter of time until we had farrowing houses going up and pigs on the ground.” Today, Mund livestock runs approximately 40 females and farrow year round. While their sow base mostly consists of
Mund Livestock
Crossbreds, they also have a few Chester, Hampshire, Spot and Yorkshire sows. When it comes to raising hogs, the Mund’s know what they like and strongly stand by those beliefs. Brad and his sons have two main priorities for females that are in their keeper pen. Their sows have to be backed by proven pedigrees, and are females that can functionally lie down in the crate and do what they are supposed to do. “We believe strongly that without the right kind of sow base no farm can be successful,” explained Casey. “Females will make the biggest impact on your show pigs. They have to be good in terms of structure, bold in their rib shape and square in their build. We’ve tried to put together the best sow base that we can and take them to boars that fit their particular needs. Our hope is that we can use the extreme pieces from today’s boars and make the best show pigs that we can.” Although the success rate for Mund Livestock is impressive, the family remains humble. “We’ve been blessed with some good hogs, with excellent kids to show them,” said Brad. Some moments that play in the operations highlight reel include: countless county and local show champions, class and division winners at the majors, Grand Champion Gilt at the CTBR Stars of Texas, and the Reserve Grand Champion Barrow at Austin. “Above all the banners and buckles ranks the first time that I saw my sons and oldest granddaughter show,” Brad fondly recalled. Providing quality show pigs isn’t the only way the Mund’s are involved in the show world. Sons, Casey and Brice work one-on-one with youth, assisting them with livestock selection, management and showmanship. Additionally, Brice travels the country to evaluate hogs at numerous jackpot and county shows, as well as a few state fairs. Brice also puts his livestock evaluation skills to good use as the livestock judging coach at Blinn College. While show pigs is the family’s number one pastime,
For more information on Mund Livestock visit mundlivestock.com or call Brad: 325.456.8430 Casey: 325.277.7228 Brice: 979.224.4423
Back row from left to right: Brad, Brice and Casey Front row from left to right: Laurie, Callie, Brylie, Menda and Brynlee
when they aren’t in the barn the Mund’s enjoy fishing, hunting and golfing. The entire family agrees that all activities revolve around Brynlee and Brylie, and soon a grandson will be added to the mix. No matter the festivity, the Mund’s just like to enjoy the company of their family and friends and have a great time. While we can never be completely certain of what the future holds, I think it’s safe to say that the Mund family is just getting started in the show pig industry. The Mund family looks forward to what the future holds for them and their operation. They have plans to add some more purebred sows to their predominantly crossbred sow herd. Mund Livestock is also working on adding a few elite boars to their breeding stock and selling semen. In the coming years, Brice would like to have a few sows at his home in Brenham. Like most show pig operations, a major goal is to take home a banner from San Antonio or Houston, but their ultimate goal is to continue providing quality hogs to their great feeders. “When you have good hogs and even better families caring for them, success is just a matter of time,” explained Brice. “This is a passion that we hope to carry on for a very long time.”
What do you feel is the biggest challenge in raising competitive hogs?
There are several, but the biggest are probably biosecurity and health. We’ve seen over the past few years what needs to be done to protect your sow herd as far as biosecurity measures are concerned. I don’t see that ever not being an issue in this industry.
Where do you see the show pig industry headed?
Over the years we have seen hogs go from one extreme to another, and we have finally come to what I believe is a happy medium. The modern day market hog is one that is tall fronted, extremely showy and can handle all the skeletal width and muscle on a big and correct skeleton. I’ve seen the push for correcting hind legs on these hogs and, to be honest, I love it. I don’t see an industry push for lighter muscled, less stout or worse looking hogs, so I think always working to make them better structured is what will happen.
What boars do you think have had the biggest impact on the show pig industry, and the biggest impact on your herd?
There are a few boars that have been able to make prolonged runs of success in the industry. Swagger, Hillbilly Bone, Fatal Attraction, Super Monster and you can obviously say that Best Man could have a similar impact considering the spring he’s had. As far as our sow base, we probably have more sows go back to Fatal Attraction than anything else.
What benefits do you see with people’s involvement in agriculture or hogs?
The biggest value that comes with hogs, or any livestock for that matter, is family. The whole family can be a part of showing and breeding livestock. It also helps teaching young people discipline, dedication and responsibility. It’s a rarity these days for young people to care about something else more than their Xbox, cell phone, or boyfriend/girlfriend. That’s what this industry does to young people; it teaches them to care about something else more than themselves and their material possessions.
What’s your favorite part of raising hogs?
Contact or stop by Mund Livestock year-round for semen and show pigs!
“This is a passion we hope to carry on for a very long time.�
The Mund Men “Throwin’ it Back”