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Jackson, Miss. — Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson will announce the winner of ‘The Commissioner’s Wild Hog Challenge’ on the Trustmark Stage on the Midway during the Mississippi State Fair on Saturday, October 5, at 11:00 a.m.
The ‘Commissioner’s Wild Hog Challenge’ is a new initiative to help protect Mississippi’s agriculture from nuisance wild hogs. It was initiated to raise awareness of wild hogs and their significant negative impact on agriculture. Wild hogs cause more than $60 million in property damage in Mississippi each year damaging row crops, pastures and forestlands. Wild hogs also carry harmful diseases and eat the eggs of many wildlife species.
Members of the public were invited to participate in the Challenge by uploading photos to the department’s website of wild hogs harvested and/or trapped between August 1 and September 30 on Mississippi agricultural lands such as row crops, pasture, and working timberland.
Each participant was entered into a drawing for a wild hog trapping system donated by HogEye, a $6,000 value. In addition, the participant providing evidence of the heaviest wild hog harvested will win his/her choice of a Ruger 350 Legend or a Diamondback 300 Blackout donated by Central Mississippi Friends of NRA, valued up to $775.
The winner will be drawn on Tuesday, October 1, at 4:00 p.m. The drawing can be viewed Facebook live through the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. Pictures submitted for the Challenge can be viewed at www.mdac.ms.gov/wildhogchallenge.
In addition, the winner of 2019 Mississippi Great Pumpkin Search will also be recognized on the Trustmark Stage at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 5. Weigh-in for pumpkins will be from 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. at the Biscuit Booth on the Midway. Entries will be judged by weight on a certified scale with the heaviest, Mississippi grown pumpkin being selected as the winner.
