Amphi High senior at home on the farm

Britney Scott didn’t make it to her senior prom.

In fact, the 18-year-old student chose not to go. She realizes she might have missed some fun, but there were more important things to do.

Such as going to an auction to buy a new hog.

“I’d rather birth a pig than go stand around and dance and stuff,” she said.

The Amphitheater High School senior is a grand champion of swine showmanship — a title she took at the Pima County Fair for her outstanding performance showing her pig, Black China. She’s got several other ribbons, plaques, banners and belt buckles from other competitions.

The school’s land lab, an off-campus farm that is part of a Joint Technical Education District agriculture program, is her second home, where she starts out and ends most of her days.

And when she’s not there feeding, breeding, cleaning and caring for the animals, she’s thinking about how to do those things better. “It’s just what I love to do,” Britney said.

Showmanship competitors take their pigs into an arena and demonstrate the animals for judges. Participants are judged on the ability to keep their animals under control and the animals’ physical qualities, among other things.

Britney’s passion has taken her around the state, including Casa Grande, Parker, Buckeye, Sonoita and Safford. And now, the senior, who will graduate May 19, is heading to Iowa in June to compete in the World Pork Expo with her pig, Texas Bama.

Britney said what’s more important is that through competing in showmanship, she is learning to help others and building a community in which she can grow. “They are part of my family,” she said of her peers, teachers and mentors at the land lab.

THE LAB

As students rolled into the classroom at the land lab on a recent afternoon, agriculture teacher JT Van Huss announced they were going to drain an abscess from a pig’s foot and build pens for pregnant sheep. CJ, the pig, had hurt her back right foot.

But the 400-pound pig was not easy to control. So while Van Huss attempted to treat the injury, Britney held on to a rope tightened around the pig.

“She’s been doing it forever,” Van Huss said of his student. “She knows the drill.”

Britney isn’t the only one in her family who knows her way around a farm animal. Her mother, Robyn Scott, competed in swine showmanship as a young woman, and frequently helps out at the land lab.

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Britney’s sister, Kelsey, had also competed and made a name for herself. And though Kelsey had chosen a career away from the farms, she still supported the high school senior in her endeavors, including contributing to hog and feed purchases.

Future Farmers of America, the land lab and 4-H are programs where children can build confidence and grow in a safe and productive environment, Robyn said.

“You do raise animals, but you raise more,” she said. “You’re building relationships for a lifetime.”

It’s kept her daughters off the streets, she said. And as a single mother, she said she really couldn’t have done it by herself.

“CHARLOTTE’S WEB”

Britney’s love of farm animals has been in the making since her first year in school.

Her kindergarten class was reading “Charlotte’s Web,” her mother said. And since Britney was dyslexic, her mother thought it would be best if she could learn hands-on.

So Robyn borrowed a piglet, asked for the teacher’s permission and brought the animal into class so the kids could touch and interact with the pig while they read the book.

“A lot of kids don’t have that exposure,” Robyn said.

Since then, Britney was hooked, she said.

The journey has had its challenges, Britney said. There weren’t many minority children competing in FFA events and there were times when she felt she was not treated fairly based on her skin color.

Folks are more open-minded now, she said, especially at Amphi High. And it’s not like subtle racism has ever stopped her from competing before.

“She was there to compete and she was willing to compete no matter what,” Robyn said of her daughter.

After graduation, Britney is headed to Pima Community College to study general education. At the same time, she will continue to show at county and state fairs and work toward finding a career working with animals.

For now, Britney is focusing on training and caring for Texas Bama, whom she will take to Iowa for the world competition.