Unsettling and Awe-Inspiring: Kipker Wins 2020 Beard Contest
Long beards, full beards, tight beards, shaped beards. The entries in the Farm Journal’s PORK Best Beards in the Pork Industry Contest took on a variety of shapes and styles this year. But at the end of the day, the judges agreed it was all about impact.
“Does the beard significantly impact my soul to the point that I question my life choices?” says judge and host of AgDay TV Clinton Griffiths. “Do the eyes behind said strong beard stare steadily forward as if to drag all of civilization with them into a new millennium? It takes a steeled persona to hold a winning beard that can beat its competitors into submission with a single look of disdain.”
For judge Claire Masker-King, director of sustainability and international communications at the National Pork Board, the judging came down to two criteria: who was the most dedicated and who “wore” the beard the best.
“If you are going to have facial hair, you need to have a little swagger,” she says.
2020 Best Beard in the Pork Industry: Andy Kipker
After a little debate, Andy Kipker of Lewistown, Ohio, was named the 2020 beard contest winner.
“This beard, supported by actual pigs, shows the raw, untapped potential of a man destined for greatness,” Griffiths says. “The length, density and depth of color indicate a man with the type of resiliency needed to survive in 2020's hog industry. It’s equal parts unsettling and awe-inspiring to gaze upon.”
Kipker, a partner at Triple K Farms, a family-owned grain and livestock farm, contract finishes hogs for Heimerl Farms in Johnstown, Ohio. With three young kids at home, he says his favorite part of working in the pork industry is passing on a love of raising pigs to his kids.
“I enjoy teaching them about agriculture and how the farming industry works to get food on our table. They love to come out to the barn and help with the pigs,” Kipker says.
After a little encouragement from his wife and kids, Kipker decided to enter this year’s contest and says it’s the longest he has ever let his beard get.
“I usually shave each summer,” he explains. “I have spent many years hauling hogs from county fairs and that is the time I would usually shave my beard. However, with our kids starting to participate in the county fair themselves, I decided last year to step away from hauling from the fairs. This is when the no shaving started, and I decided to let the beard go COVID-crazy.”
For Kipker, a good beard is a long, full beard that has manure-catching capabilities.
Kipker will receive a “beardtastic” gift package of Bacon Lover premium beard oil and bacon soap, in addition to a hat, mask and coffee mug from the National Pork Board. The second through fifth place winners will also receive gifts from the National Pork Board.
Rounding out the top five beards in the pork industry are as follows:
2nd place: Trey Kilpatrick
Kilpatrick is a safety manager at Smithfield Hog Production. He lives in Mt. Olive, N.C. Judge Davis Michaelson, news director and co-host of AgriTalk, says, “A beard like this one says, ‘Hey I can hang out with ZZ Top and still make it to church on time in the morning.’"
Griffiths adds, “This beard reminds me of a show steer prepped for the state fair. Mountains of foam and Final Bloom could only make this beard fiercer against the competition called life. The combo mustache sets the beard off with a touch of sophistication that shows this man is not only serious about pork but has done the reading to back it up.”
3rd place: Bob Folck
Folck operates Folck Family Farm where they raise Berkshire and Chester White hogs in Mechanicsburg, Ohio. Length and fullness gave the 3rd place beard the edge in a tie over 4th place.
“This gentleman didn't trip and accidentally fall into a beard,” Griffiths says. “This was a life choice. It hasn't been a COVID pastime either. He's been carefully crafting and cultivating a mat of hair and intentionality for a substantial number of years. In the picture, it's almost as if the man is secondary and THE BEARD is now calling the shots, answering the door and picking out curtains for an extended stay.”
4th place: Neil Mauck
Mauck contract-feeds 26,000 hogs a year for Tyson. He also raises show pigs with his family in Muncie, Ind. Davis says Mauck’s “classic rugged beard” placed him fourth in the line-up this year.
“One does not simply just grow a beard. They must wear the beard with swagger and this beard owner has the swagger,” Masker-King says.
5th place: Amos Newswanger
Newswanger is a contract hog grower for Country View Family Farms of Lewisburg, Pa. Griffiths says this beard marks a lifetime of effort, which he values.
“Obviously not everything grows straight, and the color isn't uniform, but the effort to succeed is winning. There is length combined with the trimmed tightness of the sides and just enough fullness to cover the neckline of any t-shirt. This choice screams intentionality and resolve while also adding a bit of whimsy on the sides. Top it off with a heel-creased hat and you've got a beard with real impact from a seeker of good times,” Griffiths says.
The judges commented that some of the beards held high potential and they’d like to see them next year. Generally speaking, the longer, fuller beards fared best with this year’s judges. However, when it comes to beards, the options are endless and that’s what makes beards so much fun.
Click here for the winners of the first-ever mustache contest.
