August 20, 2014

by William C Bailey
Professor, School of Agriculture, Western Illinois University

Let’s be honest, while an excellent university, not many world records are made at Western Illinois University. But that changed recently when a member of the School of Agriculture’s faculty and Good Hope, Illinois resident Associate Professor Mark Hoge, sold a pig (Yorkshire boar to be exact) for a staggering $270,000 – a world record price, according to the National Swine Registry. Assuming the pig weighed 280 pounds when sold, that pencils out to be about $60 an ounce, very comparable to the price of some caviar.  The price of a prime filet mignon is about $30 an ounce.  And the price of the hamburger purchased from a fast food establishment is about 50 cents an ounce.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.