Haven’t you always wanted a swine of thine own — one raised with conscientious care on a local Limestone County farm?

If freshly butchered local pork sounds like your home-grown idea of culinary hog heaven, then you need to be at the annual 4-H Pig Squeal Show & Auction this weekend: On Saturday, May 10, a group of area 4-H students will kick into shoat-don’t-tell mode, showcasing the pigs they’ve been raising for the past four months before the animals go up on the auction block.

A public event held at the Tennessee Valley Research Station & Extension Center (9494 Experimental Loop, Madison), this year’s Pig Squeal promises to be bigger than ever before. A record 31 Limestone County students have been hard at work since January, each raising two hogs with dedication and care.

On Saturday, they’ll finally get to showcase the meaty yield of their efforts. After a student-led animal showing that kicks off at 9 a.m., you can actually put a price to all the pork that’s on offer. At 12:30 p.m., the auction begins, offering bidders a chance to literally bring home the bacon — all with the added convenience of leaving the butchering to somebody else.

A local meat processor will be on site Saturday, so buyers won’t be tasked with hauling their hogs home themselves. Instead, simply complete a cut sheet at the auction, and the processor will contact each of the buyers when the processed meat is ready for pickup.

This marks the fourth year that students in the Limestone County Career Tech Advanced Ag program have raised pigs as part of their class project. Earlier this year, volunteers from across the state joined agents with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System at the Cullman stockyards to pick up pigs (from Tosh Farms in Henry, Tennessee) to distribute back to their participating counties. Each student in the program received two feeder hogs, with the goal of having their animals ready to showcase and sell at events like Saturday’s Pig Squeal.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to support our 4-H youth while stocking your freezer with local, farm-fresh pork,” County Extension Director Chloe Wilson said in a release. “We hope to see you there.”

If your heart’s set on bidding on a hog at the Pig Squeal, arrive by 12 p.m. to register and receive your bidder card. Be sure to bring along a check or money order (but definitely not a trailer.) if you’re planning to purchase a hog.

Contact Benjamin Bullard at ben.bullard@athensnews-courier.com.