Meet the 2022 Iowa State Fair’s Big Ram, Big Boar and Super Bull winners

The winners of the annual Super Bull, Big Boar and Big Ram contests weighed in Thursday during the first day of the Iowa State Fair and claimed the coveted prizes. 

While no records were broken this year, history was made at the Livestock Pavilion, Swine Barn and Sheep Barn throughout the day. 

Meet the 2022 Iowa State Fair Super Bull, Albert

The Livestock Pavilion at the Iowa State Fair was packed full of fairgoers eager to see this year's largest bull. 

Last year's runner-up, Albert, took home the prize, weighing in at a massive 3,042 pounds. Albert weighed more than 300 pounds over second place finisher Friction. 

More:What to do and see on the second day of the Iowa State Fair 2022

Albert comes from Dreher Angus Farm in Audubon, a family-run farm from Randy and Crystal Dreher that now represents six generations. He eats almost 100 pounds of feed and drinks about 20 gallons of water a day, according to his owners. When he's not eating his usual diet of corn, oats and hay, Albert loves to splurge on Iowa sweet corn. 

In the 39-year history of the Super Bull contest at the Iowa State Fair, the heaviest bull on record weighed in at 3,404 pounds in 2009. 

More Iowa State Fair:5 new things at Iowa State Fair 2022, including a world record attempt and fresh events

Meet the 2022 Iowa State Fair Big Boar, Pee-Wee

This year's Big Boar at the Iowa State Fair has quite the sweet tooth.

On any given day, Pee-Wee, the 4-year-old Hereford boar from Sioux Center, eats more than three dozen cream-filled long john doughnuts and nearly five gallons of butter fat-filled Jersey milk, his owners Marv Rietema and Owen Sambulte said. 

Weighing in at 1,300 pounds on Thursday, Pee-Wee took the crown at the Iowa State Fair as the Big Boar. He was only 35 pounds shy of the biggest boar on record, Reggie, who won in 2012 at 1,335 pounds. 

When Rietema and Sambulte first introduced doughnuts and whole milk to Pee-Wee's diet two months ago in a last-ditch effort to get him to put on more weight, they said he ate nearly 15 pounds of doughnuts in one day. Since then, they estimate Pee-Wee put on an additional 75 to 90 pounds. 

"That's the thing that put him over the top," Sambulte said. 

While Pee-Wee walked onto the scale without trouble, his competitor, Purdy Boy of Pleasant Hill, was much more resistant. 

The 6-year-old Chester White and Landrace cross is owned by a group of friends who met in college at Iowa State University. Described as "very chill and sweet" by his owners before the event, Purdy Boy decided to showcase another side of his personality in the show ring Thursday afternoon. 

After trying to shove him onto the scale, the boar broke free and started wandering around the ring. The team nearly gave up until a wise member among them grabbed a bucket of food and poured it onto the scale. 

Purdy Boy stepped onto the scale nearly 15 minutes after first entering the show ring to a roar of applause from the nearly packed audience. Though he only weighed 1,156 pounds, nearly 200 pounds off the record, officials said he made history of his own. 

Ernie Barnes, the announcer for the event and the superintendent of the Swine Barn, said in his 20 years at the fair, he has never seen a boar struggle to get on the scale as much as Purdy Boy did. 

"You know, when you weigh this much, you go anywhere you want to go, when you want to go," Barnes said during the event,

Although the competition was full of excitement, Barnes said two boars is the fewest they've had enter the competition over the last 20 years. He said he's hopeful as the economy picks back up over the next year, more boars will be entered in the event. 

More Iowa State Fair:These 2022 kid-friendly Iowa State Fair activities provide fun for the whole family

Meet the 2022 Iowa State Fair Big Ram, The Bad Guy

Thursday afternoon in the Sheep Barn brought all of the fair's biggest rams to be on full display, but only one took home the crown for Big Ram. 

The Bad Guy, of Fisher Farms in Mercer, Missouri, weighed in at a whopping 456 pounds, 28 pounds over the second place finisher Sheep Beep of Shell Rock. 

The Bad Guy comes from the same farm as last year's winner, Big Shot, who weighed in at 418 pounds. This year, Big Shot only weighed 413 pounds, putting him in third place. 

Fisher said the 6-year-old ram is fed a mixture of corn, soy, oats and vitamins, but what really helps him reach prize-winning weight is his naturally large frame. 

More:Get a first look at the Iowa State Fair butter cow and 'The Music Man' butter sculpture

The Bad Guy has a tendency to be "kind of mean," Fisher said. "That's why we call him the Bad Guy!" 

The Bad Guy showcased a bit of that personality when Fisher tried to bring him around for a picture with his first place ribbon. "I think he's starting to get a little pissy!" Fisher said.

The Bad Guy was challenged by second place winner Sheep Beep, whose owner, 15-year-old Abby Wilson, said the 6-year-old ram also has a tendency to get a bit "ornery" from time to time. A few cookie treats tend to do the trick to pick his spirits back up, Wilson said. 

This year's rams struggled to compare to the fair's record-setter, who weighed in at  507.5 pounds in 2014. 

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.