Ridgewood senior partners with mom to raise pigs

Denise and Wade Thompson aren’t just mother and son; they are business partners. The Ridgewood High School senior and his mom are raising hogs.

“Wade always loved pigs, and I grew up with them,” Denise Thompson said.

The original plan, a few years after COVID, was to start the business with a boar from Wade’s uncle, who is Denise’s brother.

“He was diagnosed with cancer, and we got his pigs, so he didn’t have to sell them,” Wade Thompson said.

Currently, they have eight and recently had a litter of piglets. They raise them for meat, but in the future, they would like to sell to 4-H and FFA kids.

“I do the morning chores,” Denise Thompson said. “They get me up and moving, so I like doing them better. Wade then does the afternoon chores.”

Wednesdays and Saturdays are barn-cleaning days, and they have the pigs trained to head back to their pens when let out.

“You clap your hands and they usually start going right back,” Wade Thompson said.

The mother and son usually work well together, but it depends who you ask.

“I like to say I win,” Wade Thompson said. “Doing this, though, has let me see a new side of Mom."

Denise Thompson said, “We work well together as long as we are communicating.”

The business also has allowed her to spend extra time with her youngest.

“Time with the older ones was more limited,” Denise Thompson said. “This gives me more time to spend with Wade.”

Wade Thompson is one of 10 children, and most of them showed pigs at one time or another. In addition to the pigs, he also shows turkeys, chickens and ducks.

“The pigs are the funniest,” Wade Thompson said. “When you walk in the barn, they will jump up and put their faces right up to you.”

Denise Thompson was glad Wade was interested in raising pigs.

“I couldn’t do this by myself,” she said. “Wade always wanted to do this, but when my brother asked about his pigs, the timing was just right.”

Wade Thompson plans to attend ATI after he graduates from Ridgewood, but he said he still wants to come home to help with the pigs. Other siblings have stepped in to help when needed, and so has friend Vince Menapace.

Denise and Wade Thompson both encourage other families to try raising animals together.

“I like having all the little babies running around,” Denise Thompson said. “That’s the most rewarding part, when you see all your effort pay off.”

Wade Thompson said, “It’s the best when you see those piglets running around. Don’t be afraid to get started.”