Before their little piggies go to market, local 4-H and Future Farmers of America youth want to show them at the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo in July.

But some of those piggies must stay home because of the aging and cramped swine barn behind The Arena at the fairgrounds, Carol Whitney told the county commissioners at a work session on Thursday.

So the Natrona County 4-H Foundation is raising money to replace the barn with a 60-foot by 200-foot metal building and new pens for this year's fair, Colleen Campbell told commissioners.

"What a joy it will be to have a facility that will be safe and enjoyable for people to visit," Campbell said.

Campbell and Whitney asked the commissioners to waive the permit fees, allow Road and Bridge Department employees help with some of the construction, and pay for the electrical work.

Even if a new barn is not built, the electrical system will need replacing, Whitney said. "The electrical is our top priority request."

The barn is an eyesore, unsafe, and causes headaches for youth and fair-goers alike, she said.

However, the pigs probably like the situation because they will use their snouts to pick up things and throw them around. The pens used now have horizontal bars, which the pigs can pick up with their snouts, Whitney said.

New pens will have vertical bars to thwart the pigs' designs, she said.

Whitney and Campbell told commissioners the youth interest in raising swine has been growing despite the old barn.

"The kids really have been striving," Whitney said.

More than a fourth of the total 4-H membership, about 110 youth, is enrolled in the swine project, Campbell said.

They are allowed to show up to three pigs, but the old barn can handle only about two-thirds of those number, she said.

Consequently, many 4-H and FFA youth were not able to show all their pigs, which also hurt their chances to compete at the Wyoming State Fair in Douglas in August, she said.

The 4-H Foundation has raised about $112,000 toward the project, and estimates it will soon have $160,000 available by the time construction could begin in March, she said. "The funds we have are ample to get the project started."

The building itself will cost about $100,000; the portable pens will cost about $40,000; a swamp cooler will cost about $8,000; and rewiring everything will cost about $25,000, Campbell said.

Demolition of the old barn may not cost very much because the company that would do it wants to barter for the rebar in the cement floor that will be removed, Whitney said.

The foundation also has tentative commitments from the major concrete companies to donate the concrete for the floor, added new barn supporter Ron Wright.

While the new barn will see its greatest sue during the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo, it will be available during the rest of the year for other animal shows and dog training, Campbell said.

Commissioner Barb Peryam complimented the group's efforts to promote the new barn.

"If the commission comes up with the electrical, you'll be there," Peryam said.

Reach Tom Morton at (307) 266-0592, or at Tom.Morton@trib.com.