Top 10 Spotlight: Tristen Cruz Dedicates Life to Raising Pigs

by Ronnie Zamora/LFCISD

Tristen Cruz loves what he has done just about every day of his life for the past 15 years – raising pigs.

Tristen, the son of Eloy and Donna Cruz, has lived on the family farm that his grandfather Juan Cruz bought in 1974. The farm is located near Laureles Elementary and Liberty Memorial Middle schools where he attended.

Tristen, who is among the Top 10 students in the Los Fresnos High School Class of 2016, has followed his father’s footsteps academically as well. Eloy Cruz was was ranked in the Top 10 of the LFHS in 1981.

And since his dad was raising pigs when Tristen was born, it was only natural that Tristen follow his footsteps.

“From an early age, I started gravitating toward the pigs,” Tristen said. “There are pictures of me at 1 year old with the pigs. I fell in love with pigs. I knew from then that’s what I wanted to do.”

Since he was 3 years old, Tristen and his dad have raised several hundred pigs at Cruz Farms.

Raising animals is a job that is 24 hours a day. There are no holidays or weekends. Animals don’t know the difference.

“They are animals, and they are our responsibility, and of course you develop a bond with them after feeding them every day,” Tristen said. “You have to make sure you give them high-quality feed so that they grow well and develop an efficient amount of meat.”

Tristen is very aware that the pigs raised on his farm will be food for somebody somewhere.

“In the end, their purpose is to feed the population. I’m making a difference for all of America by raising these animals and having them serve their purpose and produce food. You have to go into it knowing that it’s a natural part of life. That’s agriculture. That’s what we do. We feed the world.”

Agriculture lovers know the drill. Feeding animals comes first before feeding yourself. “That’s a rule at our house, we feed the animals first.”

Students like Tristen know the daily routine that goes something like this:

Wake at 6:30 a.m. Feed animals. Get ready for school, and check the animals before leaving.

Get home from school about 4:45 p.m. Walk the pigs, clean them, medicate them if needed, feed them again, check on water supply.

Go inside about 6 or 7 p.m., depending on chores. Eat dinner, study.

Go back and check on animals at about 10 p.m. Study again, go to bed about midnight

Repeat every day.

Tristen and his father also have a breeding operation, and Tristen is the farrowing house manager. Every summer, he spends 12 hours in the farrowing house making sure the baby pigs are fine.

“It’s a long process bringing up baby pigs,” Tristen said. “When I was younger, my dad and his partners would raise about 80 litters a year, but we have reduced to about 30 litters a year.”

Pigs are also prepared for the numerous livestock shows year-round, especially in the spring. Tristen has shown pigs at the fairs all over the Rio Grande Valley, State Fair of Texas, San Antonio Livestock Show, Houston Livestock Show and numerous smaller shows around Texas.

“For show season, I’ve had some success, and some disappointments,” Tristen said. “I showed cattle in the third grade, but it wasn’t my thing.”

The result has been 13 banners, 68 belt buckles and hundreds or ribbons. The banners hang all over his home.

Participation in livestock shows led to involvement in the 4H program during elementary school and FFA in high school. After holding officer positions in the Los Fresnos FFA and Tip-O-Tex District FFA, Tristen is now President of the Tip-O-Tex District FFA.

“The FFA teachers have pushed me to shoot for officer positions. They pushed me to try contests that I didn’t think I could excel in. FFA has helped me gain leadership skills and public speaking skills.”

Tristen plans to attend Texas A&M University and major in animal science. He hopes to become a veterinarian.

“I was born an Aggie. Its history is deep within the agricultural field.”

Tristen is a Terry Foundation scholar, which will cover the costs of his undergraduate education. He also received the Magic Valley Electric Co-Op scholarship for $15,000.

“I’ve been self-motivated to keep my grades up. For everybody else, my advice is to be goal-oriented. Figure out what you will be doing in the future. Find out what you like and grab that by the horns and do it.”