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Pigs

The first picture of our pigs...

 

 

 

We have bought our first pigs and we couldn't be more excited.  You would think this excitement was because pastured pork is by far more delicious than the confined version, but there is far more to this story.

 

The decision to buy pigs came from two other changes that we are making in our lives this year.  In the past we have extended our gardens with the use of chicken tractors and rented conventional tillers.  However, pigs are the perfect tilling machine and instead of just breaking down and needing to get fixed, the pig will create more pigs that we can raise with love and eat with respect.   

 

The 2008 Pastured Pigs Story:

Pigs are great tillers and delicious to eat; however, our clever pigs figured out how to escape from the temporary fencing.  We think they found a way to dig under the black (uncharged) line of the fence and push the entire fence up.  We always checked the charge; I just think one of our girls was extra smart.  Anyway, the three pigs took a long walk (for a week) and we had to post signs all over the place.  In the end, it was just knowing and calling the farmers in the area that allowed us to get our pigs back. 
 

Moral of the story: pigs are easier to raise in permanently fenced areas that are divided by temp. fencing for rotational grazing.

Future projects: fence in all the pasture areas with permanent fencing.

 

Unfortunately, until we raise the capital for the fencing we are not going to be raising pigs.  We are hoping the tilling and re-seeding that happened last year will be enough to get our pastures in better shape.

 

Before and After pictures:

In the beginning...  you can see there is way too much goldenrod.	Once the pigs get at it, most of the goldenrod is tilled.  They leave some weeds behind, but we got better and better at judging when they were ready to go to the next plot
Once the pigs are moved to the next plot, we bring in the goats for a few hours over the course of a couple days to finish eating up the foliage the pigs left behind.	In the end, we are left with a relatively nice tilled patch that we seed with a good pasture mix.  If we leave the animals on longer, we could get the ground more tilled.  However, we also were concerned with the health of the animals.

 

Web Resources for Pig-raisers

• If you are interested in raising pigs, check out the Sugar Mountain Farm website for awesome information about pasture raised pigs.

• Joel Salatin's Pastured Pigs revitalize cut-over forests

• Journey to Forever's Roundup of Pastured Pig Practices

Books for Pig-raisers

• Storey's Guide to Raising Pigs: Care/Facilities/Management/Breed Selection

• Dirt Hog A Hands-On Guide to Raising Pigs Outdoors....Naturally

• Small-Scale Pig Raising

• Managed Pastured Pigs - Special Report from Stockman Grass Farmer

 

 

Come back this summer for more pictures and more information about our favorite porcine friends.

 

(A view of our farm many years ago before all the new outbuildings and animals.)

 

 

Weathertop Farm
Johnsonville, New York 12094
Rensselaer County

Email us: weathertop@littlemilkers.com

 

Goats            Poultry            Pigs            Garden            For Sale