No, I haven’t run out of content regarding our fine feathered friends. There is more new stuff happening here this week related to birds, but we’ll save that for next month. What’s really weighing heavily on my mind this week? Pigs.
For a while now I’ve been reading about the benefits of pigs on pasture. There are a few varieties that are well adapted to eating mostly grass, and though growing much more slowly when raised this way, they can be expected to result in much healthier pork. Like many grass-fed/pasture-raised animals, the leafy green diet and higher level of activity (and possibly a greater degree of happiness) enhances nutrition and flavor, while their activity on the land can improve pasture when properly managed.
A mama and her piglets, picture courtesy of Peaceful Pastures, who will be supplying our pigs
Last fall we found a breeder of Idaho Pasture Pigs (IPP) and placed a deposit on 3 piglets due in late spring. I knew we could not be ready in time for late fall or early spring arrivals, and once again succumbing to the fear of missing out, I committed to taking delivery in May. Pandemic Christmas came and went; lockdown New Year’s was an introvert’s dream. But then it was time to start thinking seriously about the farming year ahead and... pigs are coming! PIGS. ARE. COMING. What the heck do I know about pigs?
Well, a lot in theory, and next to nothing in practice. A little research, a few consultations, and some notepad sketches later, we had a solid plan for fencing, housing, and pasture rotation... and then this happened:
Nice to look at while sipping cocoa by the fire; not so nice to be working in at 6 a.m.
We’ve had a little snow before in our short time here; the occasional dips below freezing and the rain rain rain, but last week was different. After seeing our verdant green pastures covered in extra double-stuff buttercream frosting over 12 inches thick for four days running, I realized I should’ve done the math before locking in the IPPs. Even if we follow the breeder’s feed plan with specially formulated feed, these little piggies will take around 9 months to reach the ideal harvest weight. This means we have to take them at least partway into next winter, making it nearly impossible to finish them on pasture. Alternatively, if we feed them primarily on pasture, I’ve been told it could take as much as two years for them to grow out. That would mean keeping them through two winters.
Always do the math.
Of course, animals can be harvested at any time. Butchering services are currently in very high demand and many people in our area report having to keep animals longer than planned due to full schedules at processing places. We will have to commit to a processing appointment pretty much as soon as we get the pigs and accept whatever condition they are in when the day comes... or we can process them ourselves.
It’s a lot to take on, on top of fives species of birds, specialty corn, our first attempt at row crops, and Farley’s Tomato Army of Domination all in the works. Meanwhile, the west coast will probably burn again, and I can hardly remember what anybody looks like because of the masks we’ve all been wearing for nearly a year. A few of my self-appointed mentors-in-theory (respected authors with deep roots in agriculture) recommend that soft middle-aged white collar escapees like me ought not to try and do too much too fast. Pick one thing, do it for a while, then add another, and so on.
Journals and notebooks for a few of the things going on around here. Not all… just a few.
They’re probably right, and I’m probably crazy. I might even regret this whole pig thing. But you know what won’t happen 20 years from now? Me being beyond the physical capacity to farm and saying to myself “I wish I had tried more things. What if I had tried harder to do more?”
Bring on the crazy. Bring on the pigs!