Tough Little Beasts!

Hi there, just a quick one this week, an update on the piglets.

Despite the harsh conditions four of them made it, having endured ice, rain, and snow in temperatures down to 7°. An emotional rollercoaster and the ultimate in remembering your mistakes. When your sow farrows in a nest in the middle of your field there is very little that can be done. She won’t move and I didn’t even want to try as I felt it wasn’t the time for extra stress. I brought in extra bedding and kept feed down to make her as comfortable as possible, including banking the hay up very thickly to the North and North East of her to keep the wind off. Yes, there were losses, keenly felt by us and i’m sure by Ruby; but farming is hard and I have to stay positive.

The weather has now changed for the better, today is going to be 66°, and they are climatized to the cold. Now a week old they are mobile enough that Ruby led them up to the pig house on top of the hill displacing the soon to farrow Genevie. Genevie’s date is March 22nd and we WILL be getting her in the farrowing shed around the 16th. I’m not going through this again!

A New Hope…

Well here we are again, the weather is changing and the dry brown grass is starting to green a little. I’m filled with excitement as to what this new year will bring and to see all of the improvements bloom.

The reality is that some of this will work out…. and some won’t.

I have an example of that already. Last year we changed our breed of pig from Mulefoot to Duroc because of a moral issue. Mulefoot are a great pig to keep and the meat is excellent. The problem is that they are an old breed, dating back to a time when people used lard to cook with. These days, of course, fats are out (which we believe is wrong) and so are pigs that were kept for both meat and the lard to cook it with. Long story short, animals are weighed and costed on “rail” or “hanging” weight which includes the fat on the carcass. It felt wrong to ask you to pay for the beautiful fat when I knew that most of you didn’t want it.

This led us to look for another old breed of pig that had a more modern meat to fat ratio and we ended up with Duroc crossed with Berkshire, again with excellent meat. Trouble is that they aren’t used to farrowing (having piglets) outside which is something that we have always done. The result was a very sad and catastrophic loss of piglets. Lesson learned!

So this year I was ready. I had retrofitted a building to be a nursery, just for the first ten days, so that the piglets were robust and ready to go as outdoor pigs. By a stroke of luck Ruby, our first sow to farrow, was coaxed out of the field and into the shed where everything went super well….. right up until the farrowing date came and went. You see, I had made a great many changes so as to fix my moral dilemma. The previous year I could not get a boar so I learned how to AI (artificially inseminate) my pigs and it went well but was stressful as we have a very small operation so we decided to get a boar asap which we did. Apparently, as it was his first time, he didn’t manage to get the job done and now the dates were wrong and could only be guessed at….. and I guessed wrong.

The beautiful weather that we have been enjoying is coming to an end tonight, right on track with 10 piglets born today, in the field, again.

I don’t know what it is about pigs, I love them but just cannot get it right. Today is another of those “why the hell do I continue to do this” days. Then I remember the other things that I may have actually gotten right, the things that I’ve been waiting for months to see, literally.

Perhaps next years pig operation will be different…

Time to get physical

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I have finally gotten a chance to get physical on the farm this week. I’ve paced up and down the living room bristling with pent up energy long enough. The rain has kept me inside, unable to get on the land for fear of destroying the grass and rutting the pasture up. Although it’s still a little soggy it is able withstand the light load of our UTV filled with chainsaws, fuel and a small chipper courtesy of my In-laws (thank you Roger!)

You know, excited though I am, the energy to get going on the farm is never quite enough to over-ride the fact that I’m out of shape after being indoors all winter, it doesn’t take long and chain sawing is hard work! I’m also behind on cutting down the overcrowded trees in the woodland pig pen to turn it into a Silvopasture (fewer trees with good grass underneath) area. The short days of winter just didn’t allow for it, and I have gone back into the usual small bite approach to this part of the farm as we have to do with most of the others. On top of that I have fencing to do and gates to frame and hang, plus all of that wood will be logged, moved, and stacked for keeping a cheery fire next winter.

It would be nice to get enough dry warm weather together to take a good look at the bees and get them spring cleaned. The pollen patties that I put on seem to have done the trick in giving them a little boost as well as ensuring that they made it through. As you may have noticed on the Facebook video, the boxes are looking a little the worst for wear in regard to mildew and peeling paint. I put a good deal of effort into prepping the wood (sanding and priming) before painting so they really shouldn’t be peeling yet, I guess you just don’t get paint like you used to. This year I have a trick up my sleeve to combat the ever present Wax Moths that doesn’t use chemicals. In case you’ve never heard of these before, they are a moth that sneaks into hives during the night when the guards are not as effective and lays eggs in the more quiet corners. The grubs hatch and eat wax and spoil honey. It seems to be against harmony at first glance but think of it this way, their job is actually to remove the old combs from tree hollows etc. that wild colonies leave. A clean up crew! Anyway, we get a lot here, I ought to video them in droves fluttering around the hives at dusk. They are a particular nuisance if boxes of frames are stored poorly like the honey supers over winter. If you’d like the recipe for the “trap” just get in touch, don’t forget though, it’s new to me too so it might not work as well as we would like.

In other news, and I’m excited about this one, Keith from Arkenburg Farms has asked me to give a demonstration on chicken processing at his farm this year. This is something that I’ve considered doing for a while and it ties in with me putting on courses for various types of animal processing from live animal through to butchering over here on our farm (I have a way that I’ve developed that’s a little different than the usual plus easier!)

It’s going to be an exciting year!

Legitimacy

Hi there,

Big news over here on the farm… We are now officially a business, Berryton Home Farm LLC! This is a great time for us but not without a little stress, I mean, upping the ante means that there is now a palpable sense that with success can come failure. It had never occurred to me before that failure would even be a thing. How is a person able to change a mindset back and forth I wonder? Nothing has really changed in regard to the farm, right? Right! It has at the very least created more drive within me and a more focused direction.

As a family, we often walk the farm. Through the pasture and woodland, “adventuring” the children call it. It keeps us connected to each other and to our land. This morning was no different and it was glorious to be out. While we are out and about talk often turns to what we are going to do and why we know that we are on the right track still. I’m not going to bother you with the day to day planning but I will share with you just why we are travelling this often arduous path. We strongly believe that through hardship, whether that’s the strain of responsibility, the muscle aching hard work, or the patience to carry on despite what appears to be a glacial amount of movement, the strongest of characters and the tranquility of contentment is forged.

I know that some of the traditional farmers around here think that we are crazy. Crazy to embark on growing a farm from scratch and certainly crazy to do it the way we are. No quick fixes, no shortcuts, no manmade scientific “advances.” What we are doing is called Regenerative Ranching (I call it a farm because I’m English and it’s the name I’ve always known) What it is best described as is using only nature to, firstly, replenish the fertility of the land and restore the balance (harmony) to the land as it would have been before European farming practices destroyed the drainage and robbed the nutrients from it (ever wondered why people talk about the aquifers drying up?). Secondly, to continue the same to build soil, yes it’s built, and continue to invest in nature and increase diversification of all life.

So how does a person do that?

I’m pleased that you asked! Well, it’s slow. Like, really slow. We bought sheep, just a handful with the sole purpose to eat, pee, and poop. The reason grass grows is to be eaten you see. It’s true. Have you noticed how the more you cut it the faster it grows? Our land had been mown for hay and that hay given away for decades. Little to no fertilizer had been put back, in any form and as a result the grass was very poor, starved. No bugs to speak of because the grass was so sparse and thin that the soil dried up, and because of that no birds. No worms because of the hard crust on the top and no spare dead grass to eat. Sheep (herbivores) are light and have small feet so that they didn’t harm our soil any further, they eat grasses and weeds alike, and spread their own fertilizer and it’s even pelleted like you get at the store. We stopped haying and only gave the sheep small, daily, paddocks so that we could be sure not to let them eat in one spot too long (again so as to not ruin the soil further) The transformation the first year was nothing short of miraculous due to the terrible state that it was in when we started. Well, it slows down after the first year but this is a long haul kind of thing.

Gradually we add more sheep and later we will be able to add cattle as more grass and better soil will support more mouths and stomachs, plus the ground won’t be destroyed by the heavier animals because the rain will soak through (thanks to the worms) and not turn to mud.

There’s more to it and it’s fascinating but I’ve probably written enough to bore you already! If you have any questions at all add them here, I love answering them.

Spring Rain

Good morning,

What an odd week of weather. It’s been good for the farm though, the grass is growing!! Ok Ok, I get it. That probably means mowing for you in the not too distant future but it does make your lawn look good, right? Same over here but for me it means that I will soon be able to put this years plans to action.

Spring, a brand new start. Bugs are starting to come out, grass is growing, and the spring rains are delivering a wonderful payload to the pasture that I rely on for the well-being of everything on the farm. Of course the ticks are already out, Pete was hosting one this morning, and although I have no idea what their purpose is, I’m sure that they fill a need. I love to see the increase in nature on the farm year on year, what better measure of success than that? Have you ever seen a field literally covered in dew laced cobwebs from end to end? Ours is! That’s the way it’s supposed to be, packed with nature.

I put out a swarm box this morning as I feel that the year is going to be a good one for swarm catching. Swarm boxes are small empty hives that you scatter around your property, usually at six feet or higher off the ground. When a colony of bees is preparing to swarm (often because they have run out of space) they send out “scout bees” to find a good place for the new hive, hopefully your swarm box! My bees certainly seem to be busy and strong for the time of year so early swarms are likely, I feel. I usually put one or a few out, not just in case I miss one of our own, but also to pick up a new colony or two to slowly expand. We never get enough homegrown, local honey each year and sell out quite quickly. Don’t forget that local is best, especially if you are using it to help with allergies. There is no point inoculating yourself against local plants with foreign pollens! Ours is as potent as you can get as we do not heat, stir, or mess about with any of our honey. We strain it through a fine stainless steel gauze while it’s still warm from the hive and that’s it, full of unadulterated goodness!

OH! Anyone that knows me will probably also know that I have an addiction to Rhubarb! I’m very excited because it’s the time of year to make splits from your Rhubarb crowns and a friend of mine has offered me one (thanks Clay!) I keep trying to grow them from seeds, which oddly I am very good at, but something keeps eating them before the end of the year. I suspect grasshoppers, personally, but I have yet to see the blighters that are doing it. I’m hoping that a split will fare much better against attack and I will certainly be keeping a close eye on it. If you have a large or even overgrown crown, I’d love to trade something for a strong split. Just contact me through the contact form or leave me a comment below (pleased to say that I have finally figured out how to add them now) Nothing beats Rhubarb Pie!!

Have a great week and I will speak to you soon enough.

Presenting George…

Amongst of things happening this week, this guy happened. Here he is as promised and you can find a couple more in the gallery near the top of that page.

This is always an exciting time because the ewes are swelling nicely and I never really know what to expect with numbers and the ram/ewe ratio. Our “oops” lambs are doing very well indeed and are having a great time leaping off rocks and running around. We aren’t a modern sophisticated farm and don’t believe in drugs and pregnancy testing etc. We just provide the mothers with the best feed and minerals that we can and trust that it all works out. Each year it works out very well indeed. We use a good mineral and also add a regular dosing of good old apple cider vinegar to the water once a week. Seems like that stuff is good for pretty much everything!

Talking of mineral though, I’m excited to try something new this year. Usually we buy bags of mineral, the pre-mixed kind, but I’ve often wondered if there is some harm in doing this. I mean, if my animals are trying to get a specific mineral that has a low volume in the pre-mix then it seems to me that they must be over-eating the other minerals to get enough. Perry Milling, our local mill where we get ALL of our feeds from (thanks guys, you are awesome!) is allowing me to get the individual minerals. I will present the sheep these as part of a constant “free choice” ration throughout the year.

Ruby is beginning to swell a little also and that reminds me to get straw for her to farrow into. I give it to the sows a week to ten days before hand for them to squash it and make it soft for the piglets. It makes a tremendous difference. I watched her this morning (Sunday) asleep in the sun, her bright red hair shining. It almost looks like it also has a golden quality too. Quite the life!

I can already tell that the spring weather will make it hard for me to be inside keeping up with the computer chores. I’m totally an outdoorsman and I hate to waste any of the fresh warm air and sunlight. Yet keep up I must, we rely on all the data to make sure that we are moving in the right direction and that we are as efficient as possible. There is very little time to do things as it is you see, so being efficient is important to make sure we don’t do too much and burn out. After all, if we aren’t enjoying it then we have already strayed for our course.

Never ceases to amaze.

Just like that, everything changed. The weather broke, and suddenly the farm’s atmosphere turned around, uplifted

The bees were flying again due to the 60 degree high on Monday, and they still have plenty of stores. I added a pollen patty to each hive as a small boost and a nod to the coming spring. Although spring is still a good distance and several more cold snaps away, I think that we will come through ok this winter.

Our “oops” lambs are born, a lovely two pair of ewes (females) from our St Croix Ram, Volbeat. There was a fencing incident last year made apparent by a ram with a mission. I had hoped for a perfect lambing like we had last year but things rarely stay on track for us. Last year we had all the lambs drop in the first week of April. So both mother and lambs get the full benefit of green grass!

We laid Jill to rest at a high point in the pasture where we will eventually plant our orchard. It seemed like a fitting place for her to be because she liked all the high spots as look-outs. As I was digging the enormous hole the thought crossed my mind that it’s a shame that there is no guard Chihuahua…

Today, Sunday, we are off to collect George! Our pure Berkshire boar and the last addition to the pig team for some time (we think) be sure to check our gallery for pictures this week! Ruby and Genevie are laying in the sun, hair shining. Ruby really shines, must be all the good living, at least I’d like to think so. They both seem very happy indeed and I hope that George will too.

With all of the snow gone I was able to progress with the new chicken tractor (it is too big to build in the workshop, 10’ shed, 7’ door) so now the wire is on and I just have roofing to add, that’s the fastest part of the job. We use Aluminum as it’s very light, doesn’t rust, and reflects away the heat of summer very efficiently. Lightness is very important as sometimes Sally has to move the tractor if I am tied up with something else. don’t forget that we move the tractors daily so that the guys get fresh grass and bugs all the time. that’s why they taste soooo very good!

Well, that’s all I have to talk to you about this week, like I said, take a look at the gallery later on to see the new lambs and George!

A difficult week

It seems as though everything is hard this week. The weather is exceptionally cold, our Livestock Guardian dog suddenly got ill and died, and on top of that we are having to change our name because of a trademark issue (that I think is tenuous at best)

The funny thing about the weather, is that, despite the fact that I always fear the worst. We take great care to provide our animals with lots of bedding, an abundance of food, and clean water (which is the hardest to provide in -31 degree temperature) they seem to be just as plump and happy as ever. Healthy paranoia it seems, works wonders. It takes a lot of food to keep the animals warm, roughly three times as much as the warm days of spring. On top of this, every female we have this time of year is growing her young. We always aim for new arrivals in April as the days are warmer, grass is beginning to grow nicely and it adds fresh nutrition for the demands of motherhood. This goes for the pigs as well as the sheep because the pigs also forage and eat grass. It also means that the weaned young will be eating the late spring grass which is especially good for them, and therefore, you.

Berryton Grange Farm will become Berryton Home Farm. It appears that here in the US you can Trademark a noun! In this case, ‘Grange,’ and although we have an excellent case, the time and money fighting would prevent us from growing our farm and being able to help as many people like you to eat good clean meat as part of your diet.

RIP Jill

She was a great dog, barely three years old and it all happened in the space of only three days. We still aren’t exactly sure why she died, the tests have proven inconclusive and we are left without a dog to protect the sheep, and notably the lambs. LGD’s (livestock guardian dogs) are essential to an operation like ours as we graze all year round on rotational paddocks (every other day) But what does that mean exactly? Well, we graze every bit of pasture we have, and also off-site, using an electric fence and the LGD lives inside with the sheep the whole time. The fence is really the last line of defense and the dog the first. Big dogs with a big bark! Replacing her will be hard as it takes two years to train one and there is usually a one year waiting list to get one. I am thinking of starting my own breeding line this year so that this never happens again and to help out other sheep farmers around the country.

I like a dog that is 1/2 Maremma, 1/4 Anatolian, and 1/4 Great Pyrenes. This makes for a dog that stays with the flock instead of roaming like the other breeds do which is important because I need to know that they will always be there and because easily half of LGD’s are hit on roads. Most breeds were/are expected to cover very large areas of land keeping off the Coyotes, this is why they wonder. Maremma’s stay with the flock, even more so with our training. Ever heard of any of these breeds? Look them up, it makes for an interesting read.

Another Tractor

It’s been a productive week despite ending on cold weather. Mind you, it’s about time and I cannot believe that we have gotten away with warm weather for as long as this.

I have gotten the frame made for the additional chicken tractor but the snow stopped play on the wiring and roofing. We use a low, light tractor because we move it by hand every single day to ensure fresh grass and bugs for the guys to eat. did you catch that? Yes, I said guys! All of the birds we grow here on the pasture are roosters, cocks, cockerels, or males. This is because they are a lot more active and in my opinion that translates to better flavor! They much prefer to chase down grasshoppers and such and I found that the hens (females) tend to camp out at the feeder.

All of the other animals are doing well. The sheep are swelling nicely, especially the two year old’s and older, as they will be having twins. The yearlings only have one lamb, I like to think that it’s a practice run! The sows seem to have taken the AI process and they certainly look happy and fat. During the winter we stop the hand feeding for two reasons, firstly it’s hard on Sally. The colder weather means that the demands on food and water are far higher and because of the short daylight it falls to her to take care of things a lot of the time. Most animals eat three times more food just to keep warm. Secondly, I like the girls to get a good layer of fat on them so I use a hopper and allow them full time access to the good stuff. We use a locally milled, non GMO and no corn feed. I like it even though its very expensive. That fat layer will keep them nice and warm especially bedded down on lots of straw and good hay.

Don’t forget our motto here “We are what THEY eat”

Talking of hay. We use it three different ways here on the farm. We feed it to the sheep and cows, and also bed the pigs down on it. I’m sure everyone knows that because they are both the usual things to do with hay. What might surprise you is that we also spread it over the ground. Waste? Not so. We do it for a few different reasons, the winters here in Kansas are very dry and as a result we sometimes get bare ground. Nature abhors bare ground as it gets even more dry through evaporation. Natures way to combat this is to grow broad leaved plants as quickly as it can to cover the ground again, the problem is that weed species are the fastest growing. We use the hay to cover the ground before weeds grow, and with the added benefits of it being a low grade fertilizer, it adds grass seeds to our soil, and brings the worms and fungi back to us to feed! Who wouldn’t want worms to party in their back yard?!

Turkey!

Hi, I hope you’re having a great day.

Over here at Berry Grange Farm things are beginning to move into spring prep. We have three batches of our fantastic pastured poultry ordered and I am about to make a second chicken tractor so we can supply you better this year. However, the star of the show is that our long awaited pastured turkey project is a go! We weren’t able to get birds last year as it was a bad hatch year apparently. I don’t to disappoint you again, I have sourced birds from a different hatchery (that we are very excited to have found) Even better than that, they are not the usual white commercial birds! I know that combining that with the life on fresh grass and in the open air, they will be super happy and super tasty.

The prep has been going so well that I have been able to take a little time away from the rigors of the farm and complete a few things in my workshop. My bench is now complete and so is the shooting board (I’m a hand tool guy as the shooting board attests)

All of the artificial insemination is done now. I feel that although it was a fairly steep learning curve, I have gotten it down now. We had considered it as an alternative to feeding a boar al year but not everything is about saving money. It just feels like a better fit for us on the farm to have a boar, George in our case, to “take care of business.” I learned a long time ago to listen to my gut feelings and this one is no different. Having said that, if you have pigs yourself and want to save the cost of a boar get in touch, I am more than happy to help in any way I can.

It has been warm enough on a few days this past week that the bees have been flying. This is always good to see especially as we have no winter losses so far this year (last winter was a bad one for us) The girls look strong and healthy and the hives are still heavy with the excess honey we left them. We decided that we wouldn’t take all of the honey and give them sugar syrup to keep them going. I feel like I’m not keeping my end of the bargain if I take it all. I believe that it harms them some and will only do it during the season if there is a dire need. The hives look like a fresh coat of paint is needed this year, another job on the list! I make sure on these flying days that they have water available to them too. Did you know that while they are inside they don’t drink or poop? They wait, sometimes all winter in the case of a cold one, before they tale care of themselves.

In Omnia Paratus…not

Well, it’s been a difficult week on the farm. There are plenty of these and to be honest it still surprises me that I’m not used to it yet. I mean, surely a person should grow some kind of…tolerance, or something?

What started this was Artificial Insemination. Our new boar, George, is still a piglet and not able to breed Ruby or Genevie until next year (hopefully!) So I had to try the alternative and that means learning yet another new skill. This one has the stress of a time crunch, as I need both ladies bred a little apart or the whole year of pork production will be “off.” and it needs to be done right now.

I had to learn the signs of a receptive pig, understand and buy the right type of products, learn how to use them, choose the correct traits for my piglets from an online boar “dating” site, for want of a better term (high class escort maybe?) and then get on and get it done. Needless to say, it was stressful, I didn’t get it right the first time, it was not cheap.

AI certainly isn’t glamorous it has taught me to pay even closer attention to my ladies. And the ripple effect has helped me streamline the farm through better record keeping which is not my strong suit. These days I have colorful spreadsheets and calendars and a somewhat organized approach to the year ahead. After all, if you don’t have a plan you have nothing to deviate from!

The moral of the story is that life is hard and don’t give up on your dreams. If you’d like to know ore about pig AI then just send a request from the contact form or comment on here. Have a great week!

Wet Wet Wet,

No, not the band… the weather!

Snow has gone and done what it does best, delivered a wonderful steady release of moisture into the land. Problem is that now we have to be very careful getting around without rutting. To make this more difficult it is now raining. Back in England growing up we always laughed at farmers because it was always too dry, or too wet. When it was dry and the rain came it was “the wrong sort of rain” These days I don’t laugh, I watch the overflow from the pond intently…

I feel my “hibernation” inching to an end. I am renewed and full of energy to get going with the year. Winter is an important time for us on the farm. We are exhausted physically, mentally, and somewhat emotionally come the start. We then use the forced time inside due to the low temperature and the long dark hours to unwind, relax, and go through the data that has been gathered. This is our time to plan and renew, I can’t help but think a sauna might help things along but we haven’t gotten around to that…yet.

The old way of looking at the end of the year and the beginning of the new one was that you should enter winter tired and rich and leave it energized and poor.

Oh hey! As I sit here thinking about winter my mind turned to the awesome food! I don’t know about you but the fall/winter food is so comforting and feels even more wholesome. Anyway, I’m going to share one of my favorite recipes with you. It’s made even better if you can make the sausage with your Berryton Grange Farm Pork to use in it or even the bacon too. If you’d like to do either of these just ask. I’m always delighted to help people make the most of our bounty. Here you are,

Sausage and Lentil Supper

Serves 4, Prep time is 20 minutes, Cook Time: 1 hour.

2 tablespoons of olive oil

8 good plump pork sausages

5 ounces of bacon

1 onion

1 Large carrot

1 Large stick of celery

10 1/2 ounces of dried green lentils

1 3/4 pints of chicken stock or bone broth (Ask Sally how she makes hers)

2 bay leaves

1 good handful of finely chopped parsley (don’t miss this as it really adds to the dish!)

Warm the oil in a deep, heavy casserole. Put the sausages in first to brown, then remove them to a plate. Next add the bacon and let it cook over a medium heat heat so that it colors lightly, please don’t let it crisp. Meanwhile, peel the onion and chop it finely and add it to the bacon. Peel and cut the carrot and celery into a rough dice and stir them into the onion letting them soften a little. Don’t let them color.

Tip in the lentils, pour over the stock or broth, then tuck in the bay leaves and the sausages, cut into short lengths if you prefer, and bring the casserole to the boil. Turn it down so that the liquid simmers gently, season, then leave it for 30 minutes stirring from time to time.

Check the seasoning - personally I like it on the peppery side which is how it was recommended to me years ago - stir in the parsley just before serving.

Great the same day but even better the next, gives it time to mature, let me know what you think in the comments below.

Enjoy!

A look at the year to come.

They say that farming is hard, and starting a farm from scratch is for lunatics…they aren’t wrong!

Like with everything else in life, there seems to be so little time and even less money. This means that planning out a year on a new farm that you only have time for in the evenings and weekends is troublesome. It’s filled with “after this, we can do that” or perhaps “I think we can sell enough (blank) and THAT let’s us afford (other blank)”

With these things in mind, this is what we have on the list for 2021.

Wholesale License

We started down the farming road because we were sick and tired (literally) of being poisoned by the food we were having to eat. We just couldn’t get any of the good stuff. It was the only way we could be assured that our food wasn’t being tampered with on any level, and that we weren’t being lied to about it’s provenance.

The plus side about being able to do this is that, now, three years later we can share our bounty with you guys. We also know that some of you either don’t have the space or can’t afford to buy a whole pig, so how do I share with you what we have?

A Wholesale license!!

With one of those puppies we can have our local butcher make all of the usual (and some not so usual) cuts of meat and we can legally sell them to you ourselves. Then we can share just a single, delicious, thick, full flavored pork chop with you. Our family to your family.

Silvopasture

Silvopasture (Latin, Silva forest) is the practice of integrating trees, forage, and the grazing of domesticated animals in a mutually beneficial way. It utilizes the principles of managed grazing, and it is one of several distinct forms of agroforestry, so says Wikipedia.

What does that really mean though? Well, it means that our small patch of the planet has more scrubland than it does grazing and scrubland is wasteful and derelict of any real wildlife habitat. By cutting down the small and dead trees that we have, the better ones will grow to their full, habitat rich, potential and provide shade and a fall bounty. We have started with one of our woodland pig pens already. The outcome is shade from the hot summer sun but also enough daylight to reach the floor to grow a lovely thick carpet of lush vegetation.

Let’s face it, who can stand to be in the sun, in Kansas, ALL DAY LONG! Not I and not my pigs either. Did you know that just like us pigs get sunburnt too?