Boar Swap

We now have 8 red wattle hogs. 2 boars, 2 sows and 4 gilts. The 2 boars are father and son, so we could only use the service of one of them on our small herd without risking some serious inbreeding problems. One of them had to go. We thought we had the young boar sold last summer, but after several months and a dozen or so phone calls, it became obvious that the buyer was never going to show up to get him. So, we said thank you very much for the deposit and on to plan B. I saw an ad on the ALBC website offering a couple young, virile red wattle boars for sale or trade. A trade sounded like a good idea to me.A chance to get some new blood into our growing herd. I typed up an email and waited not so patiently for a response. Lucky for me, it wasn't long until I got a reply from Donna OShaughnessy. The hogs in the ad belonged to Donna and her husband Keith. Together, they operate South Pork Ranch. I already knew of  Donna. She writes one of my favorite blogs --  Midlife Farmwife. After exchanging pictures and pedigrees, we both agreed to a make a hog swap.

Friday morning, Jane and I got up before the sun to load Danny for the road trip east. The plan was for Danny to go to South Pork Ranch, and do what boars do...you know, makin' bacon . Problem is Danny hadn't been filled in on the plan. In fact, he had other plans. We backed the trailer up to the pen, opened the gate, and tried to entice Danny onto the trailer with a piece of bread, his favorite treat. But Danny said nothing doing. He saw a gap in the gate and made a run for it. Soon he was trotting around the yard, enjoying an early morning romp in the dewy grass. We tried to herd (or should I say chase) him back to the pen, but if you have ever tried to herd a 300+ pound boar, you know that they go where they want, not necessarily where you want. No surprise there, huh? One hour and a loaf of bread or two and a couple of bruises (us, not the boar) later, he was finally on trailer and we were finally on the road.

On our arrival at South Pork Ranch (I love that name, btw), Donna and Keith came out to meet us and gave us a quick tour of the place. They have a nice small farm where they raise hogs, cows, chickens, ducks and grand kids. They sell organic raw milk, beef, Donna's hand-made soaps, and of course red wattle pork. We picked out our new boar and met his parents, Deb and Max. They were fine looking specimens. Our boar Danny was happy to get out of the trailer after the long trip and settle into his new home. I think he liked the place! Our new boar, who is yet to be named (maybe Keith?) was uneventfully loaded on the trailer for the long ride home. When we got home, he was turned loose into a pen with a large puddle, where he quickly settled in for a relaxing mud bath. He needs his rest. Tomorrow he meets the twins, Wanda and Wilma!

Nothing like a good bath to relax after a long trip!

Piggy Salad Bar

It wasn't really all that long ago when most pigs were raised on small farms, in small lots and pastures. This was how my grandfather raised his pigs, and how I had hoped to raise ours. A couple of years ago, I joined the growing number of farmers who are raising heritage breed pigs on pasture. Believe it or not, pigs will graze!


Up until now, the pigs had been grazing on old goat pasture. a mix of grass, clover and weeds....well, mostly just weeds. So, this spring I decided to try something different. I left the pigs on one area a little longer than I normally would have liked and let the pigs totally root-up about an acre of ground. I then used my trusty old 1955 Allis Chalmers tractor and disk to smooth out the ruts and prepare the field for seeding. I hand broadcast a mixture of oats, dwarf Essex rape and field peas. I had read about a similar mix online somewhere and thought it might just work. That was about 60 days ago.

Tonight, I strung electric wire around this new seeding, turned the pigs out into this pasture and stood back to watch. Would they go after the rape, the field peas or the oats first? Well, neither actually. To my surprise, they first tackled the giant ragweed growing on the edge of the field. I wasn't sure if this was because they preferred it to my seeding mix, or maybe it was just because it was what they came upon first.

It wasn't long before they realized there was more beyond the ragweed and began running through the 2- foot deep vegetation like kids in a candy store. This made me feel much better. After all, I planted this piggy salad bar just for them.

Piglets born April 8th

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million! Jane took this video today of Helga's piglets. These were born on April 8th. There are 4 gilts and 6 boars in this litter. They may look small now, but they grow very fast! If you are interested in buying a red wattle or two, please drop us an email. We are now taking deposits on these piglets. This litter will be ready to go to new homes around Memorial Day weekend.

Farming is sometimes puzzling

Jane found a site that will make a puzzle out of any picture. Here's one we made of our sow Helga. Click on the puzzle picture to scramble the pieces. Enjoy!

Tom

Tom. He's the man!

We have a few turkeys that roam where they like on the farm. Tom is a male (thus the name Tom) Royal Palm turkey.It's mating season for turkeys and Tom likes to strut and show his stuff. He wants to be sure the hens all know that he's the man! He gobbles, fans his tail and his head turns bright red and blue. He is really quite the sight! We have an over abundance of male (tom) turkeys this year, so if you are looking for one, and not too far away to stop by the farm and pick him up, drop us an email. For a small fee, we'll make arrangements for you to get a Tom of your own.

New baby pigs

Helga had a litter of pigs in the wee hours of April 8th. We woke to find 10 piglets in the shed.  6 boys and 4 girls. This is Helga's second litter. In her first litter, she had 8 piglets and successfully raised all 8. This time, there were 12 born. One was found dead in the stall. It appeared to have been born dead. It was much smaller than the others. The other dead piglet was found outside in the mud wallow. I am really not sure how it got there. I found one in the mud with her last litter also, but was able to save that one. This piglet was not as lucky. Helga is a good mother, so we are hopeful that the remaining 10 will survive.

 

Pig Pile. 10 one day old red wattle piglets. 
Click on picture for larger view.

If you are interested in buying one of Helga's red wattle piglets, drop us an email at wickhamfarm@gmail.com and we can make arrangements to reserve a piglet for you!

Foodies and the Green Movement

While surfing the internet, I came across an article in time Magazine title "Foodies Can Eclipse (and Save) the Green Movement" by Bryan Walsh. Mr. Walsh claims that the green movement is teetering. Green house legislation has stalled, the EPA is under attack and that we now have "newly empowered Republicans in Congress who argue that the very idea of environmental protection is unaffordable for our debt-ridden country". Sounds rather bleak to me. But Mr. Walsh goes on to assert that environmentalism isn't dieing, it's only evolving. One of the new forms it is taking is that of the food movement. The food movement, he claims is not only changing the way we eat, but the way we farm and the way we relate to one another. The aguement is supported by the following facts:

There are now thousands of community-supported agriculture programs around the country, up from just two in 1986. There are more than 6,000 farmers' markets, up 16% from just a year ago. Sales of organic food and beverages hit nearly $25 billion in 2009, up from $1 billion in 1990, and no less a corporate behemoth than Walmart has muscled into the organic industry, seeking out sustainable suppliers. And more importantly, everyone eats. There's no escaping that. And everyone can relate to a well prepared meal of fresh veggies, and pasture raised  raised pork roast!

While I personally think the green movement is far from dieing, I will say that if this is what the food movement is about, then count me in. As a conservationist, a sustainable farming advocate a small farm owner (and a person who eats :-) ), I can only hope that the foodie movement continues to grow. Challenging the way we eat and the way we farm can only lead to good things. Conventional farming is very good at producing large quantities of affordable food. That's what conventional farming does best. But, some would ask, at what cost to the environment and to our health? I feel that there is a need and a place for another food production model. Food that is locally grown by small family farms where the health of the soil comes first. Where there is a direct connection between the customer and the farmer. Where food is fresh and great tasting, not bland and mass produced. By buying locally grown foods from a farmer you know, you could be contributing to your health, the health of the land, and the health of your community. What could be better than that?