Pigs

The Swedes had it right: raise pigs so that the pigs are happy, and everyone wins. Here’s a look at how their switch to deep straw bedding for pigs created environmental benefits, and improved pig and human quality of life, and profitability.

You can breed however you’d like. To be truly successful, breed for fertility, and breed for your farm. Morgan delves deeper into how.

A couple months ago I wrote an article for On Pasture called Breeding Matters. I briefly alluded to Line Breeding as a method of getting greater consistency and uniformity of type in one’s herd or flock. Many graziers I talk to essentially say, “So why should I care how my cattle are bred, or my […]

Woven Meadows Farm doesn’t castrate its pastured pork so boars grow faster and give more bacon. Here’s what they’ve found out about meat taint and preventing it, along with some information about pasturing bulls, rams and bucks too.

Like many of us in the business of grass-farming for livestock production, I have been preoccupied by a persistent question; Nature vs. Nurture, Breeding vs. Management, Genetics vs. Environment, all takes on the same dichotomy. Of course the answer is unequivocally, “YES.” The functionality of an animal for our particular purposes is absolutely the sum […]

As farmers and direct marketers, the Nottermans of Snug Valley Farm have expanded their existing pork production and marketing by 900% in the last three years. They are now marketing pasture-raised heritage pork to customers and restaurants from Hardwick to Burlington, VT. Their expectation is that within the next two years, they will increase their […]

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PEDV) has been found in many states. Here’s what you need to know to protect your pigs and profits.

More instructions for making your own, inexpensive equipment! Keep your kids and lambs warm and your barn safe with Sandy’s unpatented warming barrels.

Who goes to a pig farrowing in their shorts and loafers?  Novice pig farmers of course!  And that’s the beauty of pig farrowing.  Since only 1% of sows will likely need help with the process, pig farrowing can be so easy that shorts and clogs can be perfectly good attire for the occasion. In a […]

In response to reader requests for information on raising pasture pigs, here is an interview with Karma Glos of Kingbird Farm in Berkshire, NY. These four, beautifully done videos on pastured pigs were created as part of the Cornell Small Farms Video Mentor series as a resource to small and beginning farmers. We love how Karma takes us from farrowing to processing highlighting the things that make life better for the pigs, and easier and more profitable for the farmer.