tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post8032099723034173508..comments2023-11-07T06:51:41.301-06:00Comments on The Beginning Farmer: The Time Has Come ... Ethan Bookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01333115493519268802noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-40139061894363826512012-12-17T16:56:35.996-06:002012-12-17T16:56:35.996-06:00We too have been thinking about winter accommodati...We too have been thinking about winter accommodations. Like you we've concluded that one of the areas we want to improve is our winter setup. Just as you must we need to farrow year round to server our market of stores and restaurants which require weekly deliveries. Pigs have to be born every month so they can go to market weekly. Here in the mountains of northern Vermont six months of the winter can be pretty harsh and four months are guaranteed to be tough winter conditions. We would like to make those winter months feel more like September and October.<br /><br />Over the years we've experimented with a variety of open sheds, small greenhouses and huts. <br /><br />The huts work fairly well for individual sows to farrow in and are good for weaning too but not so good for any larger groups of pigs of any size.<br /><br />The open sheds work but are too dark. Bedding gets to wet. The pigs don't like the dark. Bacteria thrive more without the UV.<br /><br />The greenhouses are the best. The pigs prefer them over the dark sheds and the greenhouses can be spacious enough to house larger groups. The sun's warmth helps keep the hay drier. Just as importantly the greenhouses can be used in the moderate and warm months for growing food when the pigs are out on pasture thus greatly extending our garden growing season from a mere two months to six months for heat loving plants. This means the greenhouses serve double duty. I'm not interested in heating greenhouses with bought fuel during the winter so that is a good time to use them for the livestock.<br /><br />Next year we are thinking of setting up a 100' by 30' to 40' greenhouse which we will divide into eight winter paddocks. This will be open on three sides - at one end and along the kneewalls. On either side the eight paddocks will extend outdoors by another 30' or so such that each paddock is about 90' x 12' in size with the central portion covered by the greenhouse. This would even let us do rotational grazing by shutting off one or the other of the outside paddocks at a time. In this central area we'll put the deep pack of hay which the pigs eat down over the winter. Each pig eats about 400 lbs of hay a winter.<br /><br />We've experimented this over the years with small versions and it works pretty well. These greenhouses gives us the feeling of it being fall weather inside the greenhouse even with the sides open. In fact, it is quite important to keep it open for ventilation and to reduce humidity since the bedding pack composts generating heat and the pigs generate a lot of heat.<br /><br />One key thing we've discovered is that it is critical to build the greenhouse on a slope. Pigs pee in their bedding. It if one builds on a flat this can pool. Better to have it drain sideways and out into the field where the nutrients are utilized.<br /><br />The greenhouses also must be built pig tough since pigs are very rough on structures, chewing, rubbing and slamming into walls when they play. Things must be built pig tough.<br /><br />During the six warm months of the year we will let these areas rest, the bedding compost and grow heat loving crops which become food for the animals the following winter.<br /><br />On the turkeys, be careful about erysipelas which they can give to pigs.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />-Walter Jeffries<br />Sugar Mountain Farm<br />Pastured Pigs in the Mountains of Vermont<br />http://SugarMtnFarm.comWalter Jeffrieshttp://sugarmtnfarm.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-76178225337433309142012-12-13T18:29:26.576-06:002012-12-13T18:29:26.576-06:00Rich ... you are very correct about the compost. T...Rich ... you are very correct about the compost. That combined with our rotational grazing would really help the soil. But, I will be writing about clear plastic tomorrow. Ethan Bookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01333115493519268802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-12335206111272550602012-12-12T13:36:47.835-06:002012-12-12T13:36:47.835-06:00Unless you use clear plastic (like a greenhouse) w...Unless you use clear plastic (like a greenhouse) would there be enough light coming through the tarp to grow anything?<br /><br />I would think that one of the most valuable "crops" you could grow along with the pigs would be compost. <br /><br />Use the building to store your bedding over the summer so that it's mold free for the pigs, over-winter the pigs, then pile the bedding up and start the composting process under cover in the building.<br /><br />Clean out the compost and spread it in late summer so you can start the process all over again.<br /><br />Ideally, you could set up a system where you produce enough compost to cover about a quarter of your pasture with about 1000 lbs./acre (so you are spreading compost every 4th year), and over time you are capturing all the fertility from the wintering pigs and spreading it evenly over the farm.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11412944120622315804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-48441666003869923992012-12-12T13:20:49.775-06:002012-12-12T13:20:49.775-06:00Thanks for the comments everyone ... and keep them...Thanks for the comments everyone ... and keep them coming ;) <br /><br />As far as length goes, it will depend on how much money I can spend. The building will be at least 50 feet long though.Ethan Bookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01333115493519268802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-58131531521414802882012-12-12T13:06:39.218-06:002012-12-12T13:06:39.218-06:00Seems like some folks have recommended broilers, b...Seems like some folks have recommended broilers, but what about using it for brooding turkeys? Start them in the summer and by Thanksgiving you'd have some good sized birds. <br /><br />Also, you had the width, but how long are those hoop houses? (Or did I miss that?)Big Onionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15828663940095148052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-91012791343164544972012-12-12T12:20:29.021-06:002012-12-12T12:20:29.021-06:00I would think you could plant a quick cover crop l...I would think you could plant a quick cover crop like hairy vetch, buckwheat, or even alfalfa. That way you could plant when you remove the hogs, and a couple months later allow grazing for a week or two. Then consider raising broilers on the cover crop.<br /><br />We are currently installing a couple of hoop houses for vegetables, and every third year, will be putting down a cover crop to help replenish the soil. In the past, we have turned our chickens loose in our garden, however, we'll be doing this only with strict supervision. That should help us keep the birds away from the cover.<br /><br />Hope this gives you some ideas,<br />Shari at Four Country GalsShari Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17383810146188428955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-36164458374328981232012-12-12T12:13:02.045-06:002012-12-12T12:13:02.045-06:00Use it to store hay in the summer, keeping it out ...Use it to store hay in the summer, keeping it out of the rain for a portion of the year. Split in half, 15' sounds pretty narrow. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35188043.post-59295217593130873192012-12-12T11:36:18.157-06:002012-12-12T11:36:18.157-06:00Have you considered growing out some broilers in t...Have you considered growing out some broilers in there during the summer months? They grow fast, so you could have a mature crop of birds done before you needed the space for the pigs. Of coarse, in a hoop they won't be able to forage and be grassfed since you aren't mobile with them, but just a thought. If you have produce scraps, grass clippings, etc. you could supplement much of their diet. Ans Farmsnoreply@blogger.com