Mud and Farrowing Fun ...

It has been unseasonably warm lately. The kind of warm that has me thinking about spring and green grass, but I'm trying to keep myself grounded and remember that it is still the middle of February. Obviously the frost hasn't left the ground yet, but the top couple of inches are thawing and making everything nice and muddy ... which I'm not going to complain about! The warm weather though came at just the perfect time though because yesterday my second Tamworth sow farrowed in the lean-to off the back of the shed. You can check out my Twitter feed to see the new picture.

This sow was the last of the group of four I purchased a few weeks ago and so far so good with her. Well I guess I should say ... so far so okay. She, like the others, would not farrow in the huts and I'm a little disappointed that the instinct of building a nest in them did not come out like I've experienced with some of my other sows (the Hereford and the crosses). She did only lose one so far (it was dead when I found it) and after a few hours I was able to get her calmed down and in the hut with her pigs. I checked her throughout the night and then again this morning and the only problem was that one little pig had found its way out. I nailed a board up on the door hoping to keep them in, but I did that last night as well and the sow wouldn't go in ... I'm hoping that her spending the night in the hut will take care of that problem.

It's during these farrowing times and other times like this that I realize just how much I have to learn! Don't get me wrong, I do feel like I've come a long way, but there are plenty of times when I feel like things aren't going well and I don't know what I'm doing! You just have to keep your chin up and keep pressing on though ...

Expanding What's Working

As I think about expanding on the farm and adding more livestock the most obvious enterprise for me to grow is the one that is working the best. Right now there is no doubt in my mind that my most successful venture has been the hogs. When the first thoughts of farming started flying through my mind I always envisioned grass-fed beef being the centerpiece of the farm. The realities of growing a herd of grass-fed beef and getting everything up and running have made me realize that maybe that my Dexters will have to take the back burner for the time being. The pigs (and the pork the provide) have been filling their traditional role as the "mortgage lifter" on the farm, and to tell you the truth I really enjoy raising them!

As I work through the process of adding more pigs to the farm I have decided that I want to attack it from two different angles. I would like to add more breeding stock (sows), but also add some feeder pigs so that I can have more finished product when the next farmer's market season roles around. Doing both of these things helps me build not only for the near future, but also for seasons down the road. Of course there is always the option to just buy feeder pigs and finish them, but I like the idea of having control of my livestock from farrow to finish and I think my customers appreciate that as well.

This past year I sort of committed myself to the Hereford breed. Right now I only have one Hereford sow, but my boar is a Hereford and he will share the benefits of the Hereford breed (good mothers, great taste, easy going, etc.) with the entire swine herd. I would like to add a couple of more Hereford sows, but I'm also interested in exploring other breeds and trying different crosses. That is where the above picture comes in to the equation ...

Those three are Tamworth gilts and I will be bringing at least one to the farm in the near future. The Tamworth is a lean bacon-type of hog that I have been wanting on the farm since I started, so to say that I'm excited about bringing a gilt to the farm is a bit of an understatement. I plan on experimenting with some Tamworth x Hereford crosses and also using AI to add a few more purebred Tamworths to the farm.

Plus ... don't they just look extra cool with those "stand-up" ears!?!

Comeback Farms :: Chapters 17-19 Book Report

Chapters 17, 18, and 19 of "Comeback Farms," by Greg Judy are three very encouraging chapters that each deal with topics that are very similar, yet different at the same time. In chapter 17 Mr. Judy writes about the money side of the hair sheep component on his farm. He sells his lambs both at the local livestock auction and direct to customers and believes that both can be profitable with no-input grassfed hair sheep ... although it is much more profitable when he sells directly to the customer. The figures he gives for the financial side of sheep in this chapter are pretty encouraging and make me feel like running out and getting some right away (even though I understand everything doesn't go by the book all the time). But, I think the profit possibilities are real and I love the comparatively quick turnaround that lamb offer. This is not a two-year proposition like grassfed beef, so your money won't be tied up quite as long.

Let me just add this on the topic of hair sheep ... there is so much that I'm learning now that I wish I would have learned before I got going! I believe if I was starting over now and using the experience and knowledge I have gained that I would have started with pigs and sheep and then added just a couple cows. The pigs and sheep offer such a quicker path to income and have a much lower starting cost! So, if you haven't started yet and livestock is your dream ... think about that.

In chapter 18 Mr. Judy talks about brush goats as a piece of the puzzle on his rented farms. I'm not adding goats (unless it's just a goat that I can make faint), but I can see how they would be a nice addition in his situations. He only keeps about 20 goats on his farms and he does not use them within his mob grazing system. They are allowed to take care of the brush clean up and the provide a little meat for sale each year. I would say that they are just another "tool" in his management system.

On the other hand though, chapter 19 is about Tamworth pigs and that topic does get me excited. I will admit that I do love the Herefords so far, but every time I read about Tamworths I get excited and want to find some! It's things like this quote that get me excited,

"It is a true treat to watch them graze in the pasture. They walk along at a steady pace with their heads bobbing just enough to take in the top 2-3" of clover or whatever their target may be. They graze at lightning speed, just taking the best tender part of the plant as their snout passes over it."

Yep, I need to find some Tamworths! I have really enjoyed having the pigs on the farm and think that they are a great addition to any pasture based system.

Looking For Tamworth Pigs and Other Odds and Ends

This weather is absolutely killing me! Like many places across the Midwest this spring has been very wet and pretty chilly at times. I am thankful though that I live in "Southern" Iowa now because up in "Northern" Iowa they are talking below freezing at night as a possibility. That plus all of the rain just doesn't seem fair! To help put this in perspective my soccer team has played two games so far this year, tonight was supposed to be our sixth of the season ... but, it was postponed because the field was under water! We play soccer in all sorts of weather, but not under water. Also, they have been trying to do the perk test out at the farm, but the holes keep filling up with run-off water. Oh well...

So, after that rant I think it is time to get on with things. Since the readership of this blog is steadily picking up (thanks everyone!) I thought I would would try and use that for my own gain ... and money spending habit. What I'm looking for is pigs. Specifically Tamworths, Gloucester Old Spots, Ossabaw Island, Red Wattle, or any other threatened or heritage breed. We are not going to go full bore on the pigs this year, but I would like to get a small start and at least some pork for our freezer. I would really like to have some heritage breeds to start with, but a cross of a heritage breed that is breed to live outside could work also. Oh yeah, in I would help ... Southern or Central Iowa would be a plus ... Northeast Iowa is okay ... with gas prices the way they are the closer the better.

In other news, things are coming along slowly but surely with the building stuff. I have to give my wife 100% of the credit for the work getting done. Just today we put a down-payment down for our pole building and it looks like we have some of the other major contractors picked out. Next, we need to take a trip and go shopping for some appliances, flooring, and our wood burner. Also, we need to make sure our house that we are living in now is presentable for showing ... it's going on the market soon.

One last thing, I talked with my cousin for a bit today about the tractor. He fixed the brakes and a couple other minor things and we should be good to go in the next couple of days. Of course I would just get stuck if I tried to do anything now, but hopefully it will dry out soon ... but not too dry!

Tamworth Hogs

Even though Dexter Cattle are on the front of my mind I have also been thinking about hogs quite a bit lately because they have a much quicker turnaround than cattle. Oh ... and I really like pork! While we won't be adding hogs to the farm until we actually make it to a farm I would like to do some research so I had an idea of what I would like. Because of my love of history I like the idea of using heritage breeds, but the reality of it is that heritage breeds are actually usually more hardy than our modern breeds. And, hardiness is a great trait when you want your animals to forage and live on the pasture. I will do that with my cattle and I would do that with my hogs.

So, today I was doing a little research on Tamworths. Tamworths are medium sized hogs that originated in Ireland (same as Dexters oddly enough). They provide lean meat which is a plus for health conscience people like me (gotta love high cholesterol) and are know for their good nature and excellent mothering abilities. Another thing that I found in my research is that the don't root up the ground as much as other breeds which makes them great pasture animals. I also came across some great information about their ease of farrowing on the pasture.

My family has raised their fair share of hogs, but it was always in a conventional set up and it was never very fun. I am really interested to learn about raising hogs on pasture ... who knows it might actually make it enjoyable!

Here are few links on Tamworths that in checked out today.

#1: Kingbird Farm is located in New York state and the have a bunch of different organic operations going on. The neat picture of the Tamworths going out to pasture is from their farm.

#2: Foot Steps Farm is located in Connecticut and they raise and sell grass fed pork, chickens, and turkey. They have some great information on some "Heritage Breeds".

#3: This Site is an overview of the Tamworth breed from Oklahoma State University. Just some good basic information.