Dirt Hog :: Chapter 8 Book Report

This chapter is the last in Kelly Klober's book, "Dirt Hog" and it kind of serves as a summation of the book and encouragement to get out there and raise hogs on the range again. I appreciate what he had to say about the 21st century range producer, "Yours is the business of not exactly reinventing the wheel, but rather of redefining hog production for a new day and a new role in agriculture." As I have become more and more immersed in the "un-conventional" agriculutral world I am seeing so many great examples of guys that are doing exactly that ... they aren't reinventing anything, but they are gathering knowledge from generations of hog production to make it work in their own environment and farm goals.

I think the most important thing to keep in mind when you are producing hogs outdoors is that you don't have to produce for the markets that every else is producing for and you don't have to play the game of super high numbers. I like the analogy that Mr. Klober uses ... three sows a year producing two litters of 8 pigs each would give you 48 bucher hogs. Take those 48 buchers and make them into whole hog sausage sold somewhere between $2.00 and $2.50 per pound could give you between $14,000 and $17,000. Of course you have to sell that sausage, but it is about thinking differently.

Finally, Mr. Klober hits us with one of the most important points of this whole book. Hogs need to be a part of the complete picture, not the entire picture itself. In an agricultural world that has recently built itself upon the ideas of specialization and big size the idea of a completely diversified farm is being lost. But, the farmers that I have had the opportunity to meet over the past year or so that seem to be enjoying life the most and farming in line with their family and farm goals are the ones that haven't thrown all their eggs in one basket. They are the guys that don't have the biggest and the latest and greatest, but they are able to weather the ups and downs and enjoy what they are doing.

If you are interested in taking pigs outside and letting them live and grow on the grass then I would recommend "Dirt Hog" to you. It is not a book for a complete beginner as far as the "nuts and blots" of pig farming go, but it is a great starting point for the experienced and beginner alike.

Dirt Hog :: Chapter 7 Book Report

"Anyone who is serious about outdoor production should focus on breaking the pattern of dependence on the practices and products that have cast such a shadow over animal agriculture of late. You cannot make a silk purse from a sow's ear, nor can you create quality pork out of a stress-laden and severely driven confinement situation." That is what Kelly Klober had to say in the opening paragraphs of chapter seven (Herd Health) in his book "Dirt Hog". It may not be a popular statement in some circles (each to their own and stuff), but I think it is very thought provoking and even a bit insightful.

In this chapter Mr. Klober tackles many issues related to swine herd health and what a hog farmer should know how to do, but I thought that it was interesting (and encouraging) that he began the chapter by discussing the overall (almost holistic) benefits of raising hogs outdoors and like people used to. He is not opposed to advancements in medical care or knowledge, but he it does seem to think that those needs can be greatly lowered when you take the pigs outside again. I tend to agree and experienced many of those same things with our first batch, and was also able to see it on other farms through the recent online farm tours that I was able to watch.

I should also point out that Mr. Klober seemst to think the middle of the road (yet natural) way of production is best. He writes that he is not sold on "organic" yet (although he doesn't define it so much), but part of that is because he wonders how "organic" acres of cropland can be in the Midwest. Also, he cites the lack of availability of feed as an issue. I agree those are both points to ponder, but it doesn't write off organic.

That discussion is not all this chapter is about though. I found a lot of good information in the sections on necessary skills (castrations, injections, taking temperatures, processing baby pigs, and knowing when to call a vet), simple restraints, health care supplies (having them in one place and close by), and what to think about and watchout for through the life of a pig on the farm. All in all, I think a book expanding on the basic ideas in this chapter would be worth its weight in gold (and gold is pretty pricey now).

Dirt Hog :: Chapter 6 Book Report

Really I should have probably titled this post, "The Exchange of Knowledge". But, since I want to make it easy to find my chapter reports I left the "Plain Jane" title up there. This chapter really was a good chapter though ... especially from the standpoint of encouragement. The author, Kelly Klober, dealt specifically with the marketing of the dirt hog in everything from direct to to the consumer to seed stock. I say that it was encouraging though because Mr. Klober was very upbeat about the opportunities out there for the outdoor producer. Just don't go to this chapter looking for specifics because it is just one section of an entire book ... the ins and outs of marketing dirt hogs could cover a book in and of itself.

Anyways, the reason I thought, "The Exchange of Knowledge", would be a good blog post title is because that is what popped into my mind when I was reading one of the little vignettes in this chapter. This particular one dealt with a few of Mr. Klober's reflections from some of the first hog sales he attended and how the youngsters (as he was at the time) tried to pick out a gilt that would suit their goals. The words painted a neat picture of the time and place, but there was a single question lingering in my mind...

Where am I going to learn to have an eye for "just the right gilt" such as the one that he was developing at the time with the help of his family and neighbors? I believe the ideal path for a beginning farmer, similar to me in background, would be to pull up stakes and just apprentice at a farm for a year or so. Of course you would want to work with someone that is farming as you would like to farm, but the main think would just be to gain as much of that "art" that an experienced farmer has.

Of course that "ideal" situation of aprenticeship is much more difficult when you have a wife and three kids to support. Because of my family (and I wouldn't take this journey without them) we have decided the best way to learn is to do, and then pick up as much "old timer" information as we can along the way.

I may have mentioned this before, but I think it is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Last year we bought my dad's family a subscription to "Countryside Magazine". After reading a few issues he commented on how some of the how-to articles were doing things the hard way, or that they took so many trials and errors to get to and end that he could have told them about. My thought was, "This is exactly what I'm talking about!" Of course they took a long time to solve a problem that an old farmer could have done in a jiffy, but that is because there isn't enough knowledge being transfered...

Anyone have the magic bullet to help keep the knowledge surrounding the "art" of farming alive?

 

Dirt Hog :: Chapter 5 Book Report

Chapter five of Kelly Klober's book, "Dirt Hog" deals with the ins and outs of pig feed and the feeding of pigs. The chapter is appropriately titled "Feeds and Feeding" and includes a good deal of information on different types of feeds and feeding plans from everything from the lactating sow to the growing pig. One quote that I particularly enjoyed from this chapter went like this, "I would also challenge the argument that farmland is now to valuable to be used for mere livestock production. Poppycock!" This book of course was copywrited in 2007 so it may have been written an bit before our latest commodity price hikes, but despite that I think it is a very valuable quote (although we must remember that commodity prices didn't stay at those highs.

Mr. Klober goes on to enumerate why he believes that raising livestock on "valuable land" is still a viable practice, but I think I could some it up in just one sentence. The basic idea is that yes you can create a lot of commodity crops on good land and you can grow a lot of pork in a confinement building, but when you add in all of the handling/infrastrucure/input costs you might not come out ahead. I obviously haven't run the numbers on this and don't have a clue what those numbers would be like if I did run them, but I do think there is something to be said about having livestock add to the nutrients of the soil on the farm.

But, back to the feeds and feeding parts of this chapter. Here are some tidbits that I really found useful:

• With 15-20 finishing hogs per acre you can save between 800 and 1,000 pounds of grain and 500 pounds of protein by having them on pasture.
• Good pasture access should be considered a plus for lactating sows and they probably should be kept on their regular ration so they maintain the best condition during lactation.
• "About 10% of a growing hog's nutritional needs can be met by good legume pasturage."
• Mr. Klober likes to use a 14% to 15% protein ration for growing hogs on pasture no matter their weight.
• One acre of corn that is "hogged down" can support 10-15 hogs to butcher weight assuming that they have enough mineral, protein, and water.

These are just a few things from the chapter that really jumped out at me. I must admit that I am pretty interested in the idea of "hogging down" some corn. Especially if it is open pollinated corn!

Dirt Hog :: Chapter 4 Book Report

Sorry for those of you that are bored with "pig talk", but I have some catching up to do because while I'm writing a chapter three report I'm actually reading chapter six! Plus, as I make my way through this book there are lots of things flying through my head about how I want to run our farm and why I want to do things the way we are and are going to do them. This book is full of information ... some that is helpful ... some that is above my head ... and some that is great for beginners and more than beginners alike.

Chapter four is really about swine herd maintenance and covers everything from health to breeding and more. One of the first things that this chapter covers is how to keep track of animals and keep their information in order. It was interesting to read his thoughts on this because I had just seen someone's system that they used. He talked about the pros and cons of ear tags and notching and the importance of having an information card to go with each sow and litter. As we get deeper into the world of pigs this is something that I'm going to have to tackle.

Another section in this chapter that I really liked was the part about outdoor farrowing. It appears that the author farrows out on the "range" in huts spaced about 100 to 150 feet apart. His system is to check on the sows that are close to farrowing first thing in the morning and then once more in the evening. Other than that he says that he just has to rely on the genetic selections that they have made. I love to hear about how people are making outdoor farrowing work because I believe that it is a system that can and does work.

Beyond those two topics it his long chapter is full of tons of information. If you haven't noticed yet ... I like this book quite a bit. I believe it is a good book for a beginner like myself to read. It doesn't have everything you need to know, but it is full of great information. Plus, it is really getting me excited about range hogs!

Dirt Hog :: Chapter 3 Book Report

Wow, I just realized that I'm reading chapter six in "Dirt Hog", but I have only written two chapter book reports. I have some catching up to do. But, that is okay because it seems like lately this has become the "Beginning Pig Farmer" blog. Really, that hasn't become our main focus ... rather it is just what I happen to be reading about a lot lately. I will admit though that after going through our first batch of pigs that I am beginning to think that they are the ideal animal for a beginning farmer like myself to start out with. Of course you can always go with chickens because of the low overhead, but if larger livestock is your goal pigs are a great way to start out.

Now, back to the book report ... Chapter three deals with selection of your pigs (covering everything from feeder pigs to gilts and sows to boars) and even has some general information about the different breeds out there. I have to admit that this chapter was a little overwhelming because was so much information and I once again realized how much of an art it is to be a very good livestock farmer. But, I did appreciate everything in the chapter even if it will take years for me to learn by trial and error.

As an aside, another thing that has popped into my mind as I'm writing this is that Kelly Klober (the author) seems to have a vast amount of knowledge when it comes to pigs. Much of that knowledge, I'm sure, has come from being around people that know the art of a selecting and raising a high quality swine herd. It is great to be able to have it written down in a book, but I will say that I wish I had a mentor like him around to show me and help me as I muck my way through the pig world!

Mr. Klober goes into great detail on some of the things that you need to look for when selecting pigs, especially pigs destined to become "range hogs". One area that he talks about being very important are the feet and legs. Those legs are going to be very important for a pig that will be outside and have the need and chance to move around. In a confinement setting it is not as big of an issue, so some breeding has taken away a good leg on each corner of the pig.

He even writes about the type of tail to look for when selecting. Mr. Klober says that large tail with the base well up on the body can be a good indicator of ham size and carcass length. This is the kind of knowledge that I'm talking about!

The chapter covers a lot of other information (too much to write about today) and then ends up with a short description of various breeds within the three major categories that he talks about a lot through out the book ... White Breeds, Red Breeds, and Black Breeds. It was nice to see the Hereford breed mentioned though because that is one that we are looking at closely now.

 

Dirt Hog :: Chapter 2 Book Report

Wow, it has been a long time since I have done a chapter book report on the blog. It isn't that I haven't been reading lately, rather it is just that I have been reading books that I didn't feel the urge to report on after each chapter. But, now I have picked up "Dirt Hog" by Kelly Klober again and I wanted to share some thoughts after each chapter. You might think it weird that I'm starting out with chapter two, but in reality I already did a report for chapter one ... way back on May 14, 2008! You can take the link to check out my thoughts from way back when.

Chapter two is a looooong (70 pages or so) chapter titled, "Housing and Fencing", and probably should be broken down into a couple of reports because there is a lot to think about in this book. One thing that I am finding is that even though I know that I won't be employing every concept this book is making me excited about pigs ... plus, there is the fact that we just took five to the locker so they are on the brain.

The very beginning of this chapter actually doesn't start out with the nuts of bolts of housing and fencing, but rather a short discussion of getting started. One sentence really piqued my interest ... "I am a firm believer in doing all your early farming on paper." I totally get what Mr. Klober is saying here because he goes on to talk about six things that you really need to look at, but one thing that I am continuing to learn is that at sometime you just need to jump.

For quite awhile I farmed on paper. I read books, I talked with people, I did research, and I wrote stuff down. I learned a lot! I studied a lot! And, when the rubber met (and is still meeting) the road I found that there is so much that you can only learn by doing. So, there are my thoughts on that...

Much of the next portion of the chapter deals with farm layout in relation to range hogs. I believe many of the set-ups that this book is talking about are more permanent than I'm going to focus on, but there is a lot of good information on fencing, watering, and feeding. Also, there is a good bit of information on electric fencing.

So, there you go. We'll call that part one of my chapter two book report...

Dirt Hog :: Chapter 1 Book Report

I know that I haven't finished "Grass-Fed Cattle" yet, but as I left for my soccer game yesterday afternoon I couldn't find that book (there was a LONG bus ride) so I grabbed "Dirt Hog" by Kelly Klober. I had heard good and not-as-good reviews of this book, but if the rest of it is anything like the first chapter (which basically serves as an introduction of the idea) I think it will be a good read. There was a lot of stuff to think about in this chapter, but a couple of quotes really made me think about life, farming, and of course pigs. Here are just a few of my thoughts...

The first thing that really had me thinking was this quote:

"He stepped out of his pickup to bring them closer and bid me to follow him. I started to decline and give the stand answer, which is that some harmful organisms might be carried in my clothes and/or shoes. His answer to my protests will surprise many; it was to get out there."

Here is what I thought. That doesn't surprise me at all, and yet it does surprise me. On one hand it doesn't surprise me because that seems just about right for a confinement farm based on quick growth and nothing else. It does surprise me because I would have never thought that would ever be a thing to worry about, I mean we are talking about pigs ... of which unfortunely, I know too much about being around. They should be able to handle people around them I would think. Mr. Klober often writes in this first chapter that the current confinement system is more about looking good and being easier for the farmer not about what is best for the pigs.

Another big thing that I got out of this chapter was encouragement. This book came out in 2007 and even though the hog market is in the dumps right now I see reason to be encouraged by hog raising, if you do it on the range. If you are rotating your pigs and not spending tons of money on buildings and infrastructure there is still a way for pigs to be the age old "mortgage lifter".

I think this was a great chapter and hopefully just a sign of things to come from the book. If I were to make a recommendation on the first chapter alone I would say it is a must read. But, we will wait and see what the rest of the book holds.

Mmmm... Tasty Pork!

Okay, the Gearld Fry article wasn't the only cool article I read on New Farm the other day. I also ran across an articled titled, "Customers seeking taste, type, integrity and terroir drive traditional pork revival" by Kelly Klober. Mr. Klober is the author of a few books, including "Dirt Hog" which I received for Christmas and will probably start reading after I finish the book I'm on now. The title really tells it all with this article, but it really is a good read. Plus, it is another plug for the heritage breeds.

The article has a quite a bit of information and gives a nice overview of some of the possibilities available for the small pig farmer these days, but I won't take up the space to give you a blow by blow account of the article today ... I'll just give you some of my thoughts and encourage you to check out the entire article.

In the late 80's and early 90's my family was fully entrenched in the hog industry. At the time my uncle was running hogs in a confinement building along with some cattle and his row crops and my Father had hogs ... well, he had hogs everywhere! We were living on an older farmstead in the Northeast part of the state with a couple of barns and various other outbuildings. We started finishing feeder pigs in one barn ... then they spread to the second barn ... next they made their way into the old chicken house which we added a wooden feeding floor too ... and finally they were pretty much everywhere! Mostly we were buying feeder pigs and selling them when they finished. It was good money (although it was stinky work) for a time ... but, then the bottom fell out of the market and the family was no longer in the hog business. Luckily we didn't lose much other than a source of income (which is a big deal).

Well, I don't know all of the details ... but, after the market dropped things started to change in the hog industry. It hasn't quite gotten to the point of the vertical poultry business yet, but it is on its way. At one time in this country every farm had some hogs just because they were considered a safe way to get a consistent return. That is no longer the case ... unless you are doing something different.

Even here in Iowa (confinement capital of the world) people are beginning to desire something more from their pork. Our blogging friends up at Sugar Creek Farm are selling farm raised pigs and many other Iowa farmers are starting to tap into what I would call the "real pork" or "quality pork" category. In fact the PFI along with other organizations is holding NICHE Pork meetings around the state. People are trying different breeds (lots of Berkshire) and different methods in order to get back to the way pork used to taste.

I must admit that now that we have our cattle pigs and the pork that comes with them are pretty high on my list. In fact, they will most likely be the next piece of livestock that we purchase. The question is, "what do we get and why do we get it?"

Over the past few months I have mentioned Tamworths, Berkshires, Ossabaw Island, and other heritage or rare breeds. I also would like to add Glouchester Old Spots because I just found out there were a few breeding those. We need to have hogs on our farms that not only can tolerate the outdoors, but that can thrive in the outdoors. We need hogs that can "root" up part of their meals (root, hog, or die!). And, most importantly we need hogs that can become a sustainable component of the farm.

One of the many things that I do is coach high school girl's soccer. I've been doing it for just at four years now and I enjoy it for many reasons. But, one thing that I have observed is that too many girls are focusing on just one sport. They won't go out for soccer because they only do volleyball or they only do basketball, yet study after study has shown that when athletes aren't out their competing in a diverse area of competition their sport of choice can suffer. Just think about when you grew up in a small town. The same people went out for every sport ... just because! Well, that isn't always the case even in the small towns today. People think they need to specialize to be successful.

Farming has fallen into that trap also. People are grain farmers, cattle finishers, dairymen, or pork producers ... too much specialization. In order to get back to quality (just like our high school athletes) we need to have diverse farms that not only have a well rounded balance sheet, but that also produce a variety of foods. Pork is just another part of that variety!