Piggies and Sunshine

May has been defined by welcoming pigs onto the farm and enjoying long sunny days. We brought 8 Hampshire pigs to the farm earlier this month. They will supply the pork for our wedding and we’ll have a limited amount for sale in the fall. We’re considering this as a trial run for adding a pork enterprise as a regular part of our farm operation. Pigs are a different creature when it comes to managing pastures, so we are eager to practice how to make the most of their “rooting” habit and use them in areas where the land needs renovating. This week we will train them to electric and put them out on pasture!

As always, sustainable practices that support the well-being of the land and the animals matter most to us when considering adding a new enterprise. We say to ourselves, if we can’t do this in a way that 1) builds soil 2) allows the animal to live its most natural life and 3) is profitable enough to enable us to continue farming, then it doesn’t fit into our operation. Here are some of the sustainable practices we’re employing with pigs:

• Pastured pork: Pigs are not ruminant animals and cannot sustain themselves on grass alone, like cattle can. However, they eat a huge diversity of foods and benefit from eating roots, tubers, grass, and weeds out on pasture - in addition to their daily feed.
  
• Pigs as a renovation tool: We are putting the pigs in an area that is covered in invasives, including honeysuckle and autumn olive. Pigs have little shovels as noses and love to root up the ground looking for tubers, this helps loosen and aerate the soil, as well as tear out invasives that are preventing diversity in our pasture.
  
• Purchasing from a small farm: We purchased the piglets from a small farm just 30 minutes from us, keeping our dollars here in our community. Additionally, we purchase our feed from a small, local mill.
  
• Feeding non-GMO feed: GMO stands for “genetically modified organism,” these are plants that have had their DNA modified to thrive around herbicides and pesticides or to produce higher yields. These plants are patented by large agricultural corporations. Because these corporations have such a large market share, this reduces grain farmers’ choice and independence about what seeds to purchase, grow and save. While non-GMO feed costs us twice as much, we feel it’s important to remove our support from the corporate food system.

We have been loving having another species on the farm and enjoying these piggy personalities! Follow us on Instagram to see more videos and photos of the pigs.

Summer Solstice Show

We are celebrating the light this time of year! Most days, especially on the weekends, we work outside from 9am to 9pm. This makes for late dinners, but we can’t pull ourselves away from the beautiful long days to come inside until the sun goes down.

We are hosting our annual Summer Solstice Show at the farm on June 17th this year. This is a free event that is open to everyone! We love this opportunity to gather in community and enjoy good music, good food, and good company. Molly’s family will be performing some of their favorite tunes, as well as two other local groups - The Natures and Fat Bear Collective.

Bring your own chair and beverages! We’ll have food available and welcome you to bring food to share if you’d like. Please RSVP to help us get a sense of numbers.

Beef Quarters Available

Beef quarters are available for pre-order. Buying in bulk is the most economical way to purchase local beef. Don’t have the freezer space? Go in on a quarter with a couple households!

What’s Included: 60-70lbs of meat

• 6 Premium Bone-In Steaks (T-bones, Ribeyes, Porterhouse - 1 inch thick)
• 3-4 Sirloin Steaks
• 4-5 Round Steaks
• 5-7 Roasts (Chuck, Tip, Bottom-Round)
• 25-30 Tubes of Ground Beef (~1 lb each)
• 2-3 Packages of Stew Meat
• 1-2 Packages of Short Ribs
• 1-2 Packages of Boiling Beef (Great for soups and stews!)

What I’m reading…

Gilead | Book by Marilynne Robinson | “Nearly 25 years after Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations, from the Civil War to the 20th century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart.”

POSTPASTORAL | Book of poetry by Benjamin Voigt (Molly’s former professor!)

An excerpt:

“A computer rests in the grass.
The cows around it meditate.
They can sleep standing up.
Their mouths are minds, their guts nets.
Lost in thought,
they can take almost anything in—
nuts and bolts, magnets,
the history of a field…”

What I’m listening to…

My spring playlist is ensuring that we keep dancing while we work.

Grassfed Life podcast | Telling Your Farm Story to Create a Deep Relationship with Customers