Pigs

Image credit: Matthias Böckel from Pixabay

Have you heard of Ractopamine?

By Ira White / 18 Nov 2023
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There is an additive to animal feed that many are unaware of. There is no required mention of it on food labels. There is controversy over its use. It is currently restricted in 160 nations in the world. So, is it safe? I will present what I have found, and you can decide for yourself.…

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Three porkers lying head to butt

Trailer training challenged by acorns

By Nancy Hildebrandt / 24 Oct 2023

The story of the pigs who porked out on acorns.

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Pigs grazing in a pasture with trailer in foreground

Fall, apples, pork!

By Nancy Hildebrandt / 18 Sep 2023

I’m sure we all feel the transition into fall, especially the dwindling hours of sunlight, right? The rain a couple weeks ago was a gift, and now we get to enjoy cooler days and start mentally preparing ourselves for rainy season. I’m very pleased to report that as of last night, all pork shares have…

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Piglets eating blackberry leaves

Pigs are SO smart (or are they?)

By Nancy Hildebrandt / 26 May 2023

It’s quite remarkable but about 90% of the time when I mention I raise pigs, the response is “Oh wow, pigs are SO smart.” I’m guessing that most of the folks who say this have no experience with pigs, but I even hear some farmers say this as well. If “SO smart” means smarter than…

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Gang of six

Class of 2023

By Nancy Hildebrandt / 18 Apr 2023

The 2023 pigs have arrived!

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Rooting Berkshires

Blackberry root eradication with pigs

By Nancy Hildebrandt / 27 Nov 2022

Berkshire pigs love to root out and eat blackberry roots so I’m helping them out and it’s win-win teamwork.

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Berks fattening up October 2022

What’s new for December 2022’s pork harvest

By Nancy Hildebrandt / 17 Oct 2022

What’s new and what’s changed for the December 2022 butcher date.

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Three new piglets, first morning

What’s new and planned for 2022

By Nancy Hildebrandt / 19 Jun 2022

What happened to spring this year? As I write this in the latter half of June, it’s another day with rain in the forecast. I definitely prefer it to hot and dry, as much of the rest of the country is getting. The last of my yearling pigs went to the butcher on April 18,…

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Pork chops done to 150F

Berkshire pork season end leads to ruminations

By Nancy Hildebrandt / 08 May 2022

My butcher dates for this year are done, so it’s my chance to reflect on my growing year. Berkshire pigs are renowned for the fat marbling in the meat, and the results of my first year of raising Berkshire pigs did not disappoint. The meat is bright pink, juicy, and tender. I worked hard to…

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Fence along road looking south to corner

Developing the new Forest Pasture

By Nancy Hildebrandt / 20 Mar 2022

This is a small farm and there are four pastures for pigs so they can be rotationally grazed, ranging in size from 0.5-3 acres. The newest pasture was a downhill thicket of blackberry, scotch broom, poison oak, and sedge grass, half of it in tree cover. We started to work on taming this pasture a…

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