The delightful defensiveness of pig moms
Here at BOTL Farm, we keep sows (farmer jargon for pig moms) that farrow (give birth to) the piglets we grow and sell as meat. Although we're cordial with our sows, they are not pets. They prefer the company of other pigs over lowly humans and view us as a useful source of feed, water, and fresh pasture. Since we interact with them multiple times a day, we develop a comfortably respectful working relationship. They trust us enough to let us approach and give ear scratches when they're in the mood for it. We trust them enough to be in their paddocks with our backs turned and not be concerned that they'll hurt us intentionally [editor notes that 600 lb pigs are not overly careful about what they're stepping on].
Once a sow farrows, all bets are off. Her hormones have changed, she's heavy with milk, and she has piglets to "defend." She lives in a relatively wild, natural world and her instincts scream at her to protect her young from predators. We sometimes get labelled as potential predators even though we want the best for her and her piglets. Simply approaching her birthing nest to offer fresh water and feed can be highly suspect during the first week of her piglets' life.
Each sow has her own personality and style of mothering, but our most protective sow is a frightening maelstrom of motherly ferocity. We tip-toe around her, hoping that our years of good behavior will earn us a small reprieve from her ire. Unfortunately, we've been chased, thrown through fences, and bit during our efforts.
This month we've practiced tip-toeing through the woods after a "medium level" protective sow farrowed, to get ourselves ready for later this week, when our second-most defensive sow will farrow.
POV from the slaughterhouse on meat quality
Carcass quality is a subjective set of many criteria and 'best' quality varies depending on what consumers desire, i.e. should a pork chop be pale and lean, or dark red and filled with marbling? We sure have opinions on this question and we could talk at great length (future newsletter topic?), but for today, we'll just say that carcass quality is influenced by factors including breed, feed, and animal management and everyone has a different 'best' definition.
We staunchly maintain that the way we raise our animals results in superior carcass quality and therefore meat quality. What's a better way to test that theory than spending hours in a cooler with slaughterhouse employees (who break down carcasses from a wide swath of farms) and compare a variety of different carcasses?
This month our slaughterhouse hosted a training event to do just that. This may sound boring, but we were smitten. After a full tour of the slaughterhouse, [side note: we knew most of the employees during the tour as we've been using this slaughterhouse since their beginning and we're semi-famous for being "that farm" who wants everything from our animals, down to their caul fat, head, and spleen] we stepped into the aging cooler to compare different carcasses.
There was nuanced discussion of quality, but the one thing the professionals at the slaughterhouse agreed on is the importance of pasture raising. Animals who live year-round on pasture and use their muscles are better, healthier, and higher quality overall. This finding reinforces our decision to raise all our animals on pasture year-round.
34,837 pounds
During June each year, we work with our buds at Willow Valley Farm to pick up bales of hay from their fields and stash it in our barn for winter. It's hot, heavy work and we always need help since the day and time of pick up is determined by the weather and we get no input. This year we had trouble attracting people who are willing to do this type of work, so we are very grateful the hay farmers themselves took pity on us. They not only helped pick up bales from the field and stack them in our barn, but they also lent us trucks and trailers to aid in the effort. Farming as a communal effort, that's the best. It's been a tough month of hay now that we're both over 40, but we're happy to report that we have enough hay for the winter (approximately 34,837 pounds).
Chickens who lay their eggs where they want
Our biggest fans will remember that we dug swales and planted 1,200 trees in our main fields. We knew in principle that these changes would affect water retention (drought? what drought? we didn't notice one) and land management, but we didn't realize that chickens would be naughty. Unfortunately we noticed a clutch of 21 eggs in a swale that was inside a previous chicken paddock. We don't know if they laid them while they were in the paddock or if they flew over the fence to lay when they moved on, but either way the eggs were extremely suspect and we fed them (the eggs, not the chickens) to the pigs.
Find us
On farm store: Every Wednesday noon - 2pm, every Saturday 1 - 3pm. Pre-order
On farm self pickup: Every day 8am - 8pm. Pre-order only
Wooster Square Market, New Haven CT: This market runs every Saturday from 9am - 1pm until the end of November. We will be there every other week. Dates we’ll be there in July: July 04 and July 18. Pre-order
Assawaga Farm Store, Putnam CT: This market runs every Saturday from 9am - noon from now until Thanksgiving. We will be there every other week. Dates we'll be there in July: July 11 and July 25. Pre-order
Sturbridge Farmers Market, Sturbridge MA: This market runs every Sunday from 9am - 1pm from June until October. We will be there every week. Dates we'll be there in July: July 05, July 12, July 19, July 26. Pre-order
Ask a Farmer Anything, virtual question sessions: second Monday of every month from 7:30 - 8:30pm and fourth Thursday of every month from 8 - 9am. Dates in July: July 13 and July 23. Registration free but required
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