Agriculture

How to Raise Pigs for Meat on the Homestead

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Raising pigs for meat is a great idea for most homesteaders. Every year we raise pigs for our own family and to sell to our local community.

I was watching this video the other day, it has an interesting perspective on the economics of raising hogs on a homestead. Like most things relating to farming and homesteading, pigs aren't cheap but they produce a lot of delicious meat. Neighbors had hogs growing up and Cam Edwards of the NRA makes me hungry every time he talks about the heritage hogs he raises. Pigs aren't cheap but they sure are tasty even though you do want to have a fair bit of land to raise them as I can tell you they sure can smell as they root around in fermented grain.

AgPhd Compost vs Manure #1074

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Darren and Brian Hefty discuss the benefits and challenges of using both compost and manure fertilizer.

Cattle and hog manure an be spread fresh or it can be composted. In short, composted manure smells a lot less, and weights less due less water so you can spread more nutrient with less trips, but it takes a lot longer for the nutrients to be absorbed into the soil. Fresh manure delivers nutrients with a punch, especially liquid manures that get down in the soil or are injected with a drag line. Interesting, short video.

My evolving views on milk 🥛

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When I finished off that gallon of milk in my refrigerator on Thursday, it was 10 days past the sell-by date.

I used to be a big milk drinker. I would drink one or two gallons a week. I loved shredded cheese and ice cream was a fun treat in summer. But after the pandemic, and especially since turning 40, I’ve cut back a lot. Milk is a wonderful beverage, it supports a working landscape in Upstate NY, but it also has a lot of sugar and in case of non-skim milk, a lot of saturated fat.

I still like skim milk in my coffee and I will occasionally use it for cooking food. Sometimes I will use some shredded cheese on eggs and other cooked items. And I like a small portion of low-fat yogurt drizzled on frozen fruit for desert, especially on a hot day when I’ve been calorie conscience the rest of day. But I am careful how much dairy I end up consuming.

It’s not to say I’m opposed to milk, dairy production or cattle. They are an important part of a healthy rural landscape. I do however think the benefits of drinking milk — especially in excess are oversold, by a cooperative push of the dairy industry and the USDA. I can’t blame dairy farmers for trying to sell more of their product and raise the price of dairy, but that doesn’t mean drinking and consuming it in excess is healthy for oneself.