What do you do with a mature boar pig?  (“Boar” meaning an intact, fully functional male as opposed to the breed of pig.) We have met people who claim they taste good, but our experience has been that they have a smell and taste that...

Anyone can farm!  You may not have enough space or the ability to raise your own chickens or Thanksgiving turkey, but you can be a virtual farmer by having us custom raise your birds for you!  Let us know how many you want, and we’ll raise them for you, using...

It’s been a while since we’ve posted, but the farm continues to be busy.  The winter is quieter, more of a maintenance time, a reflective time.  So, is farming worth it?  Is it for fun, or for profit?  Hopefully the answer is “both.” Mark talks...

Farming is a very seasonal operation. While that seems like an obvious statement, I wonder if that’s so.  Are fresh tomatoes or strawberries ever not available at the grocery store?  Does the milk change flavors or creaminess as winter melts to summer?  Is the...

Way back when, long ago, in the mists of time, the folks who homesteaded the land had hogs.  Fat hogs.  Hardy hogs.  Hogs that didn’t need a lot of pampering and could live off the land.  Even in the fall, going into winter, there were no worries about taking...

Learn to take your hog from field to freezer -Harvest time! We are busy making plans for the two hog harvest classes, possibly three, we have on the schedule so far this year. October 20-22: Come help us harvest Shady Grove Farm’s hogs in Michigan’s...

“Trust is the combination of intelligence and integrity.” “Husbandry, which is not replaceable by science, nevertheless uses science, and corrects it too. It is the more comprehensive discipline. To reduce husbandry to science, in practice, is to...

Lard FAQ: What you asked about fat   “What is lard?” “Where does lard come from?” “Are lard and tallow the same thing?” You ask great questions!  Here’s the quick answers: What is Lard? Lard comes from pork fat.  The fat...

“Fresh” is the definition of summer when it comes to food!  Seasonal eating is a very healthy way to live as it keeps you eating fresh food, helps you tune in to what nature is doing around you, and encourages you to contribute to the local economy. ...

Great ideas don’t always work as planned on the homestead.  Mark’s biochar building learning curve produced a failed burner, but left him with raw materials for a new BBQ!  We’ve BBQ’d our share of hogs on the roll around grill he made almost...