“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 transform agricultural “wastes” into pollutants, and to subtract perennials and grazing animals from the rotation of crops. Without husbandry, the agriculture of science and industry has served too well the purpose of the industrial economy in reducing the number of landowners and the self-employed. It has transformed the United States from a country of many owners to a country of many employees.” ~Wendell Berry
This summer has been a new venture in food for us. We are redesigning our business model. We are assessing what’s important and what we can do without or outsource. We are seeking to keep our business and life in integrity with our personal values and choices. We increasingly find that there are aspects of where we live in the midst of big agriculture country are out of integrity with how we want to live. The land, it’s soil, grasses, trees, and waters, are part of our lives. They are a collective to be collaborated with, not brought into submission. That’s been our approach to how we raise our food, be it squash or chicken, apples or pigs. #IntegrityMatters.
Farming with the season is part of that integrity. As we transition from summer to fall, we move out of chicken season and into pig season. Chicken is a “cooling meat.” It’s light and doesn’t tax a digestive system that is getting plenty of nourishment from the abundent veggies of summer. Grass fed poultry is full of the nutrients of grass and contain a balance of Omega-3’s and 6’s as well as lots of vitamins A and E. They aren’t so high in the vitamins so plentiful in the rich, dark veggies summer provides us. As the grasses get frosted and the natural grains ripen, the grazing animals come ready for harvest. The nutrition in the grasses goes to the roots, the animals harvest the grains, and the cold drives the animals’ fat into the muscles in preparation for winter. The dry grasses help to dry out the fat, making it more storable and dense, Rrich with the stored nutrients of summer. Fall and early winter are the time for harvesting these animals. Historically, the flies were gone and the pastures done for the season at animal harvest time. The crisp chill of fall would cool the carcasses of the pigs and cows so they could be processed. This would be winter meat. The rich red meat would help provide the iron and other vitamins and minerals lacking in the veggies of winter. The seasons worked together and the farmer collaborated to make the most of what nature offered.
Now is the time to get your whole or half hog spoken for. We are planning for our fall harvest as we look at the frost on the fields in the mornings and break out the sweatshirts and vests in the mornings and evenings. We don’t have to worry about flies so much thanks to the wonders of refrigeration and fly spray, but it’s time to start thinking of hog harvest.
The Homestead Hog Harvest class is coming up in November. There is still room for you! This is a great weekend to experience the magic that happens when hogs are harvested with integrity and care–and you can take that skill set home with you! From field to freezer, you can harvest a hog, or at least have the experience of doing it. PLUS, you get to take some fabulous Mangalitsa pork home with you.
Integrity matters. Know your farmer. Anyone can farm!
Heritage breed Mangalitsa weaner and feeder pig
Jim and Frank putting chicks in crates to move them.
Rachel caring for a Mangalitsa weaner piglet.
Grass fed Wagyu beef roast
Integrity tastes good!
Few things taste as good as being able to trust your farmer.
Check out these articles for more farm philosophy: