The Beginning Farmer

The above phrase is one that I come across quite frequently as I read and research about farming in an unconventional way. Some people talk about it as if it is a movement sweeping across the nation (I’m not sure I want to be a part of a movement because movements always come and go), some people are calling it a way of life (a way of life is a good thing … but I would rather just call my way of life a Biblical worldview with Christ above all and through all and in all), and The Deliberate Agrarian Blogger says, “it’s all about repentance and redemption” (those are two words I can get along with). So, what is “Christian Agrarianism”?

The reason I’m thinking about it today is because I ran across the blog post linked above and found it very interesting. I do have a hard time trying to attach the word “Christian” to something in order to make it more holy. Things like Christian author, Christian band, and Christian artist make me kind of wary. It is almost like if we place “Christian” in front of the occupation or thing then we will automatically make it more appealing to other Christians. I believe that as a follower of Christ, He should influence everything I do … not just the “Christian” things. So, if that is the case, then Christ will influence my farming. But, does that mean that I need to label myself as a “Christian Agrarian” and sell at a “Christian Market” only to “Christians”? No, no, and no. And I’m pretty sure that isn’t even what the Christian Agrarians are saying, but I do see it as a possible outcome, just like we now have our own publishing houses, music labels, clothing lines, and so much more.

I thought one quote from the blog post was possibly a good description of Christian Agrarianism,

“God is clearly moving in the hearts of many of His people in this day. He is leading them away from the bondage of a centralized, industrialized, materialistic, soul-deadening, God-hating, earth-destroying world system. He is leading them back to the land, back to simplicity of life and faith in Him, back to something that was almost lost in the shuffle of the industrial era.”

If this idea of Christian Agrarianism interests you …. or even angers you …. allow me to breakdown this quote for a moment and give a few thoughts.

“God is clearly moving in the hearts of many of His people in this day.” Okay, that is just obvious. God does work in the hearts of people to conform them more to His likeness through repentance and redemption. I’m down with that statement!

“He is leading them away from the bondage of a centralized, industrialized, materialistic, soul-deadening, God-hating, earth destroying world system.” Wow, that is a loaded sentence! Let me just speak specifically to myself here, because I think that is a rather large generalization, and I don’t know how complete it is. I believe God is always drawing me away from the bondage of anything. He desires me to be away from the bondage of the world – period. He did not create me for this world, He created me for eternal life with Him, so of course He desires me to be apart from bondage. But, on a more practical note I don’t know if I want to be part of a people movement at all. I do want to get away from a materialistic world, and I wouldn’t mind it at all if our world was de-centralized. Does that make me a Christian Agrarian? I’m not really sure!

“He is leading them back to the land, back to simplicity of life and faith in Him, back to something that was almost lost in the shuffle of the industrial era.” Obviously God isn’t leading everyone back to the land … there were plenty of cities in Biblical times, but He may be leading certain people back to a connection with His creation and His people when it comes to agriculture. There are things that were almost lost in the industrial era, but that doesn’t mean that it is a completely bad thing. I can see God’s hand working in the industrial revolution, and I can also see people messing up God’s creation during the same time … so, what does that mean for me? Basically, I am down with simplicity in life because that allows me to focus more on my God and my family. I believe for me that means a move to the country, but not for everyone.

So, what is my final verdict? Right now I am in full-time ministry because I believe that is where God has called me and placed me. I would like to be able to live a farming life because I believe that God has given me a passion and drive for that, but I am going to work inside of His will and timing. I don’t really want to take on a label though. I would like to be a farmer, doing things the way I feel passionate about doing them, and doing everything from a the standpoint of Christ preeminent in all things. Whether I am moving chickens, working cattle, growing crops, being a leader in my church, or playing ball with my family. It isn’t about placing the word “Christian” in front of what I do, it is about placing Christ at the center of my life and doing things well for His glory.

The question running through my mind lately is this … Pigs or Sheep? What should the next addition be to Stoneyfield Farm. Even though we are not on the farm yet and have no definitive plans of when that will happen (if ever), I would like to see us, and the us in this case means myself and my dad, take steps in the direction that I would eventually like to end up. Maybe it just means I help with the research, marketing, and ideas or maybe it means I’m there working on the farm everyday. Either way, I’m beginning to think about what to add to the farm, if anything, in the spring.

On one hand, we have talked quite a few times about bringing some sheep to the place. Either ewes or wool wethers or market lambs. We don’t really have a clue as to what we would do when it comes to the sheep. In fact, between the two of us our knowledge of sheep is practically nil. The one thing we have going for us is that my uncle (dad’s brother) has quite a bit of experience with sheep so there would be some help close by. One of the positives of sheep is their browsing ability and the help they would give in cleaning up old fence rows that criss-cross the property. We would like to clean out a lot of these areas that are over grown in order to replace fence or put up more effective fencing. In this case, we would be using the sheep as a labor force. The other reason we are considering sheep is because they are a great animal to follow cattle on pastures because they are a dead end host for the parasites (and cattle the same for sheep). It would be nice to have this tool in our arsenal. We just need to continue to research this idea. We are planning on going to a few sales in the area to see what the market is like right now, and I would like to find some cattle people who are also raising sheep, or vice versa.

Pigs … can’t live with them, can’t live without them! Pigs are kind of a sore subject in my family. In the late 80’s, when the hog market was high, we had a lot of pigs on the Book family farms, and they all smelled really bad. Once the market dropped we got out, but it was never a really enjoyable thing having that hog lot on the place. Obviously we would be doing things quite a bit differently this time, but the stigma still exists. On the plus side, we have personal experience with raising hogs from farrow to finish. Of course, this knowledge is in the more conventional setting, but it still would apply. I like the idea of adding pigs because there are some areas that I would like to reclaim to pasture or savannah as I have previously mentioned, and because I really like to eat pork. I figure if I’m going to raise food I better be passionate about eating that food also! Again, there is still much research to be done, but maybe we would feel a bit more comfortable going into this animal than any other … if we can get past the stigma!

If you are interested in reading some more about pigs, pasture, and the combination of those two things, I encourage you to check out this THREAD over on the Homesteading Today forums. I had initially asked about different heritage breeds that people were using in their pasture situations, but it also brought up a lot of good thoughts on pastured pigs and breed selection.

So, Pigs or Sheep … Do you have an input?

I am slowly making my way through my copy of “The Contrary Farmer” by Gene Logsdon, but with all my other new reading material (Stockman Grass Farmer) it takes more time to make it to the end of a chapter. The other day I finished up chapter three of the book. This chapter was titled “The Garden is the Proving Ground for the Farm”, and I really see it as a great philosophical chapter. Actually, I see most of Mr. Logsdon’s writings as great things to help me wrap my mind around the whys and reasons behind farming the way we are starting to and the way we are wanting to in the future. Sure, there are some practical pointers sprinkled throughout every single chapter, but it also speaks to the philosophy and reason behind those practical ideas.

I won’t go into a lot of detail nor relate a lot of stories or antidotes from the chapter for you, but I will tell you that this section of the book made me think a lot about what I need to be doing, thinking, researching, and learning as I’m at a point in my life where I’m not on “the farm”, but I’m trying to work towards “the farm”. Mr. Logsdon writes about the impact of the backyard garden on the working farm of today. How the methods used by today’s gardeners can become the large scale workings of tomorrow’s farmers.

As I read this chapter, I kept coming back to a couple of ideas. There is a particular phrase that kind of sums up my thoughts on farming and part of my Christian world view in general. I believe that you have enough time (or money, or passion, or whatever) for whatever you want to have enough for. Meaning, if you want to farm then you will make time to get you closer to that goal instead of going to a ball game, sitting in front of the T.V., buying the latest gadget, or whatever it may be that will keep you from that goal. The second thing that kept popping into my mind in this chapter is that quote from my uncle that I have repeated here on the blog several times. “Reading is good, doing is better!” To me that statement basically says that sometimes you need to make things happen and learn from your experiences.

In light of those two thoughts, we have begun a few things over the past six or seven months to take us on baby steps to our farming. First of all, we decided to take our garden up a notch this year. It didn’t mean that we expanded the size of what we were doing, it just meant that we decided to try and do things more effectively. Along those lines my wife researched companion plants that would help keep pests away and nourish the soil for one another. We also started collecting coffee grounds from a local coffee shop and composting our household scraps in order to increase the good organic matter in our soil, and we began raking up our grass clippings to mulch around the plants in the garden to keep moisture in and weeds away. Those steps seemed to improve things a bit over previous years and gave us lots of new ideas to try next year.

Secondly, we decided to throw caution to the wind and build a chicken tractor for the backyard. We have been blessed with a decent sized yard so we built a 8 ft. x 5 ft. or so pen that we move around the yard each day. At the most this past summer, we have had six older laying hens in it, and we have received as many as 35 eggs each week. This has been a great learning and doing experience on so many levels. We have been able to experiment with three different types of feed (the mixed feed that my uncle used was the best hands down), to see just how much room these birds need and how much the grass supplements their feed, and we saw how much the birds thatched and fertilized our lawn (just think if had been our pasture!). I have loved having these hens over the summer and have learned so much. In fact, I’m going to be building a winter spot for them and putting in some light to see if we can keep them laying at some level over the winter. Next spring we plan on getting some younger birds to experiment with and sending these off to someone’s stew pot.

The final thing we have done this year is actually a rather large step. We decided that we wanted to get a couple Dexters to experiment with and learn about grass-finishing beef and then preparing grass-finished beef for the table. So, after much … much … much research, we decided to go with purebred Dexters. We went out and got ourselves a bred heifer and a steer to finish for next fall. These animals were going to end up living at my dad’s farm where grass was abundant. Well, two turned into six … and lo and behold six turned into thirteen. Now we have nine cow/heifers and four bull/steer calves. The reason this research/experience developed so quickly is because we believe there is a market for Dexters right now in our area of the Midwest (either as beef or breeding stock) and because land on the farm just came out of CRP opening up much more grazing land. It is practically as easy to take care of thirteen as it is two … you just need bigger fences, more hay for the winter, and a few other things. We decided we had all of those things and went ahead with the beginnings of the Stoneyfield Dexter herd. From this we have learned and practiced so many practical things dealing with fencing, grazing, pasture management, forages, cattle health, and so much more. Plus, I have now roped the rest of the family into this whole dream of ours!

The point being is that we are taking these “garden experiences” and trying to learn and grow from them so that we can work at a larger level. We don’t know when or where God will take us, but we know that we have a passion for His people, His creation, and bring both of those together in the beauty and wonder of all that God is.

So yeah, it was a good chapter and really made me think!

I absolutely love to read. I have enjoyed reading my entire life, and not a day goes by without me reading. I usually am working my way through a couple books and magazines at the same time and take a chance to read whenever I need a break. But, as much as I love to read about becoming a farmer it was so great today to actually get down to the farm and do something!

Yesterday we went down to do some much needed work. With the expansion of our herd, our pasture that was wonderful for a heifer and a steer was not nearly enough for a herd of thirteen strong. We had kept them in the smaller lot and fed them hay since we brought the new ones home because my family was going to be gone and the Amish neighbors were going to be doing the chores. We just wanted it to be easier for them to water them and such and not have to worry about them getting out. But, today was the day to go out and expand the pasture. I would say that we encompassed about seven or eight acres of land to go along with the one and a half of the other lot. They are connected with a lane right now, but I plan on closing them out of the lot and building a water wagon so that they can just stay in the new pasture. There is actually room for the pasture to expand out there so hopefully they can winter in that area. Also, I think it is a good place for them to calve because there are some trees that they can get into to get out of the weather, and it is one of the more dry areas of the farm.

Our fence is just a single wire electric fence with rebar posts every ten paces or so and t-posts at the corners and on top of hills. There is a five-strand barbed wire fence on one side and a woven wire with one barbed wire at the top on the other side. I’m pretty confident this single wire will keep them in (it’s at Dexter nose height), but if they do decide to get out, there is a lot of room for them to roam before they hit our boundary fences. Plus, where they are, the grass is literally greener on the inside of the fence because we let that grow since we knew we would be fencing them in there and had mowed the rest. It goes up quick and seems to be effective!

All in all, it was a beautiful fall day to work and my only complaint was that we didn’t have enough time. With the farm over an hour away and a job that does require my work here, I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked. I had hoped to also build a pen to wean off one of the bull calves (soon to be steer) and the black heifer that came from Illinois. It wasn’t going to be my ideal weaning set-up, but I don’t want those calves on their mother all winter long so I will have to make do with what we can. The bonus of having them weaned is that the family can spend more time with them and get the heifer calf used to being handled. I plan on turning her out with the bull (that doesn’t live here yet) next summer for a spring ’09 calf.

One bonus from today is that I was able to give my dad a list of materials I need to build our chicken shed for them to winter in. We thought we would try and keep our chickens over the winter in our backyard, but we need to build a permanent structure for them to keep them somewhat warm and put a lamp in so they will lay a few eggs hopefully. He is making his way through on Saturday so I should be able to get started on that next week.

I put up a couple pictures with the post today. The first picture is of our little dun bull calf and the new black heifer (no name yet). For a while I was thinking of letting the little boy develop a little since he was looking sort of beefy, but now I’m thinking he might be short-legged which can be a bad thing in Dexter bulls. I may have him tested just to find out if he carries the unwanted gene found in some short-legged bulls. The second picture includes the two mentioned already and a couple candidates for freezer camp in the future!

Like I said … it was great to actually be doing yesterday!

I would like to take this time to take a break from my regularly scheduled blogging. Most of the time I post about recent articles, books, or periodicals that I am reading dealing with pastoral farming (grassfed animals, sustainable agriculture, etc.). From time to time I also post happenings from our beginning farm … things like trips to work with the cattle, the happenings of our backyard chickens, or contemplations on alternative farming in general. But, today I would like to take a break from all of that and talk about good ‘ol commodity farming!

Yesterday my family (wife, son, and daughter) and I were all invited to join a friend from church for a few rounds in his diesel guzzling, corn acres eating, commodity crop combine. It was a John Deere if you are scoring at home. We made three rounds through his field averaging about 160 bushels or so per acre with most of the corn coming in around 16% moisture (I know that because of the little computer screen). My little boy (3 1/2 years old) absolutely loved every minute of it … especially when he got the opportunity to drive.

And, I have to admit that I loved it also. I know that on one level it is a flawed system. I know that I desire to become a full-time farmer and there would be no way for me to play the rules of the commodity farming game unless a bunch of money dropped in my lap. But, there is just something completely rural Iowan about riding in a combine on a crisp fall day with you son and watching the rows of tall corn disappear before you. There is just something comforting to my soul watching the grain pour out of the combine auger and dump into the wagon only to make it’s way to an auger and up into a brand new shiny bin. I love the sound of the tractor, the smell of the crop being harvested, the enjoyment of watching a farmer bring in his harvest at the end of a season, and the crisp beauty in the air. There is just something about it…

But, even though I love all of that I couldn’t help but think how this farmers life would be different if he didn’t live the commodity farming lifestyle. Sure he has some great new equipment. Farms about 400 acres of row crop land. Bales large round bales and runs a 100 head cow/calf herd. But, he as to do that in between shifts at the police department where he is a full-time officer. What if he was grazing all of those acres and cutting hay and silage instead? What if he was using a management intensive grazing program for his cattle? What if he only had those two old Oliver 1655 tractors instead of the new green machines (or maybe just the new 4wd John Deere with the loader)? Would he have to be holding down a town job just so he could farm?

Thanks for indulging me for a day. I promise that tomorrow I will jump off the commodity farming wagon and post cows eating grass or pigs rooting up small trees in a pasture or sheep following after cows … you know, something unconventional!

If you keep with my blog regularly you will know that I recently subscribed to “The Stockman Grass Farmer magazine. While I haven’t received my first current issue, one of the bonuses of signing up when I did was that I could get two back issues. So, I’m working my way through those right now. The great thing about the articles in these things is that they are pretty much timeless.

On the cover of the February 2005 addition is an article about a farm in Maine (yep, that’s right I said MAINE) that provides grassfed beef year around. This is the type of article that really catches the eye of a kid from Iowa that grew up thinking you needed to feed corn during the winter months if you had a chance of sending an animal to slaughter while snow was on the ground. But, Roger and Linda Fortin of Little Alaska Farm are sending four finished beeves to a processor each week from their snowy southeastern Maine farm. According to the article, they used to raise grainfed natural beef but decided to go all grassfed so they could continue to get the premium for their beef that was slowly slipping away in the “natural” market.

Mr. and Mrs. Fortin pasture their animals from May until mid-October and then feed grass silage over the winter months. Their pastures are a mix of Orchardgrass, Timothy, and white clover that comes up on its own. I thought it was funny that the article mentions that chicken manure is their main fertilizer … hmmm, why not just raise pastured poultry and not buy in the fertilizer! Anyways, most of their 100 cow herd is Red Devon, but they do buy in yearlings from neighbors that use their Red Devon bulls. They selected this breed because of its easy marbling on grass (still gotta conform to the standards of the beef grading industry).

They sell their wholesale beeves to Hardwick Beef (a grassfed beef distributer) when they are between 20 and 28 months old and have a carcass weight between 600 and 650 pounds. They get $1.75 per pound from Hardwick Beef, and all their carcasses need to grade at high Select to low Choice. In order to get the needed daily weight gain to produce the marbled beef, they have to supplement their wilted grass silage with 6 pounds of citrus pulp (available in their area because of the dairy operations) per head per day.

The cool thing about the Fortins is that they also have an on farm store that sells their beef by the cut along with their pastured chicken eggs and pastured pork (I really need to get some pigs!). They are doing all of this on 220 acres that they own and 120 acres that they rent, so it is not like it is a huge operation. Another interesting fact about their article is that their town is only 900 people strong so they really rely on the tourists coming from Portland, ME 60 miles away to bring them business. This is something I have often thought about if we ended up near my dad’s farm because there is a growing tourist opportunity there.

I gleaned a couple key things from this article. Number one, I love the fact that they are trying to get away from their wholesaling by creating their on farm store and expanding the product available there … gotta love the pastured pork and chickens (although I think they could easily add meat birds and then buy less poultry manure for fertilizer). Number two, I was surprised at how long they take to finish their beef. I assume that is because they are grassfed year around and because they finish all year long, but it made me wonder if I’m off on wanting to finish my Dexters between 16 and 22 months. I’ll just have to investigate a little more. Finally, I just love the way they have transitioned from commodity based system to a farm that goes full circle with calves being born on the farm and sold in the store. That is a place that I would really like to end up. I wonder if I could start out that way?

Last week I received my copy of fuck sundazed710The Contrary Farmer by Gene Logsdon in the mail. I have already read All Flesh is Grass, which he also wrote so I was looking forward to starting this book. It came highly recommended by everyone that has taken the time to read it so I couldn’t wait to see what nuggets of wisdom it contained.

Mr. Logsdon is probably one of the better farm “writers” out there these days. He writes in a style that is very enjoyable and entertaining. Even if he didn’t tell you it would be evident that he is a writer first and a farmer second. I contrast that with Joel Salatin, who seems to be a farmer first and a writer second. Mr. Salatin writes great and very informational books, but they don’t have the “story telling” in them that All Flesh is Grass and The Contrary Farmer have.

In the first two chapters of The Contrary Farmer, Mr. Logsdon deals with work and pastoral economics. A quote from the first chapter that seems to sum it up the best is this:

“Nevertheless, there is much work associated with even a small cottage farm like our thirty-two acres. Making that work enjoyable is a kind of calling, I think. Not everyone is cut out for it, although I am sure that there are thousands of people going through life dissatisfied (I was one of them for a while) because they do not know that they were born to be nurturers – farmers. Sometimes, as a compromise, they become gardeners, and that’s okay too. “

In general, I would say that in the first chapter Mr. Logsdon is writing about the romantic side of farm work. He writes about the enjoyment of farm work, the purity of the culture in the farming country, and beauty and depth of creation (although I’m not sure he believes in the Creator). I can see from this chapter why so many people said that they read the book once a year when the just need to refocus their minds and remind themselves why they are farming.

The second chapter of the book deals with “Pastoral Economics”, which is something I haven’t heard much about. Mr. Logsdon has a great quote from the 1940’s by a guy from England named Lord Northbourne. Here it is,

Mechanical efficiency is all very well — it is good, but life can be sacrificed to it. Mechanical efficiency is the deal of materialism, but unless it is subservient to and disciplined by the spirit, it can take charge and destroy the spirit. In life, though not in mechanics, the things of the spirit are more real than material things. They include religion, poetry, and all the arts. They are the mainsprings of that culture which can make life worth while. Farming is concerned primarily with life, so if ever in farming the material aspect conflicts with the spiritual or cultural, the latter must prevail, or that which matters most in life will be lost … Farming must be on the side of religion, poetry, and the arts rather than ont he side of business, if ever the two sides conflict.

Farming is an art … Farming is poetry … and while I don’t believe farming is a religion, I know that it is all about the beauty and wonder of the Creator our God. I do believe that if you separate farming from those things we all miss out. The farmers miss out and the consumers miss out because we are losing all that is important. The health of our food, the connection to our food, the beauty of our lands, and so much more are lost if all we are concerned about is the mechanical world.

Mr. Logsdon seems to be most attracted to farms like his. A small “cottage farm”, as he calls it, where the main income isn’t derived from the farm but rather from another on farm business. You know, maybe a writer who is also a farmer, or a welder who is also a farmer, or a mechanic who is also a farmer. He seems to believe these types of cottage farms are really the essence of pastoral economics. And, let me tell you … if I could write I would be all about it! He writes about needing to look at our profits differently. For example, if he breaks even on his wool and lambs he still profits because they maintained his grass. Or, if he puts some beef in the freezer he profits because he doesn’t have to purchase it. Plus, selling directly to the consumer (maybe a wool spinner in his case) brings him double the profit. He even talks quite a bit about the Amish in this chapter and the success they have had with pastoral economics (although I would think they are getting away from that in our area).

There was one quote near the end of the chapter that I didn’t particularly like. Mr. Logsdon said, “Most people drawn to farming do not like selling and so are not good at it. Much better to connect with someone who understands and like selling and let him or her make some money too.” I get what he is saying, but I believe that it isn’t entirely true. And, just like you aren’t born an entrepreneur but you can become one, I don’t believe that you are born a salesman … but you can become one. I think the farmer being the salesman is the connection that is missing. I do understand his principle and believe that it is true to a point, but I believe the farmer needs to be making those great connections with the customers. Then everyone wins.

So, what do you think of my take on the first couple of chapters? If you have read the book, do you think I missed the point? Let me know what you think!

Check out this POST from a couple days ago on the Homesteading Today site. It relates to the Small Farm conference in Columbia, Mo. I had really wanted to attend this event, but because of a youth conference, I was in a hotel with a ton of teenagers-not farmers! The original said that it was a wonderful conference, but the follow-up posts brought up a pretty cool topic that I haven’t heard very much about … Ultra High Stock Density Grazing!

There were two main speakers there talking about grazing. One was Jim Gerrish (of Management Intensive Grazing fame) and the other was Greg Judy (someone that I don’t know much about now, but I’m sure I’ll learn more). From reading the posts, it sounds like Mr. Gerrish talked a lot about year-round grazing and using stock-piled tall fescue as a winter forage (gotta find out more, because we have a lot stock-piled now) because of it’s cold season nutritional value … plus they say it can support between 2,000 and 8,000 pounds per acre when managed with rotational grazing. That means we are talking about grazing somewhere between 3 and 10 or so Dexters! Hmm… I think that would make me consider swapping out the corn for grazing.

But, 2,000 to 8,000 pounds per acre of winter grazing is nothing compared to what Mr. Judy does. He practices Ultra High Stock Density Grazing and grazes around 500,000 pounds of beef per acre! Okay, I don’t know if I can even imagine that, but he is not the only one doing it so it must be working! If this is possible (and I’m sure it takes a ton of inputs) I don’t see why more people aren’t doing it … well, I guess I know why they aren’t … but it is pretty cool. Of course, if you have density this high you are going to be moving them more than once a day.

This is pretty cool stuff and speaks to the possibilities of what we could do without that 70% of our corn crop that is used to feed cattle. It should be noted that according to the poster, Mr. Gerrish is running between 50,000 and 100,000 pounds of beef per acre on his farm. One of the posters said they asked Mr. Gerrish if he was opposed to Ultra High Stock Density Grazing. He said that he wasn’t opposed to it, he was just lazy. Mr. Gerrish only moves his cattle once a day at the most so there is a bit less work involved, but he still gets very high yields from his pastures.

I would be interested in reading more about this if anyone has comments, link suggestions, or knows of books relating to the topic!

First of all, consider this a bonus post! I’m going to be out of town at a youth event on Saturday so I decided to make a bonus post today.

I read an article this morning from one of my back issues of The Stockman Grass Farmer. I can’t remember the title of the article off the top of my head and it isn’t close by, but it was an article about tree crops and trees as a forage producing crop for pastured livestock. It talked about nuts for hogs, cattle eating some leaves, and things like that. Also, it talked about creating a savannah like polyculture on your farm by having trees spread throughout your pasture. When you think of your timber as an asset to the farm, you find that it can be used for logging, providing forage, giving shade and wind protection, heat, and so much more.

On our farm we have quite a bit of forest land, but it has a very overgrown forest floor. We have debated different methods of clearing out the woods and making them work for the farm instead of just looking nice! That article really got me thinking about the possibilities. The possibilities of doing some selective harvesting for lumber, adding pigs to open up areas, and letting the Dexters reach the edges to munch on the shrubs and find protection from the wind. Also, there are areas that have been overtaken by cedar trees that we could work back into savannah land.

Well, all that thinking brought be back to the pigs. Pigs are something I would really like to add, but I have to get my dad totally on board with them because they require supplemental feed. We are not new to pigs, in fact we have had pigs off and on throughout the years but always in a conventional setting. With the conventional setting the pigs were never very popular on our place! But, what if we did them unconventionally and managed our woodlands all at the same time? It is an interesting thought, and something that I have been reading a lot lately.

Below are a ton of links that I have read recently. Most of them come from Walter Jeffries of Sugar Mountain Farm. Make sure you bookmark his blog as it is a treasure trove of information!

Feeder Pigs on a Wood Lot – Homesteading Today

Pasture Pigs and Boars – Homesteading Today

Pastured Pigs – Homesteading Today

Boars With Piglets – Sugar Mountain Farm Blog

Keeping a Pig for Meat – Sugar Mountain Farm Blog

What is a Half Pig Share – Sugar Mountain Farm Blog

How to Weigh a Pig With a String – Sugar Mountain Farm Blog

More Fencing – Sugar Mountain Farm Blog

To Cut or Not – Sugar Mountain Farm Blog

How Much Land Per Pig – Sugar Mountain Farm Blog

If you are interested in pigs I strongly suggest you check out these links, and then bookmark the Sugar Mountain Farm Blog. The picture above is some of their pigs on pasture … it seems like he is doing some wonderful farming, and I would like to take a page from his play book.