Pig Power

Makin' Pasture

When we bought our property in May 2011, it had never been farmed. Most of the thirty acres contained smaller trees and thorny brush. Without the proper equipment to work with, we had no idea how to begin improving it for pastures. 

Farmer hubby burning a few small branches to finish cleanup of this pen.

Then it came to us. Utilizing nature's best foragers..pigs. By no means were pigs new to us. Farmer hubby had grown up showing them in his local county fair and working on pig farms as a teenager and young adult. Together we raised them on our farm in Michigan as well. But this time, we wanted to do it differently. 

One of the woven wire pens the pigs have cleared. 

After researching which breed of pig would be best for us, we decided on the Tamworths. We based this on several traits including the most aggressive foraging abilities, hardiness, tameness, conservation needs and lean meat qualities. In December 2011, we brought home our first Tam gilt piglets.

This was another area we pastured them in. Ready for a water line. 

To this day we have not been dissapointed. As you can see from the photos, they have had a major contribution in clearing the thorny bush out of our fields. We continue cleaning up and seeding these areas. 

All in a day's work