Chicken Thoughts

Red Ranger

Recently I have been going back and forth on raising chickens on rented land. I mean... Chickens are delicious and fresh eggs are amazing... so why have I been going back and forth on them?

The reasons are simple actually 1) I don't have a place to butcher, or a chicken plucker to clean the meat birds 2) I need to figure out a shelter for the egg layers.

If I owned my own farm there would be more options to solve some of these problems. As it is, I see some hurdles I would need to overcome.

But really... How many things can come up that I can't find a solution to? I mean, Is it possible I can butcher on the farm I'm renting from? Could I butcher at my house (Give the neighborhood kids a lesson on where their food comes from)? Take it to a processor (I'd rather not)? To every problem there is a solution.

Barred Rock

As for the shelter situation... There is a lot I can accomplish with 2x2's and some chicken wire. I can throw some wheels on the heavy side and a rope or something to pull on the other side. I think I can actually make something work.

I do have a confession though... I have never eaten farm fresh chicken...

Top Five Pigs

Our current farming system holds up confinement pigs as a norm and something to be set as a standard across the world. These animals are bred for only two qualities; growth rate and litter size. The living conditions are so poor, pharmaceuticals are required to keep the animals alive.

I have something completely different in mind when I say "I want to raise pigs". I believe God created pigs to be pigs. They are meant to roam pastures and forests; eating acorns, grubs, berries, grasses and roots. They'll live in an element where there is no need for antibiotics and large houses.

Here are my top five choices. For what I would love to raise/breed, in no particular order

All of these breeds thrive outdoors and all of them taste amazing. These are all heritage breeds, which means they are a rare high quality pigs you will not find in your local grocery store. The three most important qualities for them to have are taste, temperament and foraging abilities. I have listed their conservation status next to their name. In raising these breeds we can use the highest quality piglets to grow our own breeding stock or sell to other breeders to continue promoting the heritage breed, thus aiding the endangerment status. 

Berkshire (critical)

Country of origin: England

Meat: Juicy, flavorful and tender. Pink hues with heavy marbling. Its higher fat content allow it to cook nicely with high heat. 

Red Wattle (critical)

Country of origin: USA

Meat: The culinary world fell in love with the quality of this pig. Winning taste test after taste test the Red wattle is highly sought after because of its juicy, well marbled and lean meat. I cannot wait to give this pork a try.

Size: typically 600-800 pounds but can reach 1500 pounds. (butcher weight typically 250lbs)

Tamworth (threatened)

Country of origin:United Kingdom

Meat: Traditionally known as the bacon pig (need I say more?)

Size: About 440lbs - 820lbs Fully Grown. (butcher weight typically 250lbs)

Large black (critical)

Country of origin: Great Britain

Meat: Lean and flavorful, this meat will be cooked best on a lower heat setting.

Size: Fully grown from 660-800lbs. (butcher weight typically 250lbs)

Hereford (watch)

Country of origin:USA

Meat: Flavorful and light on fat. 

Size: 600-800lbs (butcher weight typically 250lbs)

No matter which one I decide to go with when I start breeding pigs, any of them will be sure to have tasty meat, good temperaments and good foraging abilities.

If I had to pick one right now it would have to be the Red Wattles because it has the most impressive reviews.

I think we are going to wait a few years before we start breeding, in the mean time my plans are to buy piglets that have just been weaned from their mothers from other local farmers who would currently have these types of breeds available.

Step 1:1

Large tasks need to be broken down into steps. My first step is to find some affordable land close to where I live. With this task being so large I need "baby steps" in order to keep from being overwhelmed.

Baby step #1:

     Put together a flyer I can post in strategic locations around town.

What I'm hoping to accomplish by this is to find a local farmer who has some land he's not using. I'm not looking for the cleanest pastures, heck, I don't even need pastures... I would be happy with a wooded lot to allow the pigs to go crazy on acorns and other nuts. As a benefit to the farmer I rent from, he will have a cleaner wooded lot. I don't require electricity as I plan to use a battery powered fence charger. It would sure be nice to have access to water, but again it wont be necessary. I have found large containers on Craigslist for a reasonable price. I am even flexible on the size of lot. I figure anything between 5 an 10 acres will give me a good start.

My end goal is to find a workable piece of land at the best possible price. Any comments/suggestions are appreciated.

An Intentional 2013

There is an opportunity at the beginning of every year for setting goals and looking forward to what this next year will bring. 

For me, this year's goals are simple- find some land to rent and start raising pigs. 

The goals are simple and not very well defined but I assure you, there are many details that are not being overlooked. 

When you start something new there is always fear of the unknown. I personally fear both failure and success. As well as the lack of knowledge that I currently don't know I don't have. This year is primarily about acquiring the knowledge necessary to avoid complete and utter failure on a large scale. So, to kick off the new year, this is my goal. 

Here's to achieving it.

Correspondence Regarding Land

Yesterday I sent an email to the University of Minnesota small farms extension seeking advice on how to get my hands on some land. To my delight I got a response today with some great ideas. Unfortunately is was coupled with news that might become a huge obstacle.

My Email:

Hello,

I am planning to start a grass based farming operation next Spring. My desire is to start small and grow as my customer base grows. My question is: Where do I begin looking for land to lease? I would like it to be within 15 minutes of where I live (Forest Lake, MN).  I would like the size to be 20+ acres.

Thank you for your help,
Lucas Johnson
Facebook.com/wittenburgfarms
http://wittenburgfarms.blogspot.com/

Their response:

Hi Lucas,
I would write up a simple ad very similar to what you have written here and place it in your local paper or shopper.
You could also put up a flyer 8x10 sheet of paper.

"Wanted to Lease, 20 acres or more of Good Pasture land for grass fed beef operation.
with or without water source within 10 miles of Forest Lake, MN
I will maintain or build fences
call Lucas Johnson and number"

put your name and phone number horizontal across the bottom of the page so they can rip off the name and number.

Put the flyer at the FSA, NRCS office, church, grocery store, feed store and gas station.
Put one at the county Extension office and ask if 4-H has a facebook page and if the 4-H agent would be willing to post on
facebook.  You may also want to put up a flyer at the Senior Center.

Be prepared to pay $15.00 per Animal Unit (1000 pounds) one cow calf, per month.
I am attaching a link to a sample pasture lease.
http://www.mwps.org/stores/mwps/files/NCFMEC03A_D9E5FDD476870.pdf

If you have further questions  or need additional resources please contact us again on the Farm Information Line.

Best regards,


My thoughts on their response:
Overall this is a good follow up to my email. I now have a plan of attack to pursue a land lease. I guess it makes sense to do things a little more traditional with the kind of work I'm wanting to do. I would definitely change the advert to say something along the lines of

Wanting to lease 10 acres or more of pasture land to raise heritage pigs and chickens.
Need access to water and prefer to have electricity within 15 Miles of Forest Lake.
I will build or maintain fences. 

Something along those lines would work.

The part that bothered me was the last paragraph. "Be prepared to pay $15 per AU per month".
If I figure that right, it would be about $300 per month. With what we are doing, that really makes it difficult to pull in a profit. Paying $3600 for leased land + purchase of animals + feed + fencing & equipment, I'm finding it a little difficult to breaking even, let alone bring in even a small profit. 

I guess the only thing I can do is find a better deal and keep the option open to purchase land as opposed to leasing.

Leaders are Readers

A few years ago I heard the saying "Leaders are Readers" and it has definitely stuck with me. Ever since then I have been trying to read as much as I possibly can on topics I really care about. Faith, family and farming are the most read topics by far, I can't seem to get enough of them.

I just returned Come Back Farms to the Library. This book has given me so much practical wisdom for pasture based farming. From cows to pigs, I found so much encouragement and inspiration in this book.  

Today I placed an order for the book, Humility by C. J. Mahaney. This book was highly recommended by some very influential people in my life. I'm hoping that through it I am able to see myself more rightly and see Jesus Christ more clearly. 

My next farming book is going to be Pigs on Pasture by Scott Kelland. Since I want to start our farm with pigs, I believe this book is where I need to begin. Reading through the index, I found a lot of topics that I need to research. Marketing, pig management and planning are some of the things I really want to learn about before I begin our farm adventure. 

There are dozens of books I want to thumb through, however, time is short and I'm not exactly a fast reader. I'm sure I'll keep posting snippets from the books I look though and some of the wisdom I acquire.

Pastures

Recently I have been reading the book "Comeback Farms" by Greg Judy. There is a lot of fascinating information in this book about rejuvenating pastures that have been neglected and abused for decades. The whole concept is to use high density grazing, increase the stocking rate (of cattle) per paddock and decreasing the size of the paddock itself. According to Greg, he is stocking about 300,000-500,000lbs/acre and only hitting the same paddock twice a year. By doing this you are looking for an end goal of growing more forages with healthier soil. You get this result by upping your stocking rate so that your cattle drop their excrement more evenly on the ground, because of the high stocking rate the manure is pressed into the ground more throughly, giving the ground the natural nutrients it need to be self sustaining. Healthy pastures soak up more water in the rainy season and it will be less effected by drought conditions in the dry season. There is just so much to take in from this book I think I will need to buy it for my farming library.

Needless to say, after reading this I am even more excited to get a piece of land to start growing our farm.