This week is one of the most anticipated weeks for me of the summer and since we started this endeavor in May.
First, we take our largest hog, "Ham" to the butcher, Monday evening, along with a hog we will be roasting on Saturday. (I'll come back to that)
Ham is roughly 300lbs and has been well, a ham. He loves having his belly rubbed, ears rubbed and being talked to as if he were a dog, if you tell him to move he grunts, if you make him move he growls, but, he's sweet enough that my 3 year old can hand feed him, and get into the pen with him. We don't get attached to the hogs and really only name them, so that if our clients would like to come to the farm, they can see from pictures and in person that we are indeed talking about the hog we sold them. Our children look at our hogs as food, and that's exactly what they are.
We take great interest and care in how each and every single one is raised, spoken to and treated. We haven't had to yell at a single one, even when they got out of the pen, we stayed calm and she came running back to us.(may have been the food), but we didn't give chase.
Our hogs/ your hogs are raised in a stress free environment, allowed to live, play and grow on their own terms, within the confines of a very large, moveable pen, separated into four living areas, based on size of the hogs.
We open our operation, to put at ease the minds of consumers, especially the ones that question how their food is cares for, from start to finish. This is true farm to table, at a very affordable rate.
My wife easily works 65+ hours per week, contacting feed vendors, testing feed, measuring and mixing feed. Caring for the hogs, watering etc, as well as the chickens.
As I do the social media, sales, advertising, social gatherings and butcher scheduling, usually spend about 25-30 hours a week with that.
Our children also take part, usually doing the afternoon feedings, and then the gathering of hens at night, and harvesting the garden every other day.
With that being said, none of this would be possible without our client base, and support from those who share our business amongst those who they care about.
So, we have decided to open our farm on September 1, 2018, to celebrate exactly what I've mentioned above. We don't have thousands in agricultural credit, or in our savings, but, I feel it is important to do this. As a thank you, and as a welcome to our farm to current and future customers.
Please if you attend, and the food runs short, do not be offended, or upset. For our gratitude to you for showing up will be more than words can express. I know, I've personally invited 40 people, and the hog we smoke should easily feed that many, it's the sides that we may run out of.
As always, thank you for reading and supporting our family farm.
