Gloucestershire Old Spots

Biodynamic farmers state that each farm is its own organism. That’s pretty out there, though, I suppose, if the stones would cry out to worship Jesus (Luke 19:40), and that the whole creation groans (Romans 8:22), I’m not positive the biodynamic farmers are wrong.

Side-stepping that huge mental barrier, certainly each farm has its own set of challenges and benefits, its own microclimate and soil. And since each set of farmers is different, each has different interests.

I enjoy figuring out what will fit our land, our personality.

I enjoyed realizing that my favorite thing to eat is fruit, so an orchard makes much more sense for us than a market garden (those market gardeners have to work REALLY hard, too).
I enjoyed trying goats and I’m glad we got to experience kidding, this once. I don't think I'll miss them when they're gone.
I enjoyed trying sheep, and plan to keep going with that. If the Babydoll sheep don’t work out as little lawn mowers between the orchard trees, though, we will probably switch breeds, or stop altogether for a time.
I think I will enjoy the guineas, once they start eating ticks. Right now they are mean to the chickens and very loud (if you live in the city, do NOT get guineas!).
I like chickens, and we eat a lot of eggs.
I enjoyed thinking about cows, and debating whether a Dexter or a Jersey would be best, until suddenly the Milking Devon burst on the scene with a complete sense of rightness. These are part of our unique farm.

All of these reflect Phil and I, and that’s fun.

Well, I was listening to an online lecture by the Vermont farmer we hope to buy cows from. He mentioned that they keep Gloucestershire (Glostersheer) Old Spot pigs.

Now we have been thinking that we should get a sow and a boar at some point, but I don’t really know a whole lot about the breeds of pigs, except that the ones we have (mutts) aren’t what I want. And, to minimize escape, the floppy eared pigs are, apparently, a better choice. We’re not really impatient to get pigs in the way that we’re impatient to get cows.

But let me tell you—I fell in love with the Gloucestershire Old Spots , also called “orchard pigs” because they thrive on windfall apples and the residue from cider pressing. How perfect is that?! They raise large litters on pasture, and forage well for their food.

And, they produce a lot of lard. Lard makes good pie crust. And lard (from pasture raised pigs on good farms) is the new health food. It’s a premium product that gets premium prices.

Why did they fall out of favor? After WWII, producers wanted to raise pigs indoors, and they didn’t do well there. And lard fell out of favor, too.

There’s only about 200 breeding sows in the US right now; looks like most of them are in the Massachusetts, Vermont area. Maybe when we drive up to get the cows, we’ll be able to get a couple piglets, too.

Perhaps the best part about living in the country: when I learn new information I can put it into practice. (Well, except for what I forget—and there’s a lot of that, too.) But what a joy: read about goat birth, then go watch. Read about growing garlic: plant some of your own.

Speaking of which, some of the garden beds are finally cleared of snow. The elephant garlic is already up about three inches. I found some red kale that wasn’t entirely ruined, so picked it and stir-fried it for dinner. We haven’t had many vegetables lately (we don’t make it to the store often, so we’ve actually had just about none—so much for healthier living); that kale tasted SO good.