Feed a pig, starve a fever.

Even though it is now Thursday we are still recovering from our weekend.  Sick kids, sick pigs, sick freezer, sick well. Yes the well ! When the sun came out seems all things began to fall apart. Sadly, not all things were fixable. Thus the story of  piglet above.

Mother Red Wattle, Morticia, had her very first litter last week. A lovely birth in a lovely hutch. 8 beautiful piglets.48 hrs later Keith noted 6 dead babes, and a very uninterested mother. At my urging he brought the two "survivors" inside. Flat ears and wrinkled skin it was evident they were dehydrated. We did our best, heated bed, frequent feedings but they did not make it. One Internet article even suggested bowl feeding instead of syringes like I usually do

As you can see, they took right to it ! I was amazed. But it didn't last. Two bowl feedings and they began listless and uninterested. 24 hrs after bringing them inside the first one died and 12 hrs after that baby sister followed. Several articles say less than 10% of piglets removed from their mothers for whatever reason, will survive with human help.
I hated losing that litter. Hated it. The grand kids handling it better than me "Yaya you warned us they might not live !" Still researching things we could have done differently. Was it a mama sow issue ? Do we risk breeding her again ? Was it our issue ? Should mother sow been moved father away from the herd so she could not see them and then would concentrate on her duties ? I have learned that it can take many generations of hog raising in order to breed out problems and breed in strong genetics (Thank you Walter) but I am sooo impatient.

Oh how I wish we had 100 acres to let them all roam free. I do believe having more room for more natural selection of their farrowing digs would make a difference. Struggling with our 10 acres we are unsure of what is best. HOWEVER, right next door to Morticia was Leopard in the same sized lot and the exact same farrowing shed. Another new mama , not a Red Wattle but a crossbred, who had her litter on the same day in the same exact circumstances. All of her babies are doing great. THRIVING in fact.

So...opinions ? Suggestions ?  Hit me baby.

The kids ? Thanks for asking. Both ended up with Strep Throat. They are improving. The freezer ? After removing tons of meat, the thermostat was repaired and the tons of meat was moved back in. The well ? Its broken part (I can't remember the name of it) was also repaired and thirsty cows got to drink again. The bowl Piglet is slurping milk from ? Its so cool isn't it ?  Kindo Art Deco meets Andy Wahol. Got it in San Francisco two decades ago. Suspicious circumstances and thats all I'm saying. Its used to be my favorite salad bowl... USED to be.

Marketing the Farmer at The Farmers Market

Fruits and nuts. Just a few things you might find at your local Farmers Market. Tis the season. Its a strange season though. One you have to watch veeery carefully. For example, after delivering some meat today to Naturally Yours Grocery (Thank You NY) I noticed a few folks set up in the Farmers Market area on North University Ave. in Peoria. Not many, as it is early in the season. Early , being the key word here. I walked up to the first vendor and noticed gorgeous, shiny red tomatoes. Tomatoes ? On May 8th in Central Illinois ? Next to that were bright green zucchini. Hmmm and hmmmm. I began my line of questioning.

-Hi\
-Hi
-Are these your veggies ?
-Naa. Mine are the ones down there with the dirt on them.
-The radishes and green onions ?
-Yeah, they are from my garden.
-Where are these from ? (I point to the magazine glossy, all the same size tomatoes)
-Those are grown in Florida. My boss brings them up
-Uh huh. But you grew the dirty ones?
-Yeah

Guess which ones I bought ? Yup, you people are so smart. I bought the dirty ones, the imperfect ones , the slightly droopy ones, THE REAL ONES. And I am sure when I prepare them they will be the TASTY ones as well.

So if you live local and are ready to start your Farmers Market Season, be sure and stop by this one this Saturday .

                           Farmers Market
             Every Saturday all Summer 8-12
                        Grass Beef, Organic Pork
                                       Free Range Eggs
                              Fresh Produce,Herbs and
                        Handcrafted Soaps and MORE


                Held at The Antique Shoppe
               301 W. Oak St  Fairbury, Ill


               Sponsored by The Stewards of The Land LLC



P.S. If you mention this blog I'll give you 10% off any South Pork Ranch's frozen meat and handcrafted soap. Hope to see you then !

Soap; exfoliator or death machine ?

Soap from another day. Another much better day.

So I admit it. My multitasking skills are slipping. How do I know ? This is how I know. I wanted to write. I also wanted to make soap. I did not have time to do both.  But then...I had an idea. I put a bunch of bars into the crock pot on low (or so I thought) with enough water (or so I thought) to rebatch. I then went upstairs to write while the muse beckoned. Soon, the muse left as phones rang, and doors slammed and voices chattered from the nether floors below. Dogs barked, donkeys brayed and nursing piglets slurpped.  I tried to concentrate but failed, so I threw in some laundry and the Muse returned. Smell of Tide I guess.

I wrote. Then it came time to get other work done downstairs. Husband sitting at the kitchen table. Says nothing about the soap. I then notice the crock pot is unplugged. Hmmmmm, and the sides of the crock pot are covered with soap yet the counter is clean. I begin the interrogation.

-Did it bubble over ?
-What?
-The Soap, I specify.
-Oh yeah, but just about a cups worth.

I wonder why he didn't just tell me when it happened so I could stir it down and save some of the soap. Then I remembered the last time he interrupted me when I was writing. I almost "rebatched" him. No wonder he didn't brave the staircase to (hardly) heaven. I picked up the glass lid of the CP and the stoopid thing slipped out of my grasp and broke on the counter. Now I am ticked.

But I say nothing. I'm not sure but I don't think he had anything to do with the crock pot lid breaking. Then do you know what he says ? He says,

-Are you hurt ? 

Can you believe that ?! He doesn't even ask about the soap. I mutter that I am indeed OK and I clean up the glass. Then I grab a spoon and start stirring the soap. Hey, this stuff looks good. And it smells fantastic but there are still a couple hard chunks so I try to break them up. Dang things are rock hard. I mean ROCK hard. Waaaait a minute. That's not hard soap that's big chunks of glass. In my going to be beautiful rebatched soap.

To insult my soaps injury Keith informs me.

"You can't use that soap Hon. Just throw it out"
Why ? I ponder to myself. WHY CAN'T I ? ITS MY SOAP ISN'T IT ?!

Then I fast forward to the future. A man walks up to me at my first soap show. His arms are hemorrhaging.

-Ma'am ?
-Yes Sir. Did you come back to buy more soap sir ? Me grinning goofy like.
-Why no ma'am. I think theres' glass or something in here. It hurt awful bad when I was washing up.
- Glass ? In my soap? Not possible. You must be overdosing on your coumadin and you scrubbed too hard
-No ma'am. I don't take any medications. It was your soap. I wasn't bleeding before I started to use it and now I am.
-(Slightly irritated now cause I KNOW it was good soap) Sir ? Did you read the ingredient list on my soap ? Does it say "glass" anywhere ? You know, like "essential glass"?
-Well, no ma'am it didn't. (shuffles feet) I must be wrong. He walks away. Dripping blood on my nice table cloth.

I call an ambulance anyway.

YES. I threw away all the soap.
YES. I peaked at it in the garbage 3 hours later. It set up real purty. I knew it would.

Something is a little "off"

Every year it happens. The earth revolves around the sun. I know because Sister Viola taught me this in second grade. As the earth does this, Spring becomes a reality. With spring comes warmer weather, at least that's what happens here in the Midwest. You goofballs living near a place called Iron Creek Lake in South Dakota are still dealing with snow and therefore cannot relate. You will probably feel better if you just stop reading now, grab another blanket and put another piece of furniture on the fire. You must be out of wood logs by now.

With this warmer weather (and rain if you are blessed) comes the wild phenomenon known as pasture growth. Yeah man, I'm talking about grass. Green green grass.

Cows eat grass, at least those lucky enough not to be living their whole life on a concrete feed lot. That green green grass is converted to milk, and spring milk tastes different than winter milk. Every year, one or two of our new milk customers, the ones who have only been drinking winter milk, that which comes after the cow eats dry hay all winter, will react with a little shock and awe.

Some will say "Uh, I hate to say anything but your milk tastes a little funny."
And we will say, "Does it taste bad?'
They will say "No, just funny, sort of  "off"  I guess"
And we will say, "Is it fresh ?"
They will say, "Yes, I just bought it this morning."
And we will then tell them all about grassy milk vs hay-ey milk. (Put down your keyboards spelling Nazi's I know what I am doing.)

We tell them to look at this way. When a mother nurses her baby, her milk will often reflect or taste like, what she has recently eaten. A meal heavy in onions and baby might turn away and dial Rent-a-Breast  for their next meal. This is the reason why Docs advise nursing moms against consuming strong drugs, alcohol and even caffeine.

It is the same way with cows, which is why their milk tastes different in the spring when suddenly they are consuming a very different diet than they were a few weeks ago. Soon that new taste will be just as familiar as the winter tasting milk. To ensure your milk is safe to drink though, you should follow some basic rules, winter and summer.

1. Be sure you obtain your milk from a reputable dairy. The tank room should look and smell clean
2. ASK your farmer how he milks his cows, how he cleans their udders, how he cleans the pipe system and the bulk tank.
3. Ask him about any milk testing he does, ask to SEE his milk test results.
4. Check the temperature gauge on his bulk tank. It should be 42 degrees or lower.

Now be sure to do YOUR part to keep your milk healthy and nutritional

1. Always wash your hands before collecting milk in your container.
2. Make sure your milk bottles and lids/caps are VERY clean. Wash them with hot soapy water and then a 1:10 bleach water solution. The hotter the bleach water the better. Rinse and dry well.
3. Transport your milk in an ice chest with ice packs. Keep your milk COLD.
4. Educate yourself about raw milk . One excellent resource is Raw Milk Production Handbook by Tim Wightman. Available through http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/

Now go pour yourself a tall cold one.

Reservations only

Apparently there are still only about 2000 Registered Red Wattle breeding stock in the whole world, one of the reasons they are still on the critically endangered list. We are one of several breeders across the country working hard to increase these numbers and save this breed. One of the ways to save them...is to eat them. One way to eat them is to cull (slaughter) those they do not meet the stringent breeding standards. Meet Mr Sub Standard.

Please Miss, Has the Guvnor called yet ?

He's a handsome lad overall and well built but he's missing a little something. Two little somethings. No, not just those, he's missing his wattles. His full bred RW Mama Anne had them and his full bred RW daddy had them as well but somewhere in utero something went wrong. Maybe because his mama was on the older side (7). Hard to tell. The rest of him is darn near perfect but without the wattles he misses the stud muffin boat and went instead into the que for mighty fine pork belly

Keith offering Mr Sub Standard one last behind the ear scratch. The Red
Wattle in front of him is one of our young RW Gilts who will be bred soon.

Last fall he along with several siblings who also were less than perfect were reserved by several of the Chicago restaurants we serve. This chap was the last of his line. His new owners, Old Town Social on North Ave wanted him big, really big. Well Zeeshan and Jared got their wish. Mr Big Boy here had a hanging weight of 306 pounds !  A record for us and I am sure for the chefs at Old Town.

Now if we can just get him down those long steps leading into the restaurants kitchen.

Real Men Blow Bubbles

Last Sunday after the Easter ham was eaten and the eggs were found in the too high grass, the men in my family do what all good men do with their families; they got out the bubble wands. And now a photo essay just for you. (Oh man, the men folk are not going to like this, but...oh well.)

Jason, expecting to see Glenda the Good Witch, is dissapointed
when only his father appears

Dead tree through a bubble. A still life.

Jason, Keith, Allana and Wes get the bubbles rolling

Wesley worked hard to catch his bubbles

but they always seemed to be just out of his reach

Colton concentrated on technique rather

than size of the bubbles.

It only took 200 pictures to get this shot,
that's why I love digital cameras

Eventually he got the hang of it.

Chasing bubbles can be exhausting. The kids got tired too.

Love that back fat

You know that area above your bra line where  fat sort of bulges over and out ? Oh, you don't ? Nice for you, real happy for you but some of us have to deal with imperfect bodies. And then there is  the lovely hog who gets paid to have back fat. Well his farmer gets paid. Don't mind me just having fun with fonts.

So yeah, the fattest pig wins as long as there is still a good amount of real juicy meat as well as fat. Chefs love back fat. Wives of chefs must be the happiest women on earth. Unless of course it the farmers wife. We all know how much they love fat calves.

 

Took this pic last week of a Red Wattle we were deliveriing to one of our Chicago Chefs. This particular RW had been reserved last fall about 6 months ago. It hadn't even been weaned yet from its mama but it and several of its siblings were tagged for chefs wanting the RW for future menus. Now at 7 months of age it's hanging weight was 286 pounds.

A big fellow with good back fat and beefy red meat. Folks often ask us, "Is the meat of a Red Wattle really any different from other swine breeds ?

                        Yes it is we say. Yes it is.