That time our herd tripled…
This is a post from the archives of the “On Butter Hill” Substack newsletter. In an effort to streamline our online presence, I will be reposting our Substack posts here on our blog while gradually dissolving our posts there.
The milkmaid life lends itself well to auxiliary projects. One must quickly become a Jane of All Trades if she intends to keep her neck above water, er…milk, once the milk starts flowing in earnest.
For me, the most natural resolution to our milk “problem” has been pigs. I hope one day to be an accomplished fromager, but a few blown cheeses this past summer has put me off it a bit, at least for now. My time will come.
Pigs make sense to me, and to our land. We have a variety of terrain on our humble 7 acres…little outcroppings of trees and brush to be explored and rooted, and bigger swathes of open pasture ripe for the regeneration that well husbanded pigs can provide.
I caught a webinar this fall modeling a business plan for our particular breed of pig, the KuneKune (pronounced cooney cooney). The exceptional thing about this breed is their ability to put on fat, which as you can imagine, is only exemplified with the feeding of milk and milk byproducts. This makes these pigs unparalleled candidates for the production of cured charcuterie meats. I guess you could say this was my light bulb moment.
Now, I’ve discussed here before that efficiency is not really the name of the game for me. It’s why I struggle to fit into the homesteader crowd to some degree. I never really wanted to produce pigs for wholesale cuts, by the whole and half hog. It just doesn’t light me up. I yearn for beauty, meaning, purpose…not the cheapest price per pound, even if quality is factored in. I certainly respect that desire in others, but as far as how I want to spend my time as a potential producer…just not my thing.
Charcuterie on the other hand…wow. To give our pigs a respectable life, raising them slowly and carefully, to then honor them by transforming their meat into some of the highest end food products available…now, that’s my thing. If for nothing else than to eat like kings ourselves.
I tucked this idea away in the back of my mind. The thing about this business venture is that it’s a long game. The breeding, the growing, the butchering, the curing…it’s a years long journey. I would start small and humble, with our little herd. Three gilts (young females) and two boars, bred strategically to have a little starter meat herd in our pastures by spring.
Shortly after this dream took root, I received the most unexpected message. Our dear friend, the very one from whom we got our first three piglets over a year ago, asked if we wanted to take on the remainder of her herd. Three sows, a boar, and six babies. Our herd would triple overnight.
I couldn’t say no. So we figured it out. And still are rather scrambling to get everyone in a suitable winter shelter and make sure we can feed them all until spring milk arrives.
What a wild ride thus far. My dream feels perhaps a little closer now. With it comes many hurdles and things that feel a bit more urgent than before. It is truly a wonder how life comes full circle so often. Never did I dream I’d be an actual pig farmer. I’m not sure what the parameters are for “actual pig farmer”, but I’m going to consider the SIX sows we now have bred and giving birth over the next few months to be “actual pig farmer” status.
We are calling ourselves Butter Hill Heritage Pork. We have a long way to go before a product is available. If I’ve learned anything over the past few years, it’s to just enjoy the journey. There is no arrival point. We are here, now.
I hope you’ll take a look at our Butter Hill Heritage Pork merchandise and consider supporting us through the purchase of a cozy winter sweatshirt while we get this new operation off the ground.
Stay warm,
