As you can see, it has once again been a while since my last post. We hit a bit of a snag once we got started. We had plenty of nice pigs on the ground, but no one to buy them. So, we kept marketing and feeding and before we knew it they were grown. We finally got some interest once they were finished pigs. I took one group to the butcher to have them custom processed for each buyer. Another group went to a farm north of here to finish out an order that they had. This left us with one nice gilt that we put back into the breeding herd. That gilt is now about to give birth at the first of March.

The one lesson that was once again reinforced, is that, you can produce the nicest breeding stock around, but if  there are no buyers, you are dead in the water. That's really the first time that has happened to me. The takeaway message was not to panic, but be deliberate and have a contingency plan when things head in the wrong direction. I knew that we had to get our breeding dates adjusted to the needs of the local folks. That's one reason you  haven't seen a lot of pigs available for the last few months. Everyone seems to  want winter born pigs. So, that's what we are going to give them.  If this works out, I can ramp up production and expand my market. If not, I will have to keep it a small herd. That's just one of the adjustments needed after moving the farm.

Well, it's been a while  since I last posted. Things sure have changed since we moved here a little over a year ago. It was this time last year that our boar, Chocolate Gravy, won grand champion at the Arkansas State Fair. We then loaded up the sow and headed for Ohio. I had built a shed for her, but it wasn't quite ready. So, I put her in the goat barn. That didn't last long before she escaped and was cruising down the highway. She then stayed in the front yard with the dogs. All the time, I was diligently working to finish her house, It was now December and she was ready to get into her house. I finished it up just in time for the freezing weather. I piled in the straw and ran an extension cord out to her little house so that she could have a heat lamp. She knew just what to do. She chewed the straw and made sure that it was thoroughly soaked. This caused it to start composting and generated a good deal of heat. Some mornings is was down to -18o F, but she kept the  place warm. Spring came and it was time to breed. I decided to go with Double Barrel from Shipley. It was soon July and time to farrow. Everything went well. Lost a couple in the process and we ended up with six little pigs. The race was on once again to build another shelter for mama when the piglets were weaned. Well, things went a little slower than planned and they were eight weeks old at weaning (just a few weeks late. Don't laugh pig guys.). Then, it was time to market the show and feeder pigs. That's when I found out, for the first time in my pig career, that no one needed any pigs. Nary a tweet, call or shrug. So, here I sit with 6 little pigs that may be shown in the winter show circuit here in Ohio by some willing kids. After that, I just hope that someone is hungry for some good Berkshire pork. Just don't let my wife know that I re-bred the good 'ol sow a couple of weeks ago or I may be staying in the little shed this winter.

I thought that I would sit down and record my observations, trials and travails in raising Berkshire pigs. I have always enjoyed the pigs and off and on since the ninth grade I have been involved with pigs in one way or the other.I say the ninth grade, but it actually goes back to my grandfather. He was a farmer in southeast Ohio where our roots go way back. He was always trying something to make money on the farm. He heard that there was money to be made in hogs. So, he got him some Poland China pigs. He never went very big into anything, but kept a small herd for many years. Even though he died when I was three, I can still remember going down to the barn and looking through the fence at those pigs.

In a chance of fate, I ended up marrying a pig farmer's daughter from Missouri. She never helped out with the pigs or even had much interest in them. She thought that she was done with pigs once she left the farm. Little did she know that there were a few pigs in her future. I even got her a job working on a Smithfield pig farm with me in North Carolina right after we were married. Looking back, it still makes me chuckle to think of her working with those pigs.

In the months and years ahead I plan on sharing the pig raising process and hopefully the humorous side. If you have your own insights or humorous stories, feel free to leave a comment or email them to me.