For the locavores

[CNY rider]

Since the topic of eating well meshes with cycling, and comes up often enough here, I thought I would post my experience with locavorism from this past year.
A little background: My wife and I have progressively eaten more local foods over time, in part because of the quality and taste, and in part because of the generally horrible conditions we see in industrial agriculture, particularly when it comes to raising animals.
Having twins two years ago made us even more concerned about food quality and health.

In two prior years we had purchased a grown pig from a local farm and had it butchered locally. The meat was excellent and we felt the animals were very humanely treated.
Within the last year our favorite farmer left the hog business and I somehow got it into my head that we could raise a pig or two ourselves instead of buying them. I spent last winter reading, researching, and speaking with those who could give advice. Last spring I cleared an area in the field behind our house, set up poultry net electric fencing, and had a hog house built with local lumber. The total up front investment including re-usables like the house, troughs, fencing etc. was around $1000 but could be done much cheaper if it had to be. In May we brought home our two piglets, purchased from another local farmer who has since become a good friend and source of needed advice.

They weighed maybe 10 pounds when we brought them home:
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l221/eribrav/piggies/SANY0015.jpg

We raised them on a very healthy diet, and I literally know everything that they ate from the day we got them until the end. It was mainly organic grain, some hog pellets, and leftover milk from a local dairy, with the occasional kitchen table leftovers and acorns and ferns thrown in. I think that their quality of life was excellent. Well at least I know I didn’t receive any written complaints!

Killem and Grillem, as they came to be known, were with us until late November when they went to the butcher. Half a pig was property of our nanny, who helped with some chores on days while we worked and, as a farm girl, gave much needed guidance at crucial times. We now have our chest freezer stocked with enough pork to last quite a while and have also bartered some for local lamb and chickens.

They weighed about 180 pounds at butcher time:
http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l221/eribrav/piggies/SANY0025.jpg

A few thoughts: First, the quality of the meat is truly outstanding. You can not compare it to store bought meat.

Second, this truly is hard work, and it’s hard to imagine doing it to earn a living. When you factor in all the expenses, I can see why the local farmers, even the ones getting a premium price at the local farm market, are barely surviving.

Third, you really can extricate yourself from the industrial meat supply. We have our hogs, plus a deer from this fall, and there isn’t a need to buy a lot of other meat. What we need, we purchase at the farm market and use judiciously.

Fourth, there’s something deeply satisfying about doing this. Satisfying enough that there are either going to be chickens or more hogs out back next spring!

Some more pics to enjoy:

Feeding time: (Acorns in your pocket will make you popular!)

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l221/eribrav/piggies/SANY0017.jpg


Dad, how about we get one of those!

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l221/eribrav/piggies/SANY0027.jpg

[MattTuck]

Very interesting perspective on your experience. And, you seem to be doing it for the right reasons, namely quality, avoidance of "industrial" food and that feeling of self sufficiency.

Many people believe that "local" is also better for the environment, which is not a statement that you can generally make. When you look at the environmental costs of transporting food, it usually makes up only a small part of the overall environmental impact including the farm machinery, irrigation, "grastrointestinal methane emissions" and fertilization. depending on the study, transportation is something like 4-12% of the total depending on the product being produced.

[chuckroast]

Are you at all concerned that, as your twins grow older, they will come to think of the livestock as pets? Or, was that something that caused you and your spouse any squeamishness?

BTW, we raised twin boys who are now 28 and it was quite the experience when they were toddlers!

[johnnymossville]

Sounds pretty much how I grew up. My Dad always raised a few pigs and cattle for butchering, which we would do ourselves in my uncle's butcher shop he had set up on his farm. We had chickens for eggs, bees for honey, and orchard full of apples, peaches, pears, walnuts, huge garden. turkeys, etc,... 4 ponds on the property full of fish and woods full of deer to hunt.

Generally a great childhood experience all the way around.

[CNY rider]

I think it will get interesting with the twins.
This year they were just over 1 when we got the pigs.
By the fall they clearly knew where the pigs lived and they looked forward to seeing them. They would point out the back window and make oinking and snorting sounds.
When the pigs went to the butcher we simply told them the pigs went bye bye. We go past that area now when we snowshoe and cross country ski; the girls usually make some oinks and then wave and say "bye bye" or "all gone".
When they make the connection between the piggies and what's on their plate..........
:eek:

[rugbysecondrow]

I think it will get interesting with the twins.
This year they were just over 1 when we got the pigs.
By the fall they clearly knew where the pigs lived and they looked forward to seeing them. They would point out the back window and make oinking and snorting sounds.
When the pigs went to the butcher we simply told them the pigs went bye bye. We go past that area now when we snowshoe and cross country ski; the girls usually make some oinks and then wave and say "bye bye" or "all gone".
When they make the connection between the piggies and what's on their plate..........
:eek:

Kids love bacon, so they will be good with it ;)

[texbike]

..butchered ....humanely treated.


Hmmmm. These words don't really go together for me. :)

I'm only a generation removed from "life on the farm" and have often held utopian thoughts about a return to that lifestyle and the simplicity and self-reliance of it.

However, the butchering of farm animals would probably be the toughest part of that existence for me (of course, this is coming from the mouth of a hypocritical meat-eater that is helping to keep the factory farms in business).

Thanks for the different perspective CNY. Good on you for looking for alternatives to the current system.

Texbike

[Steevo]

Very interesting perspective. As a kid, I had a friend whose family would raise a few cows and butcher them. They always had tasty beef.

I'm waiting for the report on how good the ribs were with the Brooks BBQ sauce.