Considering this is the dead of winter, we have been extremely busy here at Hand Hewn Farm. There are the obvious chores that require daily attention. And some seasonal maintenance considerations, like keeping water from freezing long enough that the animals can actually drink it. Also, we are continually repurposing or upgrading infrastructure. This week, [...]
This is not a treatise against homosexuality, But I can tell you that gay pigs do not make good breeding stock. Of the twenty pigs that we raised this past year on Hand Hewn Farm, we held four back to be bred for future pig progeny. In addition to these four gilts (girl pigs that [...]
I have given a considerable amount of thought to our experience recently at Aspen Rd Farm. Particularly, as it relates to the killing of a pig. Nate Woller, husband, father, fireman, farmer, had been anticipating this day for the better part of a year since he brought his Gloucestershire Old Spot/Large Black piglets home to [...]
Earlier this month Andy and I had the tremendous pleasure of attending a true field-to-plate butcher workshop with our mentor, Brandon Sheard of Farmstead Meatsmith. To say that this experience was a dream come true is not an understatement. When I first started raising pigs for the family larder in 2010, I had not the first [...]
Ever wondered where bacon comes from? Or what’s actually in your sausage? Adam and Jenny Roberts of Mt. Vernon wanted to know those same things, so they decided to shoulder the responsibility of finding out where their food comes from and participating in a true nose-to-tail butchering experience on the farm where that animal lived [...]
