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Personally, I would pay the increase, but it really depends on your customers.

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Well, we're just about done. We got home this afternoon about 4:30 from my wife's family reunion in upper lower Michigan. I got the trailer hooked up and backed up to the chute.



Pig's eye view of the alley & chute looking into trailer.



I had planned on taking pictures of the loading process, but the neighbor that gives me a hand showed up, so we got right to work. They loaded with little effort and we were back home about an hour later.

I backed the truck up to the chute again, we are loading the last two in the morning to go to a different processor.

Here they are, spending the last night in the barn.



They seem to be enjoying the extra room and no compatition at the feeder. I hope they load as well as the first ones did.

That's it, I'll try to remember to get some pictures tomorrow morning. Too many hours on the road today, I think it's time to hit the sack.

Tim

Tim,

I'm a vegetarian & I miss your pigs already.

That said, I think $1/lb. above normal would not be a deal breaker for me if I was in the market.

Thanks for a great story with pics.

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Ava-"If you get down and out, just get in the kitchen and bake a cake."- Jean Strickland

Horto In Urbs- Falling in love with Urban Vegetable Gardening

ditto. Except for the vegetarian part

Which means I get to ask--how do your customers get to be customers? Do you have a mailing list for people who might want to order? Whole animal only or are there smaller quantities (halves, quarters, parts?) I may have missed this upthread but in case there are others joining the conversation who haven't read all the way back to the beginning, maybe you could refresh our memory on this.

thanks for doing what you do and letting us observe and learn!

Jen

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“The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.” Elizabeth Taylor

Well, we'll try this again. I had a big long response typed up last night and when I clicked submit..... POOF!!



To tell you the truth, I always miss them too. The barn seems empty the first day they are gone.

I didn't get new pictures yesterday. I got caught up in the moment of getting them loaded and delivered, and never thought about anything else. Here's a montage from the beginning.

Minutes after they arrived


Same corner, same pigs a few days ago



The chicks right after arrival


This morning, running in the yard



Corn before the drought got bad


Still a drought, but trying to rain





Word of mouth is our only advertisement. We started out with family & friends and every group of pigs seems to bring in a couple of new people.

We like to think our customer service helps keep customers once we get them. We always contact all the buyers a week or so after they get their pork, to make sure everything went ok and the meat is to their liking. It's not uncommon for us to get a call, out of the blue from a customer saying "I just took a shoulder roast out of the freezer, how do I cook it?". Luckily, my wife can rattle off cooking tips and shares our favorite recipes. We will usually make a call 6 to 8 months later, to let them know what our schedule is and see if they will be interested in another pig in the future.



We sell by the half or whole. We have had a few customers in the past split a half with someone else. This is up to them to do, we don't deal in 1/4's but the processors are happy to do it for them, as long as they both agree how they want it cut.

We also sell whole hog sausage. This started out as a way to get rid of an extra half or whole pig we couldn't sell, but it's turned into it's own little business. We now figure at least one pig in each group, just for sausage. Other than that, we don't sell cuts. We are afraid after the chops and bacon are gone, we'll be stuck with the rest. Also, all our processors have a meat market in front, so we don't want to be stepping on their toes for small purchases.

I guess that's about it. Thank You to everyone that followed along for 115 days from start to finish on the pigs, and other things that happened in that time span. Hopefully, we've helped open a few eyes, about what leads up to food on a plate .... at least on our plate.

When I started this, I never would have guessed we'd be living through the worst drought since 1988 or before.....you got to come along for that too. I can't say that part was fun, but I think talking about it here helped keep me sane. Thanks for everyones prayers and thoughts as we were going through the worst of it.

Even though this thread is probably done, I'll be hanging around here from time to time, reading other posts. Feel free to shoot questions or comments my way if you want. I think the private message option works, if you don't want it public.

Thanks again,

Tim

edited to fix a bad quote......

Last pig picture, not sure which one it is, but he/she's delicious.........



Tim

Post of the year?

+1 !

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Just an update, for anybody wondering....... we had enough calls for halves that we put in a new group this morning.



We explained the price would be up, but they were willing to pay. It's nice to have good customers.

I'm not going to follow these from cradle to freezer on the forum, just thought I'd let evryone know what's going on in our little corner of the world.

Tim

I do hope you'll keep posting--this has been one of my favorite threads this year and I'm sure each new group brings their own stories!

Best of luck for a smooth fall/winter season and hope to hear from you!

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“The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.” Elizabeth Taylor

Itttt'sssss baaackkkkk.... the thread that won't die.

I came home for dinner today and the neighbor was harvesting the corn you watched grow all summer.



I went over and talked to him on my way back out, while he was unloading. He said the field was running about 45 - 50 bushels/acre, that's about 25% of what it should be...... at least there's something out there.

As long as I'm here, here's a picture of the latest group of pigs, as of tonight.



I couldn't get them all, so it's a partial group shot. They are doing well and we had two new people call today, inquiring about buying freezer pigs. It's raining now, so tomorrow is probably washed out, looks I"ll spend the morning on the phone pushing pork.

Just a glimpse into Fall/harvest in NW Ohio.

Tim

Tim, am I correct that the breed of this new batch of piggies is different from the breed of the previous batch? Were economics involved in the decision?

Very observant Tom, you have an eye for porkers!!

Yes, they are a different breed from the last ones but some of the same genetics. These* are purebred Yorkshires. My friend maintains a small purebred line of Yorks for his sow (mother) herd. He crosses them with Hampshires for the majority of his market hogs.

It just happened that this time, when I was ready for pigs, he was emptying the nursery of his Yorks. These are all barrows (castrated males), he keeps all the females (gilts) from the purebred line and chooses the best ones, when they are about market size, to use as replacements for the older sows in his herd.

There is a slight difference in the feed efficiency and carcass traits, but on our scale of production, it will go unnoticed. Economics didn't play a part, it was just the pigs that were ready when we needed them.

*If you look close, the pig to the left has freckles above his eyes, and some on his rear you can't see, he's a traditional blue butt from the Hampshire cross. They were mixed in the nursery and he was the same size as the others, so he went on the trailer.

Thanks for asking,

Tim

One of the new hens gave us our first new egg yesterday.



The rest should start producing soon also.

Here they are back on June 4th, right after arrival



I think we are about done updating/tying up loose ends in this thread........

Tim

Not until you post a coq au vin photo

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my food shots

OK, I can't help myself......

A few years ago, friends of ours from the MO Ozarks stayed with us for a weekend. When we were eating breakfast, Jim commented that we had shadows when the sun came up. He said they didn't get shadows until after 10 am, when the sun crested the hill, and by then they were short. He'd forgotten what long ones looked like.

Ever since that, I try too look at things, that I take for granted, through other peoples eyes. I don't know how urban some of you are, but this may be a new shot for you..........

Frost in the shade of the barn...



Up close, shade and sun.....



This mornings pig shot, just to stay on track....



That's it, no more today.

Tim

You have lots of fans freezer pig--please post like we vote here in the city--early and often!!!

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“The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying virtues.” Elizabeth Taylor

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody who followed along, and Thanks for all the replies and PM's from this thread.

It was fun.
Tim

OK, I think they call this a tease......

If everything goes right, we'll be using this....



...and this....



....to render lard pretty soon. If we don't get it done in the next couple of days, it'll be the weekend after next, Dec, 8th. We've been waiting on cooler weather to stand over a fire and now we're too busy to get it done.

I'll try to take lots of pictures.

Tim

Wow - talk about kickin' it old-school!

Looking forward to the pics. Just saw Louisiana chef John Folse doing a very similar set-up in the country outside of Baton Rouge, and can't wait to see it step by step. . .

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Food & Flowers: Andre Jordan's sweet doodle for a cold winter's day; diary of an unhappy restaurateur, circa 1881; winter project - try a terrarium

Update!!! The weather turned bad last week, and then we were gone for the weekend. I want to get the lard done next weekend, but I found out my Inlaws are planning on stopping for a few days on their way south for the winter. Oh well, they may have to help render.

We are also having major ISP problems so we have to post at odd times, and it's difficult to upload pic's. We'll figure out how to get it done though.

We're still out here, it's just hard to show/tell you about what's going on.

Tim