Project 365 day two

Day two of the seminar. I'm just throwing in some old pics here.

Project 365 Day one

Today is the first day at the Seminar.

Project 365 Trip starts

Today I left for Atlanta and the Pastured pork seminar. Here is a old picture.

Project 365

Well the storm is here, snow turning to ice then heavy rain, I need to make it to the airport in RI by 0430 tomorrow, hope nothing is delayed...

Project 365

Dark day today, storm coming and I hope it does not ruin my trip to Atlanta, taking the Pastured Pork Seminar is a HUGE event in our farm life. The ice in the picture is getting old and I want snow to get rid of some of it, The forecasters who don't know horse shit from Hog jowls how to forecast for this area are calling for rain.

Project 365

Been trying to sell these tires and rims but no luck yet

Project 365

Here is Sheryl's car with a load of bread for the piggies and Frick and Frack supervising the unloading.

Project 365

The pigs sure do love the Whey, now that they know what is coming they all gather around when it is time for a new splash of fresh warm whey.

Project 365

Weathering yet another storm

Project 365

The piglets don't seem to mind the snow too much as long as they have plenty of straw.

Project 365

We had raised 50 muscoveys and our plan was to have the first Certified Humane Foiu gras in the country. Couldn't kill the ducks so I gave them away but two are still around Frick and Frack usually sleep with the dogs on the porch but here Frick is keeping a close eye on all that is happening.

Project 365

Seems like I am always forgetting to get this done, with so much else to do, taking a picture every day and then jotting something down is hard to fit in sometimes.

We certainly have had a lot of snow this year.

Project 365

More snow last night, been real cold and as you can see the water containers freeze up over night. Peacocks don't seem to mind the snow and Frak the other half of Fric and Frak the two ducks keeps an eye out for Ginger the enthuiastic puppy

Project 365

Jack is VERY happy, the gate is open and he slept with the girls last night. Talk about hog heaven.

Project 365

Our fencing team did well against Griswold but not so good against E. Lyme

Project 365

Well I moved the girls in with Jack today and he is some happy boy, tomorrow I will open the gate so he can get to them.

Project 365

Tractor still is not fixed because of the cold, hopefully by Sunday it will warm up so I can see if the clutch safety switch is the issue.

Project 365

We certainly have a lot of ice and tonight it is supposed to get down to 10 below zero

Project 365

Line up, lets eat

Project 365

Cold winter this year, here our cows are all around what is left of their bale, time to bring them another

Project 365

I have been selling off stuff on ebay and Craig's list but I still have had no luck moving these tires.

Project 365

One of the extra things I do is coach Fencing at our local High School, today was the JV invitational. Our team did well despite having to fence people with two mores years experience than they have.

Project 365

Well I finally got Perry in the trailer to go to a new home, I just couldn't harm him so I found a place in Salem for him to go to with two sows and land to be fenced.

Project 365

When we got Ginger our oldest dog Taz did not like her at all, I guess by this picture you can see all is forgiven.

Project 365 - January 7

Big ice storm today and we had to roll one of the round bales out to the cows by hand in the pouring rain/sleet. Kevin and I both got soaked but we got it done. Tractor is broke do to their being a small hold in the fuel tank filler cap and water in the diesel fuel, plus the thing won't turn over, this of course right after I got the started rebuilt, I think it is the ignition switch as I have noticed that it is getting pretty particular about how far the key is inserted.

The pic is of our big peacock cages covered in ice.

Here is the information on the seminar I am going to the end of the month:

Now! The Next Big Thing!PASTURED PORK
January 30 & 31, 2009 - Atlanta, GA
Pastured pork is easier to produce, easier to sell and currently sells for more than grassfed beef!
Forget corn and soybean meal. Pastured pigs can be finished on whey, skimmed milk, buttermilk, pecans, acorns, peanuts, apples, pears, fruit pomace, sweet potatoes, mulberries and a host of other under-valued feedstuffs. Clover, kudzu, grass silage and alfalfa hay can replace today’s super-expensive soybean meal. Not only do these feedstuffs make for a tastier pork but one with far healthier fat than that from industrial hogs.
This is a totally free range production system and requires no crates, concrete or confinement!
Featuring:
Joel Salatin - The Southeast's largest acorn-finished pork producer
Will Winter - Marketer and production consultant for pastured pork
Mike Lorentz - Mike's abattoir is the national leader in artisanal pork processing
Allan Nation - Will offer a historical review of pastured pork and proven production techniques
This school is designed to show you how high-value, pastured pigs can fit into almost any pasture based farm or ranch. Topics to be covered include:
Which breeds to use and why
Is it better to breed or just buy feeder pig
Seasonality and weather issues
Health issues
Best legume choices for pigs
Positive effect of acorn-finished pigs on high-value forestry
Why pigs should always be rotationally grazed
Minimal fences for woods and pasture grazed pigs
Also:
How to price pastured pork cuts for maximum profitability
The ideal slaughter weights
How to process with no nitrites, MSG or other chemicals
How to make a pure white lard
The secrets of Spanish and Parma style hams
Recipes for Bratwurst and Chorizo sausages
Wood smoked bacon and cottage-style bacon
Hogs can help sanitize pastures of cattle internal parasites and offer excellent snake control.Pigs can remove rhizomatous weeds such as Johnsongrass and Quackgrass and prepare the soil for planting with no machinery input!There’s no odor or manure problems with pastured pork. Minimal labor is required.
“I struck gold! I’ve finally found the exact pork that is basicallythe quality equivalent of 100% grassfed beef. “— William Winter
“People considering adding an abattoir should seriously consider making pastured pork their production centerpiece as it is far easier to produce on a year around basis than grassfed beef.”— Mike Lorentz
“I’m tickled to death. We’ve been able to sell our pastured pork for more than our grassfed beef.”— Joel Salatin
If you know absolutely nothing about pork production, you’ll love this school!
This is a ONE -TIME ONLY EVENT and space is limited so call today!
The cost of this school is $550, but a deposit of $100 will hold your space. Balance due Jan. 16. Return the coupon with your deposit check or call the Stockman Grass Farmer at 1-800-748- 9808. The school will begin at 8:00 am and end at 5:00 pm.

Project 365 - January 6

We are starting a new project and have been very luck to have worked out a arrangement with Beltane Farm, they make SE Ct's BEST cheese: http://www.beltanefarm.com/

We have been very fortunate to get their whey so we can feed that at least twice a week to our feeder pigs. Later in the season it may be a daily routine.

The pigs LOVED the whey and once we get in full swing we hope to be able to raise some gluten free pork which means none of the bread pudding you see in the pic.

Project 365 - January 5

We got our new boar today to start our cross breeding program. Jack is Old English Black Hog, quite timid but I am sure he will do fine once he gets used to things around here.

Project 365 - January 4

Selling a lot of my reenactment gera on ebay and doing well with it, will use the money for expansion

Project 365 - January 3

We are selling most of our highlanders to focus on Pastured pork, we sold Adrew today and he will leave in a week or so

Project 365 - January 2

Time has come to sell Perry, so I put him on Crai'gs list and offered him free to a good home.

Project 365 - January 1, 2009

This is a daily post that I am going to try and do for the 365 project.

To start this off here is a picture of our new puppy on new years day. Her name is Ginger and she is a bassett hound.