We don’t butcher our pigs ourselves. But we are tasked with moving them from our pastures to our incredible team of butchers in the FLX every few weeks.
Pigs are larger than us. And they’re stronger. And quicker, too. Which is why moving them from one place to another is so infamously challenging to just about everyone who’s brave enough to try.
When we loaded pigs for the first time back in 2016, we were so unsure of ourselves and ill-equipped, that we hired the job out to a farmer we knew.
After observing his rapport with the animals and hearing enough of his shady commentary, we wised up and swore that this task would be ours, and ours alone, going forward.
In true Stonecrop fashion, modeled after Temple Grandin’s mindset, we’ve refined the process obsessively. And over time, we’ve created a system that keeps the animals calm and comfortable, which we feel is critical, and that’s not just for the obvious animal welfare reasons.
When we’re searching for good food, we’re searching for good farming. And good farming means the animals are peaceful and not ever jacked up with cortisol and adrenaline (which reduces the quality of the meat we share with YOU!).
Just this week, Greg sorted through a herd of 56 pigs and selected the exact few that he needed in less than 30 minutes. And then he watched as they calmly walked themselves up and on the trailer.
We’ve learned the key to pulling this off, week after week, seems to be having just one of us working with the pigs at a time. And to have that person be someone like Greg – who doesn’t exactly speak pig, but might be as close as one human could possibly get.
If you’re new to our community and you’re wondering why you just spent the last several minutes reading about how we go about moving pigs, I’m afraid I don’t have all the answers.
But I’m reminded of what a customer told me at the Farm Store this past week which was this….“knowing exactly where my food comes is just such an incredibly satisfying experience.”
Your Farmers,
Jenney & Greg
PS – All this talk about pig loading reminds me that I should mention that this is a fresh pork week! We’ll have our fresh organic pork as well as 100% grass-fed beef and organic (locally grown) veggies. If you would like to place an order, download the 5 Easy Steps to ordering HERE