Farm News April May 2015
You know the old saying that pigs will eat anything?? Well apparently this is true because swine feeding practices have hit a new low. Just when you thought everything that factory farms could stuff down this poor animal was being fed to pigs we find out that pigs are given other pigs’ blood as well as the blood from dead cows. The blood is collected at the time of slaughter and sent to a plant where the plasma from the blood is then; separated out, dried and then fed back to the animals who are awaiting slaughter. CFIA is warning large farms about deceases that can spread to pigs in their food due to the plasma but the bigger question is should we be feeding farmed pigs any blood at all?? There is a big difference between what science and technology can do and what it should do. Is it right for our system to become so efficient that we feed a species of animal parts of the blood of its own species during the slaughter process??
At Townsend Farm our large black pigs live a very natural life, they root for their food in green pastures as well as scrub brush on the property. The large black pigs on the estate also provide 2 very useful services here on the home farm. They guard our small but growing Horned Dorset flock of sheep from predators such as the wolves and bears on the property, and they clear brush and keep the scrub down to a minimum. Our first pasture was completely overgrown and now between the pigs and the sheep it is cleared out. This symbiotic relationship between farm, nature, and the environment is what makes pork at Townsend fine foods taste so fine. Our pigs work on the farm hence their muscles are more developed, they live outdoors, so their fat is more marbled, and they forage for their own food which is why pork from Townsend has a taste quite unlike pork tasted anywhere else.
As stewards on this farm we feel a responsibility to treat our animals with respect. Pigs would never be fed any type of another pigs blood they get a ration free of GMOs, Animal by Products, and Hormones. This is how we feel we can raise the quality of our pork. Generally it takes us 90 to 120 days longer to raise one of our large black pigs but we feel the quality of our pork is worth it. You get what we believe to be the finest pork available in Manitoba.
Farm News
As I was in northern Alberta for the past 3 weeks Tyler, Reuben, and Hyrum planted the parsnips, rutabagas, beets, and carrots for me. This was Reuben’s first year at being in charge of the layout of our garden and he did a great job
Sophia oversaw the shearing this month and we will be sending the wool to Alberta where it will be carded and made into wool duvets for cabins. Our lambs are growing very well and we will have a load to take to the processors soon. Our lamb can be found at Crampton’s market in Winnipeg
Annastasia added a couple of new goats to her now growing herd. We are expecting milk and cheese next year!!
Hyrum’s chicks are now 5 weeks old and have switched from starter to grower feed. He also received a belated birthday present in the form of an egg incubator so we should start having all kinds of poultry here on the farm.
Reuben has 11 piglets which were evicted from their home in the chicken coop to live in the open air barn only to be ejected out by the guinea fowl to the outdoor pens. We weighed the little porkers and they have reached the 50 lb mark
Dawn is just about ready to begin a new enterprise for the farm as she is going to be at the Ste. Norbert’s farmers market every Wednesday. She will be selling pork and then chicken and our farm made soap products at the market this year.