Harmony, ME 04942
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Many of you know that we raised a few Berkshire hogs last year. The Berkshire is an old breed with a rich history. It is known for its excellent bacon and ham quality. At Willow Lane Farm, we have an interest in pasture raised meat and want to do our part to sustain heritage breeds.
The Berkshire has appeared on the Livestock Conservancy’s list of threatened breeds in the past and has recently made a resurgence. (Read more about the importance of protecting heritage breeds here: http://www.livestockconservancy.org/.)
The animals were friendly and, by all accounts, the meat lived up to expectations! It has been delicious.
The issue that we ran into with the Berkshires was a matter of pasture destruction. Take a look at the snout on the Berkshire pig on the right and compare it to the snout belonging to the Tamworth below it.
Now, consider the difference between a spade and a snow shovel. The length and width of a hog’s snout determines how deeply he or she will be able to root into the ground. Given this, we can easily deduce that the Berkshire will probably not be as hard on pasture as the Tamworth.
Even still, it didn’t take long for us to realize how relative “hard on pasture” really is. Despite a large pen and pasture set-up, the four Berkshire hogs we kept last year left their confines in tatters. (“In tatters” also being relative, as the area is well churned and fertilized and ready to be picked and seeded.) In the end, we decided to meat out all four of the critters and see if we could find another breed that would be a better fit.
Photo Sources:
Berkshire hog
Long-snouted Tamworth Hog
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Harmony, ME 04942
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