Well I can't say that we harvested many vegetables this year, but the meat we grew may not fit in the freezer!
The pigs went to the butcher last Wednesday and should be ready for pick-up at the end of next week. All five were slaughtered here at the farm and the halves were taken over to Sutton, Vermont to be cut into parts and sent off to the smoke house.
On Friday night I called the butcher and made our requests for hams, hocks, bacon, and a variety of seasoned sausages. And while I've certainly eaten my fair share of pork in the past, I've never realized where the cuts came from on the carcass nor the combination of cuts that are possible from one pig. After a 30-minute conversation with the butcher our five pigs had been broken down into chops, roasts, ribs, hams, and the like.
How big were they? Last year's pigs were between 145 and 162 hanging weight, and we raised them for exactly the same length of time and fed them the same amount per pig as this year's pigs. Somehow (most likely due to a good breeding program) these pigs averaged 30 lbs more meat per carcass. The smallest weighed 160, three came in at ~180, and the big pig was 192 lbs! Considering that hanging weight averages 68% of the live weight, these pigs would have been well over 250 lbs after only 22 weeks.
The lambs are scheduled to go November 2nd, and the turkeys will go shortly thereafter.
As for other farm news, I've been working on rebuilding the small shed that Xavier knocked over last April. In addition the shed we'll be adding a sheep corral system that will hopefully help handling the flock more manageable. I'll post pictures when it's finished.
