Sow to Sausage - The Life of a Pastured Pig

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March 4, 2023

Happy almost-Spring to you!

We wanted to take a minute to walk you through the life of our pastured pigs (using lots of pictures, of course!)

The phrase "pastured pig" can mean a lot of things to a lot of different people.

Our aim at Restoration Acres is to be as transparent as possible with how we raise our animals and how we get our products from field to plate.

So what better way to be transparent than to show you, in pictures, what we mean when we say "Pastured Pork?"

Take a look below to see what we mean!

Meet our top boar, Queso

We are all about natural processes. So let's talk about the birds and the bee....actually, let's just say we let our animals do the work when it comes to breeding!

While some farmers prefer to do artificial insemination on their animals to ensure higher success rates, we're more inclined to be involved as little as possible when it comes to this task.

This means we time the sows' cycles when putting them with the boars and make sure our breeding stock stays healthy and robust in order to get the highest success rates possible.

The Sow Life

Currently, we keep 12 sows in the breeding rotation. Our sows live on pasture and get rotated to fresh grass on a regular basis.

As seen in the photo above, we use portable pig huts for shade as well as for farrowing - a term used for the process of a sow birthing her piglets.

Most sows will make a nest out of hay and grass leading up to farrowing.

We allow our sows to farrow in the pasture with these huts, fresh hay, and the protection of an electrified net surrounding them.

Just as with the breeding stage, we prefer to be as hands-off as possible with the farrowing stage. We don't assist our sows with their births (they don't need our help!) And they are incredible birthers, by the way, having upwards of 14 piglets per litter...twice a year!

The Weaning Stage - Bye Mom!

Before you get too sad, know that by this stage these mama's are ready to wean those piglets! After all, many of them have been nursing 10-12 piglets several times a day for the past 6+ weeks (notice in the photo they're more interested in the food than the squealing piglets.)

Each piglet is caught up into our "piglet catcher" and moved to an area near our feeder pigs to meet the herd and be trained to the electric fence.

The Herd

This is our herd of feeder pigs, AKA pigs we are growing out for meat.

We run a herd of mixed sizes and ages, sorting out as needed the ones ready for processing.

Our feeder herd gets moved to fresh pasture every 1-2 weeks, depending on the season, weather, and size of the herd.

They are free to roam in a large "paddock," or fenced area, surrounded by electric fencing to keep the pigs in and the coyotes out.

The pigs feast on grasses and other plants, berries, nuts, and grubs, as well as a high quality mix of non-GMO grains and minerals sourced from a local mill and regional grain growers.

The Finish Line

At the end of their wonderful piggy life, our pigs experience a relatively low-stress sorting, loading and hauling process.

Step 1: Sort out the largest pigs from the herd using sorting boards, feed and a separate electric fence chamber (pictured above).

Step 2: Walk the sorted pigs to a central location on the farm where the permanent corral is located.

Step 3: The next day, walk the pigs onto a large livestock trailer and drive them just under 2 hours to the processor where they spend the night in a cozy barn.

Step 4: Well, you can probably figure out the rest from here...

Thanks for reading and for your continued support! We couldn't do what we do without you.

Matt & Rachel Palma & family

Restoration Acres Farm

"Food that Restores"

A Restoration Acres Farm Memoir (Part I)

Many of you reading this have been with us from the very beginning of our farm journey (I’m looking at you, family, and a few select friends.) In fact, we even still have customers who have been buying from us since our very first days at the farmers market! For those of you who are new or have been supporting us for a while but don’t know much of our story, I wanted to bring you into more of our farm’s history. Whether you realize it or not, you are an integral part of this story that is continually unfolding and morphing and bringing restoration to families, their health, our communities, creation, farming, animals, soil, and so much more. I frequently reminisce over where we were 14 years ago when our farming dream was born. A young, newly married couple, still trying to decide what to do with our lives. We had many grand ideas, hopes and dreams. But all those dreams were dropped when a new dream began in 2012. God has brought us through so many big events that have formed who we are and what our farm is, and even more small events that have sharpened and refined us and our story. Early 2012: We changed the course of our young, newly married lives after watching a documentary. While working dead-end jobs in South Florida, we watched the then-new documentary “Fresh” and our eyes were opened to the reality of our decentralized, industrialized, ecologically destructive agricultural system. We were honestly shocked. A bit angry. Intrigued. And incredibly inspired. We made a decision then and there to become regenerative farmers and began our journey of reading, watching, listening, and soaking up any and all information we could find on the subject. Building our first garden beds in my parents' Florida backyard after getting the farming bug Late 2012: When our employers wouldn’t grant us the time off that we needed to interview at farms, we quit our jobs with no assurance of where we were going next. We knew we needed to work on a farm. Matt did a “checkout” at Polyface Farm in Virginia, but when that highly competitive position didn’t pan out, we both applied at J&L Green Farm in Edinburg, VA. We both got the internship, and our excitement erupted. What an adventure we were about to embark on! Early 2013: We sold our car and many of our belongings, bought an old $2000 pick up truck (which broke down on our way home from purchasing it, by the way…), rented a small Uhaul trailer and moved ourselves up to Virginia to learn the ropes of farming. This was the season when the desire for farming was solidified in us. Through all the hard work and challenges of interning, our love for farming grew and grew. We worked together daily, running the daily operations of a forested pig operation of 300-400 hogs, plus many sheep, cattle, laying hens, ducks, and broilers. We lived in a camper and ate from the farm’s bounty. No TV, limited internet, and lots of books and conversation. This was a year of great testing, strengthening, and growing. We learned how to work with animals, how to understand their impact and benefit on the land, how to sell at farmers markets, how to handle inventory and order fulfillment, how to process chickens, how to operate a tractor and other big equipment, how to work with butchers, how to castrate animals, how to mercy kill animals, how to work in all kinds of weather, and the list goes on. Our home sweet camper at our farm internship Intern Days Intern Days Learning to process chickens Intern Days Winter 2013-2014: Upon completion of our internship, we packed up again and moved to New Castle where we rented land from and farmed alongside friends. We initially lived in another camper, but this time with no running water. We walked up a hill every couple of days to fill canisters with water and bring it back down to the camper. This was where we had our first official growing season! We raised 600 broiler chickens, 50 laying hens, and bought 5 cows. Every day was an adventure. Building infrastructure, figuring out our rhythms, meeting amazing seasoned farmer neighbors. We were doing it. Day to day life wasn’t easy but it was just the two of us and we were full of vigor and determination. Our first egg mobile! Our first cows Summer 2014: Our first farmers market! We were so excited to have our first harvest ready, We packed our cooler bags with fresh chickens and headed to our first-ever farmers market in Salem, VA. We were bright-eyed and excited to finally have a product, with our farm name on it, that we had worked so hard to produce. That day we sold a whopping 4 whole chickens! And about half a dozen loaves of sourdough bread that I had stayed up half the night baking in a toaster oven in the unfinished barn we were living in. Our first market wasn’t a huge success financially, but in terms of steps toward our goals it was a big success. We had some great conversations that day that we still remember, and our first day selling our food that restores was now under our belt. Fresh chicken for our first market day Salem Farmers Market Late Summer 2014: An opportunity arose for us to be vendors at the Lynchburg Community Market. We had lived in the area before, had family there, and knew it was a more appropriate market for us. For several months, we woke up at 3am and drove from New Castle to the Lynchburg Market every Saturday. At our first Lynchburg Farmers Market in June of 2014, we sold 15 whole chickens! Almost a 300% increase from our big day in Salem! We were ecstatic. It was all feeling so real, so right, so exciting, so fresh, so life-giving. Our dream was coming true and it felt like nothing could stop us. Or so we thought. Join me next week as we continue the Restoration Acres memoirs with part II!

Sow to Sausage - The Life of a Pastured Pig

Meet our top boar, Queso

The Sow Life

The Weaning Stage - Bye Mom!

The Herd

The Finish Line

More from the blog

A Restoration Acres Farm Memoir (Part I)

A Holiday Meal that Restores

Is the Farm Life Over-Romanticized?

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