We have another great conversation on this episode with Doneil Freeman over at Freeman Family Farm.
This time we’re talking wicking beds – a great compromise between the water savings of aquaponics or hydroponics and the micronutrient capacity of real in-soil crops. Get right to the conversation by clicking subscribe and listen to the episode!
First, let’s fill you in on the… NEWS FROM THE FARM!
USDA Inspected Processing vs. Custom Processors
Pork is being picked up this weekend!
Last week I told you that the pigs had gone off to the processor. Well, they’re processed and ready to pick up! Invoices are out to our customers, and we’ll be heading back to Simla and getting the hopefully yummy bacon, sausage, chops etc etc. We’ll of course be putting our own pork from little Hermione in our freezer. But the rest of the deliveries will have to happen fast and direct. Something interesting when you buy a half a hog direct from a farm is that the pork must go immediately from the processor to the customer.
Some of the customers asked if they could come out to the farm and pick up their pork. Or if we could hold it here until they got back from vacation. With the processor we used this time and the way we sold the pigs? Nope. Simla Frozen Foods does not have a USDA inspector on-site. It’s what’s called a “Custom Processor.” They are state inspected, not federal. Legally, the pigs are pre-sold while live, and then the transport to the processing happens as a courtesy. The customer owns the entire half hog, and isn’t buying cut by cut from us. That’s why we charge “by hanging weight.” We can’t currently tell people “ok, well bacon’s 8 bucks a pound, sausage 6, chops 7….” and let people pick and choose. In order to do that, the pigs must be processed with a USDA inspector, cleared, get the medallion seal, and then we have to have a food facility license from the county for the pork to be stored in our freezer and sold by cut.
Could we do it? Sure. It’s just more paperwork and more expense that we weren’t willing to do for the first batch until we knew we could get all this sold, and pigs would prove out to be a potentially profitable enterprise for us.Will we do it? There’s a strong chance. The first reason is that we are planning on moving our processing from Simla to Jensen Processing in Fowler. They’re USDA inspected, which means we’d be able to bring pork here and let the customers pick it up, or deliver at everyone’s convenience.
We’d also be able to grow out more pigs – or cows – on spec, and then sell the meat cut by cut at farmers markets or online. Or even to restaurants, though that’s a low-margin gig. They’re only about an hour away, or about 20 minutes further than Simla. But a fascinating additional reason is that one of our most loyal customers is the niece of the folks who run it! Well I’m all about business networking and referral marketing, so you’re darn right I’m going to support our customers and their people. She mentioned this in passing and I was thinking “reaaaaaallllly…. how did I not know this?!?!?” So we’re definitely giving them a try on the next batch.
When Pigs go in Standing Heat… Estrus Cycles and You (Sometimes too much you)
Speaking of the next batch, Lollipop had her heat cycle on Mothers Day and that Monday, so we have her on the calendar to go on down the road to Patty Berg’s next week to get us some piglets, hopefully. One hears about “standing heat” in pigs, but you really don’t understand what it looks like and the creepily amusing aspects of it until you actually are around a pig in heat. Lolli was nosing the fence, trying to climb up on it, just grunting up a storm as I was walking over with food.
“Lolli knock it off!!” I growled at her….