Riverdog Farm Hog Blog

Sows in Spring Pasture

2011-04-26T16:36:00.001-07:00

These sows are just entering their third trimester, and they really like their naps.

More Photos

2011-03-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

The photos below are from a beautiful Saturday, March 12.

Feeding Time

2011-03-16T18:06:00.001-07:00

Late last summer, we added certified organic whey from Cowgirl Creamery in Petaluma to our hogs' diet. It's another excellent source of protein for the hogs and they love it. The dry feed is a ground mixture of our barley, triticale, and field peas as well as certified organic feed from Modesto Milling.

Concrete troughs and grain bin are staged in the open feeding area which is adjacent to the pasture. Our hogs have access to the organic grain and whey at all times of the day and can come and go from their feeding area to the pasture as they please.

More Photos From the Afternoon

2011-03-15T20:34:00.000-07:00

Sunny Saturday Afternoon

2011-03-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

Spring equinox is still few days away, but this past Saturday was as beautiful as any spring day gets in our valley.

More Photos

2011-03-11T13:47:00.000-08:00

The pigs are leaving their mark, starting around the base of the trees, looking for fallen nuts. They're cutting paths through the field exploring the ground, munching on the greens, and finding nice areas to take their naps.

Pigs in Spring Pasture

2011-03-09T19:19:00.001-08:00

It's been months since uploading some photos of our animals, but we assure you, the autumn and winter months have not been idle. We added ground for pasture, mended existing fence lines, added gates to better manage rotation, reseeded pastures, placed concrete feeding troughs, installed tanks for dispensing organic whey, and seeded barley, triticale, field peas, and safflower for harvest in summer.

On a rainy Saturday, we moved our hogs to their spring pasture of young barley, vetch, and mustard. Luckily, I remembered to bring along a camera.

Pigs in Summer Pasture

2010-08-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

This summer, to better manage the pasture, we set up additional fencing to divide the large summer ground. We rotate the herd from one division to another to keep the ground from wearing down too far.

Pigs in Shady Grove

2010-06-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

The black walnut groves are a popular hang out spot during the warm days.

Pigs in Pasture and Shade

2010-06-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

Summer is late settling in this year, but the days are still plenty warm. The hogs like to spend most of the day on shaded ground. They briefly venture into the sunlight to graze, then return to shade to take their naps.

More Photos

2010-05-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

The bottom two photos are from two Saturdays ago, and the top three are from this afternoon.

Pigs in Pasture

2010-05-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

Jungle Pigs

2010-05-15T13:20:00.001-07:00

With the summer season approaching, we've been very busy on the farm. Finally had some time last weekend to take photos of our hogs. The thing was finding them...

It was mid-day, and the pigs were keeping to shaded ground. Some searched for walnuts and acorn, while others found a nice resting spot in a stand of bamboo.

Watching Grass Grow

2010-03-31T18:09:00.001-07:00

The leaves are coming in on the walnuts, oaks, and cottonwoods, which will provide needed shade during the hot summer months. We mowed our summer ground (top five photos) hoping to have back a stronger stand of grasses when we'll need them in July. It's looking good, and we even see some alfalfa, which we seeded the winter before last, filling the gaps between the recently cut grasses and mustards. Our spring ground (bottom five photos) is ready for the pigs. In the tallest patches, the thick stand of mustards, vetch, barley, and grasses reaches 2.5 feet. We're pretty happy with the result and look forward to searching for pigs in the tall vegetation.

Spring Time

2010-03-22T17:51:00.001-07:00

We had some wonderfully warm weather, and the pigs enjoyed their days taking naps on partially shaded ground. This pasture held up well during the wet winter months, and we're happy to see that there's still plenty of green left, but we'll be rotating the herd on to their spring grounds come April.

Sows and Piglets

2010-03-12T19:03:00.000-08:00

After about eight weeks, sows show signs of being tired and begin to wean. They're constantly moving about not so much to get anywhere but to keep from the swarming piglets, because hungry piglets are everywhere.

Field Peas

2010-03-02T16:11:00.001-08:00

With another soggy week gone by and more wet days ahead, thought it's appropriate to post about another one of our dry-farmed grains. We seeded about 10 acres of field peas, and some of the pea plants are just starting to poke through the sea of winter vetch. Rich in protein and starch, we grind and mix the peas in with other organic grains for the hogs.

Watching Grass Grow

2010-02-24T20:39:00.000-08:00

A week of sunshine has made a big difference in our spring/summer pastures. In the north block of summer grasses, mustards, and amaranth (which we did not seed and is also known as pigweed) have almost completely covered any exposed earth. Photos below are from this drizzly Wednesday.

The mostly mustard seeded south block showed more dramatic growth. We think the ground might be ready for hogs as early as mid-March. I can't wait!

Sows and Piglets

2010-02-23T18:58:00.000-08:00

Grouping a few sows and their piglets together gives all little ones more opportunity to nurse. Good thing, because piglets are hungry throughout the day.

This Duroc sow rolls on her side and calls for her piglets to nurse...

Watching Grass Grow

2010-02-17T16:20:00.000-08:00

Ground is plenty moist and the sunshine this past week jump started the mustards.

European Wild Sows

2010-02-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

European Wild crosses are a great fit to our operation and do well in the open pastures. Below are sows in their first trimester.

Barley

2010-02-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

We're growing 30 acres of grains again this year. More than half that acreage is seeded with barley. Barley is an excellent feed not just for its protein value but for its higher content of essential amino acids compared to that of other grains.

Photos from a Sunny Morning

2010-02-03T19:52:00.000-08:00

These are from last Wednesday.

Watching Grass Grow

2010-01-31T19:13:00.000-08:00

After a series of rain storms, we wanted to see how the summer pastures are looking. Photos are from last Wednesday's beautifully sunny morning. The north pasture (the top four photos) of summer grasses is filling in nicely. Noticeably denser than the last time we walked through it. The south pasture (the next two photos) of vetch, mustard, and grasses also showed some growth. Although its ground was seeded later, we're hoping that the faster growing mix in the south pasture will be ready mid spring. With more wet weather forecasted for this week, and hopefully throughout February, chances are that we'll be able to rotate the herd into their new home at the end of March or early April.

The photos below are of black walnut groves that line the western boundary of our south pasture. The shaded cool ground in the groves are favorite resting areas for our pigs during summer.

More Photos from the Weekend

2010-01-27T16:05:00.001-08:00

These photos are from a sunny Saturday. Check out the pigs searching for acorns near the base of the giant oak tree.

Photos from the Weekend

2010-01-26T16:10:00.000-08:00

Rainy Week

2010-01-18T16:04:00.000-08:00

Storm clouds parted and we had sunshine in the valley for about an hour. Toward the eastern hills, rainbows came and went, and one appeared near our summer pasture. Rain or shine, the pigs were their usual selves exploring the ground and searching for a nutty snack.

The photos below are from Saturday

Pigs in Winter Pasture

2010-01-16T15:58:00.000-08:00

It was time to herd the pigs onto another pasture, giving the previous ground time to recover. The pigs wasted little time before munching on grass and digging near the base of trees for walnuts and acorns from past fall.

Watching Grass Grow

2010-01-15T16:44:00.000-08:00

The rain early this week and the sunshine past couple of days have helped grass grow in summer pastures. The ground is still months away from being ready, but it was good to see that the seeding took hold fairly. As the work completed in October was our second pass through the rough grounds, we're hoping for a denser stand of vegetation this summer. The days of rain forecasted for next week will certainly help, and with mild winter nights thus far, chances are we'll have lush ground of grass for the hogs come May.

More Photos

2009-11-16T19:01:00.000-08:00

Pigs in Winter Pasture

2009-11-11T12:24:00.000-08:00

A couple of the winter pastures were ready, so we let the animals in earlier this week. At first, they peeked over from the adjacent ground, but it didn't take long for them to start exploring and grazing on the grass.

Seeding Summer Pasture

2009-10-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

With the rainy season ahead, we're getting ready to seed our summer pastures. The moisture in the soil from the heavy rain earlier this month made for ideal tilling conditions. In a few days, we'll seed a mixture of alfalfa, vetch, and grasses. Hopefully, the pasture mix will establish over winter and be ready for the pigs come May.

Below are photos of seeded winter pastures which will be ready in November. We added the ground to existing corrals, which are in the adjacent ground with the walnut trees, to provide more open space for the pigs.

Shaded Buckwheat Pasture

2009-08-12T12:02:00.001-07:00

We tried out a buckwheat pasture, and the hogs loved it. Not only was the buckwheat good eating but also a cool surface on which our hogs got to rest.

The black walnut trees provide ample shade during the summer months.

We quickly realized that buckwheat alone isn't suitable for pig pastures as its delicate stand can't withstand stresses from the activity of our hogs. We'll try again with heartier grasses so the stand can last for weeks rather than just a few days, but after seeing how much the hogs like buckwheat, we'll look to blend it into the mix.

Pigs in Summer Pasture

2009-07-08T15:36:00.000-07:00

What's in a pork share?

2009-06-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

A typical pork share includes the following:

1 rack of ribs

5-7 packs of bone-in pork chops (usually 2 chops per pack)

1-2 packs of bone-in shoulder steaks (this is the Boston Butt sliced as steak cuts and happens to be the farm favorite)

1-2 bone-in shoulder roasts

2 packs of sausage links (usually 4 links per pack)

1 tenderloin

Shares are $7 per pound and range from 20 to 30 lbs. For a list of shares or to place an order, email csa@riverdogfarm.com. We serve parts of the East Bay, Napa County, Solano County, and West Contra Costa County. Delivery or Farm Pick-Up TBD.

Field Pea Harvest

2009-06-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

Dry-Farmed Grains: Field Peas

2009-06-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, with growing herd of hogs and flock of layers (see the Coop Scoop at riverdogfarm.blogspot.com), Tim Mueller & Trini Campbell wanted to grow organic, dry-farmed grains to supplement animal feed. So late that fall, in our first year of raising hogs, we seeded 15 acres of barley and field peas. Minimal input and work went into growing the field crops. We tilled the ground and added compost to condition the soil for seeding. Nothing more: no fertilizer, no irrigation.

We didn't get much rain that winter and spring, but the trial did yield a modest 20 tons of grain. Also, the experience encouraged us to grow more of our own dry-farmed grains for our animals and boosted our hopes for a better harvest the following year.

Last fall, we doubled the seeded acreage and added tritical to the list of field crops, but we didn't change the low input methods of growing our grains. Simply till, compost, and seed - no fertilizer, no irrigation.

Lessons from the trial and milder weather during spring produced denser stands of grains. We're getting better tonnage per acre than last year's harvest, and we're hopeful that this year's harvest yields a third of the grain feed for our hogs.

The top photo is the field in late February, the next two in mid-April, and the bottom three are photos of pea pods on harvest date, May 29, 2009.

Spring Time

2009-04-04T19:59:00.000-07:00

European Wild Boar

2009-03-17T21:56:00.000-07:00

Our farm is committed to raising our hogs in wide open pastures, allowing them to roam freely and exhibit their innate behavior (again, our pigs get to be pigs!). So from the beginning, we wanted to raise breeds with good foraging abilities.

We initially began with a herd of Tamworths, known for adapting well to pastures, and crossbred them with Duroc, Yorkshire, and Hampshire pigs. But, when it comes to thriving in our operation, the European Wild hogs take the cake.

Watching these shaggy hogs is a hoot!

More Photos

2009-02-28T13:20:00.001-08:00

Vegetable Culls

2009-02-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

One of the most amazing characteristics of pigs is their diet.

Primarily, our hogs gain on organic grain (some of which we dry-farm), but as mentioned before, they also spend a great deal of time foraging and rooting for food available in pasture; whether the meal be nuts, grass and other vegetation, or insects.

To round out our hogs' diet, ensuring they receive a diverse base of nutrients, we also feed them our vegetable culls (sorted, damaged produce and trimmings). During winter, the hogs munch on root vegetables, such as beets, potatoes, carrots, turnips and radishes, and leafy stuff, like kales, cabbages, broccoli, leeks, and trimmed tops of various veggies.

In one of the photos is a flowering patch of brassicas. The pigs devour the mustard cover seeded in pasture, so we picked and fed a few lugs of the stuff and figured they would enjoy rabe...

Our hogs loved it!

Rainy Days

2009-02-20T15:10:00.000-08:00

The recent rain sure made things wet and muddy. Even on flat ground I had trouble with footing, but the pigs had no problem traversing uneven terrain.

More Pictures of Riverdog Farm Hogs in Pasture

2009-02-17T13:24:00.001-08:00

New Pasture for Our Hogs

2009-02-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

On February 6th, we moved some of our gilts and barrows into the pasture above. It's carpeted with lush green grass and bordered by oak and black walnut trees. The pigs spend a good time of their day foraging on the grass and rooting for acorns and walnuts.

Our hogs do eat organic grain feed, but they appear to be instinctively searching for fallen acorns and black walnuts. It's a thrill for us to watch our pigs be pigs!

About Our Pork

2008-06-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

Riverdog hogs are raised in open pasture and fed supplemental organic grain. They are free-ranging pigs of mixed breeds including Duroc, Tamworth, Yorkshire, and wildboar breeds. We plant grasses in their pasture so they have plenty of fresh forage. Shade is provided by black walnuts and oaks along with other vegetation. The trees provide a favorite treat for the pigs too - nuts and acorns!