Well, at least it was not snow! Our farmland has excellent elevation, we have one Creek that runs through the old farm and has very steep banks, one of the reasons we installed fencing was to prevent animals from going down there. Jennifer inspected the creek this morning and it's about three meters higher than it was on Monday. We have no structure on our land that impedes the flow of water aside from a single tractor bridge that stands almost five meters higher than the normal water level.
While inspecting the farm for damage (nothing really so far) we have found six fields that could benefit from better drainage. One area which is always too damp for planting, is now under nearly five feet of water. Depending on county rules there may be an opportunity to build a permanent watering hole. We could easily dedicate 20/30 acres to a nature preserve with a watering hole to attract local fauna.
In other news, we may actually start raising heirloom pigs, but not for the reason most people think. One of our pickers mentioned to Jennifer that there are certain breeds of pigs that not only provide high-quality meat but almost more importantly, are raised in forested areas. Another employee looking to "move up to full-time".
Our farmland has been in production for more than 1,000 years (it is mentioned in the 1086 Little Doomsday book). It also means that there are 1,000 years of rubbish and old buildings in our many groves, that cannot be cleared by machinery.
This is the solution that our staff member is presenting. She suggested that we start with 60 pigs, this breed of pigs are foragers and produce a high-quality flavorful porc (because they are not raised on grain). Our picker showed us pictures of her parent's farm where pigs have cleared the underbrush. Then, small equipment can be used to remove the ancient buildings and accumulated rubbish. We have more than 40 groves on the farm. Finally, and more convincingly, economically, heirloom pork may be an attractive business. There is a massive drop in the number of pig farms in the United Kingdom. This may be an excellent opportunity and kill two birds with a single stone.
It's still early days, but I suspect that our future ex-picker soon-to-be named pork foreman will lead the effort in building a passel or two (that's what you call a herd of pigs). Right now it seems that aside from lodging piglets in one of our barns, building a training pen (where they get used to electric fencing), and selecting two or three groves that could accommodate 30 or so pigs each, little else is required.
Our future pig "forewomen" (I don't know if that sounds right or not?) told Jennifer that moving pigs is easy, which made Jennifer think that she was the perfect choice to be the pig boss. Why this young woman came to us and is not working on her family farm is unknown, but she's enthusiastic and seems to know her stuff.
We even contacted our distributors and asked for input as to the type of porc meat they could sell. They were unanimous low fat dark meat would be best in restaurants and if the pigs are certified as forest-raised...the price point is even higher.
Sounds like a good business
Before Christmas near the soon-to-be-defunct punch-in board, I put up a notice that we are looking for part-time staff who want to move to full-time by diversifying their work (away from picking). This young woman while interviewing with Jennifer to establish skill sets mentioned that her family bred forest pork and that could be something new for the farm.
I'm not sure I would have picked up on that comment. That was all Jennifer, and the two of them worked out a plan and budget. Worst-case scenario we break even, but we get to clear our forests of all the accumulated rubbish. That's the worst-case scenario, it costs nothing (and we get cleared land). The initial investment is less than ￡ 15,000 (piglets, fencing etc etc). The rest is labour.
On the barn removal, the guys are moving fast. All the wood siding planks have been removed (and shipped out), and now they brought in a large crane to remove the roof (recycling) and the beams. They are being excessively careful with the beams apparently an architect bought the entire wooden structure (which dates back to the 19th century), to incorporate into a project. They will be done by the end of next week (which is good because the other crew is arriving on the 17th of January).
Note: Thanks for the numerous comments about the tractor bridge over our creek. Yes, once the weather calms down a bit, we will check the abutment for the bridge. Right now we only use UTVs on our pastures, the land is soggy from all the rain we have had, and we don't want to damage the lanes. The Met office seems to indicate that the next few days will be dry...it has been a wet winter so far, but mild. We have been heating the high tunnels every night for the past 10 days now, to keep the temperature above 10c. Well below trend for us.
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