Practical Pigs Magazine Practical Pigs Winter 2012 Back Issue

Welcome...
HAPPY HARVESTING!
I’m feeling slightly smug at the moment, but in a
good way. Having a couple of freezers  lled to the
gunwales with sausages and pork joints is really
satisfying; it chimes with the hunter-gatherer
within me!
Rather like stacking and covering a load of
chopped logs, bringing in the annual ‘pork harvest’
as the weather starts to turn and the evenings
draw-in, makes the onset of winter much easier
to bear.
We’ve just completed our second season with
pigs, and I’m happy to report that things proceeded
just as smoothly this time as last. As you’ll see in
the project summary which starts on page 18, we
didn’t  nd this year’s animals quite as engaging as
the Large Blacks we had before. Nevertheless, the
time we spent with our British Saddleback trio paid
dividends on so many levels.
Now, of course, our thoughts are turning to next
spring, and whether or not to switch breed for a
third time. There’s a groundswell developing within
the family in favour of the Berkshire, but it’s early
days yet…