Happy As Hogs

As mentioned in a previous post, we had ordered two pigs, one suckling and one half-grown, from Erstwhile Farm run by Larry and Lanette Stec near Silver Creek, Nebraska. The couple, who met in their teens, run a 300-plus-acre organic operation with hogs, egg-laying chickens, and grains. Larry, who took over the three-generation farm when his father Leo died, converted it from a conventional farming operation to an organic one, saying he prefers working a smaller amount of land and "not handling materials that require a skull and crossbones on the label."

Larry and Lanette Stec

All three of their kids are grown, so the two hold the fort down on their own now. Work beckons constantly. In addition to the hogs, chickens, and fields, they also have a large home garden, the fruits of which I was fortunate enough to sample when they generously invited Kyle and me to sit and stay for lunch. Two kinds of homemade salsa, deviled eggs from their hens, hot pickled green beans, a really wonderful pickled eggplant, and of course, pork steak and grilled bacon.  “Nothing fancy,” she texted me in her invitation. But that's not how I would describe it.

An advertisement for Stec pork back when Leo's dad was still running the farm.   The sign sits above the kitchen sink now.

Today was the day to pick up the pigs. I took a day off work to make sure we could get them the day right after the larger one was slaughtered so it wouldn’t be frozen. That way, we could break it down pretty much right away. There is also a part of me that wanted the butchering experience as close to the time of slaughter as possible; I just thought it would feel more honest and real that way.  

But first Lanette took us on a short driving tour of their farm, which is home to a wonderful and loyal watchdog named Ida. Bless her heart. She barked at me as we arrived AND as we were leaving the house! The Stec’s farm is divided up into several pens to accommodate the life cycle of the pigs. One pen is for mothers that are still nursing, one is for pigs that have just been weaned, one is for first-time mothers, or gilts, that are being bred with the males, and another is for hogs that are just biding their time and putting on weight.

Pigs rooting around for food in the corn field.

Larry built an indoor “nursery” for the moms but quickly realized the nursery was overkill and that the pigs, including the babies, needed to be outside. So in addition to having plenty of room to roam, they have huts scattered throughout the farm to bed down for the night and to have a warm place to stay when it gets colder. The pigs spend a lot of time foraging in the fields for roots and leftover grain.

Huts for pigs that are farrowing (with piglets).

Pigs produce a contented grunting sound as a greeting to strangers and to talk to each other. Lanette said they also make this sound when they are nursing the babies. These pigs did appear to be a little leery of us, but they also appeared to really enjoy being scratched behind the ears and thus were tolerant of some human contact. Overall, it was really satisfying to see and interact with these guys up close. All they require for containment is a thin electric wire about two-and-a-half feet off the ground and learn quickly to avoid coming in contact with it.

Kyle giving this one a good scratch.

Alive, the pig weighed 120 pounds. But even gutted, it was a serious challenge to get in our car. The Stecs had put a clever, makeshift harness around it to help pick it up, but it was super unwieldy. The day after loading it into and out of the car, my entire chest ached and my arms were so sore. And this wasn't even a full-grown hog. We had built a wooden crate to contain the animal and bags of ice for the 1 1/2-hour ride home, but in an epic failure to plan, the box did not fit in our vehicle. Fortunately the pig was cold enough already. A couple of bags of ice purchased on the way home and laid over the top kept it cool and their was zero mess in the car. It worked out pretty well.

We paid our bill for the suckling and the hog and said our good-byes. I casually asked if their hens were still laying, if they had any eggs to sell. They said yes, so we added a couple dozen eggs to our order and were on our way.

Next: The Best Laid Plans. Part two of this post will describe the three crazy days it took to get this guy ready to eat and in our freezer.