Pigs and plastic
Our farm apprentice, Louisa, gives an insight into the management of the pigs this year, which are predominantly under her care.
Louisa Ellerker
All the pigs are outside! There are four little boy pigs in the garden next to poly tunnels and they are helping to eat through the compost pile and will also turn it over for the gardeners. The sows, Izzy and Ethel, and the big boar, Seamus, are all in the woods (this is perfect habitat for pigs as they love snuffling through leaf litter). And all 13 female weaners (young pigs that have recently been weaned from their mother) are all together enjoying the mud and bogs. We recently bought in 8 weaners through Ruskin Mill, a trust that focuses on biodynamic farming, to top up our litters.
For us, one of the more exciting things is that the new pig arcs have arrived for their summer housing. We get them from a company called Solway Recycling, who take plastic waste on farms (including from us - we recycle all our silage plastic wrap with them) and turn that waste into useful equipments like our new pig arks, as well as hen housing, feeders, and even benches.
For the pigs, however, they're probably most excited about the cows going out to grass and producing so much milk. The whey that is left over from cheese production in the dairy makes a really nutritious and protein rich food for them, and is a great way of making use of something that would otherwise go to waste.
