STAPLES FARM

Moving The Sheep To New Grazing

Thank You, Everyone!

A thunderstorm rolled in around 3:15 am last Friday. I rushed outside to close the roof on the farrowing hut, making sure Tiana and her piglets stayed dry, but as you can see, my efforts were futile. Even covered in mud, they are stinking cute. It hadn’t rained at the farm since early July, so we are especially grateful for the ¾ inch we received. Today was another busy day on the farm. We weighed Tiana’s litter, moved and weighed the feeder pigs, and constructed new paddocks for Sebastian the ram and our new gilt, Sparkles. Great teamwork, everyone! Speaking of Sparkles, she ran through the electric fence just minutes after getting shocked a few times. Getting her back was tricky, so we’ll be keeping a close watch on her and Sebastian over the next few days. -Leo

A few weeks ago, our team decided to take a different approach and buy some Berkshires females from breeders focused on meat quality. All the farms we are talking to participate in the ABA Annual Progeny Test, and some have won it many times. We took the first steps on this journey by purchasing this Berkshire gilt at the Iowa State Fair Open Swine Sale from AJC Farms. Al and Adam Conver have a well-earned reputation for specializing in meat-quality genetics. Lillie's "Sparkles" AJC5 Sterling Lady 27-6 was sired by AJC4 Diamond Lad 2-3. She’s a long, tall, free-moving gilt, and we’re eager to see the impact she’ll have on our herd. One viewer put it best on their Facebook page after watching her video: “Super sound, flexible, balanced, proportional, and feminine. Looks like one who could make a real brood sow!” Berkshires like Sparkles may not always win the most ribbons, but for those prioritizing meat quality, this is exactly the kind of animal you want. Not to be outdone when it comes to naming pigs, we’ll be breeding Sparkles to either Woody or Buzz Lightyear in late September. Thanks to both Al and Adam for generously answering all our questions and arranging her safe transport to Oklahoma. -Leo https://www.facebook.com/reel/1044103608207351