Category: Pigs

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Videos: A window into our farm

We know that transparency is a huge priority to our customers.  You want to know how our livestock live and are treated.  You want to know what they are fed and what they aren’t.  You want to see what a day in their life is like, so that you can be assured that you are actually making a difference in our food system by supporting a local family farm.  

While not all consumers feel this way yet, we can see that the number of those who do is perhaps growing faster than ever.  We especially see this in the number of new customers that we not only have seen in the past year or so, but even the past few months.  It’s been really great to see more people wanting to become informed about where their food comes from and wanting to truly make a connection with a pasture based livestock farm.  As this new wave of consumer demand continues, not only will our farm continue to adapt to meet it, but our nation’s overall food system will do the same.

So for this edition of Pasture Posts, I have included some videos from the past that do a good job of allowing customers to peer into our operation.  I also was able to shoot a video after feeding some hay to one of the cattle herds this morning where I show you how our cattle live during the winter.  These older videos are a great way for newer customers to get better acquainted with Watson Farms while returning customers might have also not seen them yet. 

Take a look and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to be the first to know when we upload new videos!

Check out this video from just this morning showing how the cattle are doing and what they eating these days.
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Caring for livestock in wintry weather ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ – Pasture Posts #47

We hope that everyone who has gotten the winter weather, as we have here at the farm, is doing well and staying warm. We wanted to take this opportunity to give you a look at some extra measures we take to care for the animals that you all entrust us with. As your farmer, we feel obligated to be transparent with our practices, so we put together a video this morning showing how we keep our animals fed, sheltered, and bedded during winter weather.

The layer chickens are pretty cozy this time of year in an up-fitted turkey barn that has a deep layer of pine shavings so they didn’t make an appearance in this video. On the other hand, the cattle and hogs stay on pasture year-round so we have to take some extra measures to ensure their well-being during winter weather events. Take a look!

Pigs are a little more susceptible to wintry weather than cattle as they don’t have the hide like cattle do.  So we try to provide them with some more substantial shelter and bedding which they love.  The main objective for our cattle during winter weather events is to provide them plenty of forage (we never feed grain) and some access to wind breaks (trees).  
Continue reading Caring for livestock in wintry weather ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️ – Pasture Posts #47
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10 Differences between Grocery Store Pork and Watson Farms Pastured-Raised Pork!

This is part of a multi-part blog series comparing the benefits of pasture-raised proteins from Watson Farms with the industrial food system counterparts.

Today we come to you with some truths explaining what goes on with industrial pork production and grocery store pork and how it is different from Watson Farms Pasture-Raised Pork!

This is how we believe hogs should be raised. ON GRASS. This is the life we choose for our hogs on our farm, but this is not how 90% of hogs in the U.S. are able to live.

Hogs raised on pasture are healthier and produce a better product that consumers are seeking. 

Here are 10 way s that our hogs live a different life than conventionally-raised hogs.

Ours: Mother pigs live and birth naturally and are never confined to crates.
Theirs: Mother pigs confined to crates for the entirety of adult life.

Ours: Raised in an outdoor immune-building environment.
Theirs: Raised in sterile environments promoting weak immune systems.

Ours: Strong immune systems that negate the need for medications. 
Theirs: Weak immune systems that require drugs and antibiotics for survival.

Ours: Allowed to grow naturally and accumulate healthy body fat.
Theirs: Fed drugs like Paylean to promote lean muscle growth.

Ours: Enjoy the sunshine and fresh air daily.
Theirs: Subjected to artificial lighting most of their life.

Ours: Raised in smaller groups outdoors.
Theirs: Raised in large building housing a few THOUSAND pigs at a time.

Ours: Natural breeding when they are ready.
Theirs: Planned artificial insemination in crates or gestation pens.

Ours: Time tested hardy Heritage genetics.
Theirs: Fragile hybridized industrial genetics.

Ours: Regenerative mindset: Happier – Slower – Better Health
Theirs: Industrial mindset: Fatter – Faster – Bigger – Cheaper

Ours: 200+ square feet of rotated pasture space per pig.
Theirs: 7.5 square feet of concrete floor space per pig.

To see some of the differences take a look at the photos below.

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Points of Interest

We wanted to take a moment and provide you with some information you might find helpful.  We have a lot going on so we want you to be able to take full advantage of everything we offer.

First, we have deliveries almost every weekend (including this evening to our Columbia locations and tomorrow to our York County locations).  Thanks to everyone who picks up at these locations!  You can see when and where we are going to be by checking our Calendar.

Second, we have on-farm chicken processing coming up.  This year you have the option to pick up fresh whole broilers right after they are processed.  Go here to check it out.

Also, now is a great time to get on our list for a custom-cut bulk beef.  This has been a very popular option for many of you over the years, and we have a processing date coming up.  Go here for more information.  Here’s Matt and Noah getting a whole beef loaded for delivery to a happy customer.

And if you’d like to see some pigs doing what they do best (eating, rooting, wallowing), take a tour with us in the video above!

Lastly, thank you all so much for opting out of the industrial food system and investing in sustainable, pasture-raised proteins straight from the farm.  If you know someone else that might enjoy our products please let them know!  We rely heavily on word-of-mouth advertising so feel free to share this blog post.  We appreciate your support and look forward to serving you in the future!