Ardachy Farm - Pure Windswept Pasture Meats

Feeding the American Guinea Hog

2012-05-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

The common approach to feeding modern breeds of hogs is feed them until they're full.
Not so with the American Guinea Hogs.
These guys need some portion control. Without it they become obese.
AGH were bred to forage and seek out their food. They were also designed to grow slow.
This makes them a prime candidate for the slow food movement and pasture based farming.

On the contrary, this makes them a very poor candidate for being raised in confinement and on "all you can eat" grain based diets (they need a lower level of protein then other hogs). When they are raised in this manner the hogs become obese, struggle to move freely and you loose the highly sought after quality of AGH pork....

An example:

We had a AGH sow visit our farm to be bred last year. She struggled to walk and keep up with our hogs and looked like she needed a full body "lift." She was clearly unhealthy due to her owners feeding her buffet style. This was a living example of how AGH take a different type of management.

What do we feed?
Hay, lots of high quality second and third cutting hay. Full on clover, alfalfa, timothy and trefoil.
This satisfies their need to forage, chew and burrow.
The next part varies.
In the winter we feed sprouted organic barley and are going to start feeding peas next winter.
Growing hogs get about 1 lb, full grown hogs about 1/2 lb each for full grown hogs.
To top this tasty diet off we will be soaking our grains in fresh goats milk from our Saanen, Cranny. Mmm.
During the growing session we feed lots of fresh vegetables and fruits.
This will include turnips, beets, rutabaga, apples, nuts, salad greens, carrots and tomatoes.
We are building a root cellar this year to help supplement with vegetables and fruit throughout the winter.

Now on to exercise. Pigs need it too! Ardachy's AGH spend time in our brush filled pasture during the winter and are busy walking, playing, rooting and tilling which helps them stay fit. In the spring, summer and fall they spend all of their time rotating in small pastures to a new grassy area daily. They need high quality pastures as well. We seed a red and white clover mix as well as some timothy and alfalfa. With this mix, they graze and do not root once summer hits.

With this plan we are hoping to do most of our slaughtering between 10-14 months of age.
At this time they will have a hanging weight of 125-175 lbs.

AGH are a truely sustainable hog. With a little extra help from their care takers to make sure they have a nutritionally balanced diet, they thrive in a pastured based system both physically and mentally.

Pictures coming soon!

April - May 11th Specials

2012-04-22T07:04:00.003-07:00

Locustbrae Beef & Ardachy Pork Sausage

This month we are offering a grilling package at a special price.

This package includes our infamous beef hot dogs (1.2lbs) seasoned with all organic ingredients, a pack of our new Mild Italian Pork Sausage (1.2lbs) and a package of Locustbrae Beef Patties (1 lb) for $16.50.

Call one week ahead and we will have homemade hot dog rolls and hamburger rolls from Hedgerow Bakery (Alfred, N.Y.) ready with your order! These rolls are naturally soft due to the butter/egg blend and contain no preservatives or softeners.
These rolls are $3.00 per package.

Talk about a healthy local meal!

How do I pick up my order?

Farm store hours Friday 4 pm - 6 pm (Alfred, N.Y.)

Email for directions/more info: ardachyfarm@gmail.com

Cheers,

Your Friendly Farmers at Ardachy

March Specials - Locustbrae Beef

2012-03-05T16:40:00.000-08:00

This month we are offering our infamous beef hot dogs seasoned with all organic ingredients at a special price!

Originally 5.49/lb now 5.00/lb (limit of fifteen per customer)
Valid until March 31st 2012

How do I pick up my beef order?

At our farm in Alfred (email for more info.)
Ask for details regarding delivery to local areas

email: ardachyfarm@gmail.com

Cheers,

Your Friendly Farmers at Ardachy

Ardachy's Symbiotic Relationships

2012-03-04T14:25:00.005-08:00

Today we sent our two hogs to slaughter which opened up some opportunities for moving our critters around. We have a two acre pasture that has been used for winter rotation along with our fenced garden and rotating paddock in the yard.

First, we moved our 8 month old hogs into the rotating yard fence. Here, we placed our luscious second cutting hay. The hogs get high quality forage filling their tummies and our lawn (in desperate need of grasses) seeded and mulched. We will continue to rotate this pasture throughout the yard. The pigs burrow and root, enjoying all their pigginess and plant future pastures for themselves. Oh yeah, our yard will not be the traditional yard, how could we waste that space for Kentucky blue grass!? Beware of horse dung and pig pies :)

Secondly, we moved our chickens into the garden. The hogs spent quite a bit of time in here this winter. As a result they had plenty of hay, meaning weed heaven for this gardener! So, the chickens are working on cleaning up some of the hay seed and whole grains that escaped the hogs mouths and putting it back as nitrogen rich fertilizer.

In our permanent goat pasture the goats continue to challenge the honeysuckles existence and our original breeding pair (Duke and Ruby) terrorize their roots. They will continue to prep this until this summer when we plant it to turnips, beets and rutabaga's for their winter feed.

Branca, our trusty Sharplaninec will be adding chickens and ducks to her guarding abilities. We are acclimating her to them now. Our goal is to have a variety of free ranging fowl that Miss Branca will protect from hawks, foxes and other threats.

Wondering what our Christmas litter of piglets are up to? They are also chowing down on hay and reseeding a paddock area. You frequently find them cuddled up next to their very own guardian.

Lastly, ducks. Ah, ducks. They tug at my heart strings...well everything does but that is besides the point. I recently purchased two ducklings to occupy our garden this year. They will terrorize slugs and other annoying insects while putting it all back in the soil in a much more desirable form! We will be heightening our garden fence to deter our bird dog. That relationship is not so symbiotic.

Stay tuned, more to come on this developing venture!

Pure Windswept Pasture Pork 2012

2012-02-24T13:45:00.004-08:00

After three years of working hard to find unrelated breeding stock and building our American Guinea Hog passel we are very excited to share our plans for 2012 with you!

In March 2012, we will have a limited availability of mouth watering pork sausage, tenderloin and bacon.

These hogs were raised on pasture and once winter hit, fed organic sprouted barley and free choice 2nd cutting hay, cut from our own hay field.

They were rotated from our vegetable garden to a 2 acre pasture, free to root and fertilize next years crop!

The majority of this pork with be available through Kinfolk Natural Foods in Alfred, N.Y.

If you are interested in a few cuts, you can email us at ardachyfarm@gmail.com

In July/August 2012, we will be offering half and whole hogs for sale.

We will also have a variety of cuts (pork chops, tenderloin, bacon, sausage, roasts and hams) available at our future store front at Ardachy Farm and at Kinfolk Natural Foods in Alfred, N.Y.

For this batch of pork, all hogs will be finished on sweet clover, alfalfa and timothy pastures. They will also have their very own garden and receive fresh greens daily including sugar snap peas, spinach, lettuce and other tender veggies!

In January/February 2013 we will have more half and whole hogs for sale. These hogs will have lived their lives on pasture and through the fall and winter have a diet made up of apples, beets, turnips, heirloom corn, acorns, squash and pumpkins.

That is the forecast for the Pastured Pork at Ardachy Farm.

Email ardachyfarm@gmail.com to place an order or receive more information!

We are currently taking deposits on the half and whole hogs! We require a $50 non-refundable deposit to lock yourself in. Once the time comes, we will send you your personal cut spec sheet where you can identify all of your preferences directly to our butcher.

Whole Hogs are $3.50 per lb (hanging weight) packaging and transportation included

Half Hogs are $3.75 per lb (hanging weight) packaging and transportation included

Feel free to browse past post and links to see why you should choose American Guinea Hogs pork and the immense nutritional value of slow growing pastured hogs!

Locustbrae Scottish Highland Grass Fed Beef - February Specials!

2012-01-30T06:36:00.001-08:00

Locustbrae is a family run grass fed beef farm located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Alfred Station, N.Y. My husbands family has been running this operation since 1979 and has always valued pastures free of chemicals, humane treatment of animals and no use of antibiotics or hormones. My husband and I currently market and manage beef sales and are featuring it at our newly established farm, Ardachy.

We will be offering assorted packaged deals monthly at a 10% discount. An exact price cannot be provided on the packages due to the varying weights. We will choose which steaks and roasts are in your package based on availability.
Please refer to our website for individual cut prices and FAQ sheet

Locustbrae Farm Website - Click HERE!

Rochester Delivery at end of February - date to be determined!

Family Special:
5 lbs hot dogs (all organic ingredients with Locustbrae Beef)
5 lbs ground beef
2 lbs Kabobs
1 grade B Roast

Griller's Choice:
10 lbs hot dogs (all organic ingredients with Locustbrae Beef)
2 Grade A Steaks
2 Grade B Steaks
5 lbs ground

Liver Special:
$2.25/lb while supplies last!

Email: locustbraefarm@gmail.com

Grade A Steaks: N.Y. Strip & Delmonico
Grade B Steaks: T-Bone, Porterhouse & Sirloin
Grade A Roast: Prime Rib
Grade B Roast: Sirloin Tip & Chuck

Eat Them To Save Them

2012-01-27T08:45:00.000-08:00

The American Guinea Hog is on the United States American Livestock Breed Conservancy (ALBC) list as "critical." This means that they are in danger of going extinct.

So why should you choose to eat pork from an endangered breed of hog? It is simple, you must eat them to save them. They need a market for the breed to survive. There are many markets for Guinea Hogs but having a strong market for their top notch pork is one that will most likely ensure the breeds survival. By supporting pasture raised AGH's you are also ensuring that this breed is raised in an environment that they're designed to thrive in emotionally and physically. Still not convinced that eating AGH is they way to save them? They are also awesome at tilling gardens, walking fertilizers, pets, compost bins and there is demand for breeding stock. The Guinea Hog holds all of these roles here at Ardachy and will continue to do so for years to come. We hope that you choose to eat healthy pork and support the survival of AGH.

A Local & Sustainable Delicacy

2012-01-27T08:14:00.000-08:00

The American Guinea Hog (AGH). Thrives on pasture, needs minimal grain, farrows naturally and produces high end pork. Can it get any better? Yes. The fat on AGH's is to die for. But what does everyone think of when they here the word fat? Perhaps unhealthy, weight gain, clogged arteries? I am here to change this stigma! Fat from a heritage hog on pasture is loaded with omega 3's compared to grain fed/commercial hogs. It actually will spoil, indicative of its high nutritive values. It spoils because bacteria has loads to feed on. Whats the difference from store bought pork? What they eat. This includes apples, squash, goats milk, sweet potatoes, nuts, turnips and loads of clover/alfalfa/timothy/trefoil from windswept pastures! Summer and fall feed supply is plentiful and we are planning extensively for this winter 2012/2013. We will be storing as much from the garden as possible, free choice hay and supplementing with whole organic grains such as barley and triticale - NO corn or soy. Stay tuned for more to come and information on pastured pork availability!