Wickham Family Farm

Now available in Davenport!

2013-12-29T18:35:00.002-06:00

Wickham Farm pork is now available at the West Kimberly Mall in Davenport, Iowa. The West Kimberly Mall is an eclectic collection of 160 vendors under one roof selling everything from antiques and collectibles to farm fresh beef, chicken and now PORK! But not just any pork. Oh no, not for WKM. They now carry our pasture raised, antibiotic and hormone free Red Wattle Pork! Some of the best bacon, ham, pork chops and ribs you'll find anywhere. So if your in the neighborhood, stop in give us (and West Kimberly Mall) a try.

What makes Wickham Farm Pork the Best!

2013-10-19T21:44:00.004-05:00

There are a few things that we at Wickham Farm do that places our pork among the best you will find anywhere. First, we start with the best pig breeds available. The Red Wattle and the American Guinea Hogs that we raise are what is known as heritage breeds. (HINT: think pig equivalent to heirloom tomatoes) These breeds are basically the same pig today that they were hundreds of years ago. They have not been bred to be extra lean (and tasteless), or to grow quickly under modern day mass production farming methods...aka, factory farm confinement hogs. What they are is hardy pigs that do well outdoors. They're great mothers and are excellent grazers and foragers and they taste great! Heritage breed hogs like ours tend to have more inter-muscular fat marbling and when it comes to pork, fat is where the flavor is.

Here in Iowa, over 90% of hogs are raised in confinement buildings where they spend their life on steel and concrete and almost never see the light of day. Hogs that are raised in these modern confinement style operations are fed a diet of corn, soybeans, vitamins, minerals and antibiotics. Yep, that's right. Antibiotics.
They are commonly fed to swine raised in confinement operations.at low concentrations for long periods of time in order to maintain heath and promote growth. Sounds crazy, I know. We never give our hogs sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotics. Antibiotics are rarely used on our farm except when necessary to save a pig's life. So why on earth would anyone give antibiotics to animals that aren't sick? The answer is simple. Hogs raised in the totally unnatural setting of a confinement building would frequently be ill without them. The confinement system of raising hogs doesn't work without sub-therapeutic antibiotics.


A "modern" hog confinement building just a few miles from our farm stands in sharp contrast to the method of hog farming we utilize at Wickham Farm.

And as if this isn't bad enough, many modern confinement hogs are also fed a growth promoting drug called ractopamine (paylean). Ractopamine is known to increase the rate of weight gain, improve feed efficiency, and increase carcass leanness in finishing swine. One source said that it could make the farmer an additional $5-$10 per head. Sounds like a hog farmer's dream come true doesn't it? But there is a dark side to Ractopamine. Ractopamine has been be linked to cancer. It has been banned in 160 countries including the European Union, mainland China and Russia yet it is still used extensively here in the U.S. Does this make any sense? Not to me it doesn't!

Like hog confinement operations, we feed our hogs a diet that includes corn, soybeans vitamins and minerals. But that is where the similarity ends. Rather than confine our pigs to a climate controlled building, we allow ours access to pasture.Yep, that's right. Pasture where they graze on grass, clover and weeds. The young pigs run and play and the older ones root in the dirt searching for tasty morsels of plant roots and worms. In essence, living outdoors on pasture allows our pigs to do what a pig is suppose to do. It allows our pigs to be pigs.

Our hogs diets are supplemented with things like pumpkins, squash, apples, pears and other fruit and vegetables that are gleaned from our garden and nearby farms. We have found that hogs that are raised and fed this way makes for some extra sweet, delicious pork. So what kind of pork do you want to eat?


Pumpkin eaters!


Proffesional pumpkin chucker!

One of many loads of squash and pumpkins destine for pig feed.

Special thanks to our friends at Indian Hills Orchard, Gravert's Apple Basket, Papa's Pumpkin Patch and the Joel Wood family for their contributions to our pigs' diet. The pigs thank you too!

New Place to get your Bacon Fix!

2013-10-11T16:04:00.002-05:00

The farmers market season is quickly winding down. There are only two more weeks until the Maquoketa Farmers market ends for the season. So how can you get your red wattle bacon fix this winter? You could could come to one of the last two farmers markets and fill your freezer. You could place an order for a whole or half hog. You can contact us anytime for pork to be picked up here at the farm. Or, as of this morning, there is a new way to get our great tasting heritage pork.

Wickham Farm is happy to announce that our pork is now available at the Timber City Trading Post in Maquoketa. The Trading Post is located at 105 North Main, just a couple doors down from intersection of Main and Platt in Maquoketa. For those of you not familiar with the metropolis of Maquoketa,it's the main intersection in the center of town. They carry a nice assortment of gift items, nick nacks and organic foods and now they have pork too! Owner Connie Behrens tells us that they will soon be opening a bistro in the back with our red wattle pork on the menu. How cool is that! The Timber City Trading Post is open Wednesday through Saturday 10m to 6pm and Sundays from noon to 4pm.

Hog Roast

2013-07-13T11:36:00.003-05:00

One of our customers sent us this photo from their recent hog roast. The guest of honor was one of our American Guinea Hogs. When someone questioned me as to how I choose which hog would be the right one for the spit, I just say that I opened the trailer door and yelled "who wants to go to a party!". Actually, which hog is chosen is determined in part by the number of guests at the party, the customers wishes and what we have available at the time of the request. This guy weighed in at 134 lbs (live weight) and took 13 hours to cook over a hardwood fire. Actually, I think the Guinea Hog is one of the best out their for this style of cooking. It has just the right amount of fat to make for some great eating. Word is that it was "Ummmmm yummy." It definitely looks yummy to me! Thanks for the picture, Ken.

The making of a bee keeper

2013-05-02T21:23:00.000-05:00

Last fall, my son Nicholas told me about a bee hive that was being kept on his school's property by science teacher, Mr. Tom Becker. Nick had the opportunity to "help" Mr. Becker with the hive on a couple of occasions. Mr. Becker saw that Nick had a real interest in the bees and told him that he should apply for a youth scholarship being offered by the Iowa Honey Producers Association (IHPA). The IHPA realized that membership numbers had been dropping for some time and that they needed to do something to get more young people involved in bee keeping. So, they started the youth partnership program.

Nick filled out the application to participate in the program. He put it in the mail and we waited to hear if he would be accepted. It wasn't long before we were invited to attend the annual meeting of the IHPA in Marshalltown. It was there that we learned that Nick and 11 other youth from across the state of Iowa had been accepted into the program!

Nick received a hive body, bees, all necessary equipment (smoker, hive tool, veil and gloves), 1 year membership to the Iowa Honey Producers Association, beginning bee classes and was assigned a mentor to guide him through his first year of bee keeping! In return, Nick agrees to attend bee classes, keep a written record of his bee keeping adventure and present a final report at the IHPA annual meeting.

I think that one of the most important parts of the program is the mentor. Nick's mentor is David Hayes, of Prairie Creek Honey. David has graciously offered to help guide Nick through his first year of bee keeping. Being a beginning bee keeper can be a little intimidating. Having someone to guide you along the way and answer a beginner's questions is a great thing to have. I have to admit that all this has been just as exciting for me as it is for Nick. I have been attending the bee classes with him and am learning as much as he is. So far, it has been a lot of fun and I think this could develop into a lifelong hobby for both of us.

The bees arrived this past Tuesday afternoon and with Mr. Hayes help, are now home in their new hives. Let the bee keeping adventure begin!

Nick opening the package of bees with mentor David Hayes guidance.

Putting the bees into the hive body.

Nick showing off his new queen bee.


Closeup of the queen.

Raw Milk in Iowa (round 3)

2013-02-24T18:44:00.000-06:00

Iowans have been in a 3 year legal struggle over the consumption of milk. Raw milk to be exact. Funny that something as seemingly harmless as milk could cause such a ruckus. This Wednesday, February 27th, there will be a joint hearing of the House Local Government Subcommittee and the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee to discuss HSB 131 and SF 77 (The Milk Bill). This bill would legalize sales of raw milk directly from farmers to consumers. Farmers could sell directly to consumers without being licensed by the state as long as they sold only on-farm or through delivery arrangements made directly with the consumer. The bills would NOT allow re-selling or sales at grocery stores (or farmers markets). If the subcommittee approves it, then it can go the full Committees, possibly the same week.

I am writing today to say that I am in favor of raw milk sales in Iowa. It is high time that Iowans have the right to decide what food to put in their bodies. I know that many people will tell you that drinking raw milk is not safe. Statistically, the risks associated with drinking raw milk are low. Why can't we drink a glass of clean, fresh, raw milk if we are so inclined? I feel that informed consumers should have the right to purchase raw milk if they choose to do so. If milk is properly handled, there is no danger in drinking raw milk. All fresh food needs to handled properly. We have come a long way since the early 1900s when milk pasteurization was used to fix unhealthy production and distribution systems. With today’s information, pasteurization is not the only way to produce safe healthy milk. The CDC reported three years ago that 3% of all the people in the U.S. drink raw milk at least once a month. That's about 10 million people. YET, IN THE LAST 1O YEARS, THERE HAS NOT BEEN A SINGLE DEATH IN THE U.S. THAT CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO DRINKING RAW MILK. Iowa is one of only 18 states that does not allow raw milk sales for human consumption. Thousands of people around the globe consume raw milk safely. In my mind, the whole raw milk issue comes down to consumer choice. It is time that Iowan's are allowed to make this choice for themselves.

It's an AgStravaganza!!!

2013-02-15T13:53:00.005-06:00

This coming Wednesday, February 20th, our local Soil and Water District will be hosting their first ever AgStravaganza!! The event will be held at the Jackson County fairgrounds in Maquoketa from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. Booths will showcase a variety of topics with information available on everything from rain gardens to rare breed livestock. Free seminars will be running throughout the day. Plus, there will be an indoor farmers market. Wickham Farm will be there with our red wattle pork for sale! Stop by and say hello. We would love to see you there!

Pumpkin Time

2012-11-12T19:57:00.003-06:00

Most people visit their local pumpkin patch a few days before Halloween to pick out a jack-o-lantern or two. We wait until the week after Halloween and collect truck loads of the pumpkins that are left lying in the fields. Why? Because the hogs love them! The pumpkins in the picture will likely last the pigs well into December. I feed them by throwing a few to the pigs each day. They hit the ground breaking them open exposing the mouthwatering flesh and delectable seeds. The pigs come running and eat the seeds out first. Then they eagerly devour the rest of the giant orange orb's flesh. This morning, however, they were a little more difficult to break open.Temps were in the mid-20's last night. They were froze up solid. No worry. The pigs can chew them open if they really want them. And believe me, they want them. It's just more fun for me to break them!

Where to put them all. This year's growing pumpkin pile.

Like most people, pigs like variety in their diet. They like it when we mix things up. You'd get tired of eating the same thing day after day, and they do too. The basis of their diet is a blend of locally grown grains that we have made up for us at the local feed mill. This provides them with the right mix of vitamins and protein they need to grow big and strong. They could easily survive on just this feed, but what fun would that be? During the summer months they get a little piggy salad bar with their main course (grain mix) by grazing the pasture. But with winter nearly hear, the grasses, field peas, rape, clovers and forbs (a mix of other plants most people call weeds) that make up our pasture are no longer growing so we supplement with hay. Yes, pigs will eat hay! In our never ending effort to product the best tasting pork at an affordable price, we are always on the lookout for feed stuff that not only will the pigs enjoy eating but will also make for great tasting pork! I strongly believe that a varied diet not only makes for a healthier animal, but also makes better tasting pork.

Last litter of 2012

2012-10-27T14:11:00.000-05:00

Our sow Betty farrowed yesterday. 11 piglets were born in one of the port-a-huts out in the pasture. I was a little concerned about these new younguns out there in the cold last night. Temperatures got down into the upper 20's. But that didn't seem to bother these piglets at all. I guess some credit has to go to Betty. She's proving herself to be a real good mother.

With much colder weather and snow just around the corner, we have not planned any more litters until April/May of 2013.

Hogs Ready for the Butcher

2012-10-20T09:11:00.003-05:00

Whole and half hogs for sale

This summer we have been selling red wattle pork by the cut at the local farmer's markets--Maquoketa, Clinton and DeWitt, Iowa. Well, the farmer's market season is winding down so we are now offering whole or half hogs for the freezer. This is the same great pork that our farmer's market customers have been raving about all summer. Get your hog cut and wrapped the way you want and buy it by the whole or half hog and save some money while eating great pork. Because of this summer's draught, feed prices have raised some 30%. Raising pork prices can't be far behind.

Here's how it works.

Once a butcher date is set we require a $100 deposit for a whole hog or a $65 deposit for a half hog. The deposit is due before the set butcher date. Currently we have butcher dates set for the Edgewood locker for October 22 and November 13. (UPDATE: the next available butcher date will be in early February 2013)
We will deliver your hog to Edgewood locker.
Once you have reserved your hog you will need to call the locker with your cutting instructions.
After processing you will be responsible for picking up your cuts of meat and paying the locker directly for the processing of your pig.
After the pigs are processed we will get the hanging weight of your pig from Edgewood locker. We will then send you a final bill based on the hanging weight of the pig less the deposit.

Processing costs can vary depending on the cuts of meat that you get. A good explaination of this can be found at http://www.edgewoodlocker.com/meat-processing/how-much-meat-are-we-getting/how-much-meat3-1/

Meat from a typical half hog (from a 250 – 270 lb. live animal) consist of approximately:
40 Pork Chops-(1/2” thick)
2 Shoulder Roast (4lb)
12 Shoulder Steaks (1/2” thick)
1 Ham (15-18lb; can be cut smaller)
1 Rack Spare Ribs (2lb) (can be trimmed)
2 Hocks (can be smoked/trimmed)
8-10lb Belly (can be bacon or side pork)
6-10 lb ground pork/or ground sausage.

For a whole hog, just double this. Things like the heart, liver and tounge are also available. The fat can be rendered into lard, or have it ground by the locker so that you can render it yourself.

If you would prefer, we may be able to deliver your hog to another locker of your choice if it is within a reasonable distance of Maquoketa, Iowa. You can also pick up your hog here at the farm if you want to butcher it yourself. Live butcher hogs are sold for $1.25/lb.

For more information, contact us at wickhamfarm@gmail.com

New Guinea Pigglets, Red Wattles and Muscovy ducklings

2012-05-06T21:53:00.001-05:00

Newborn Guinea piglets

Spring is the time of the year when there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done that needs to be done. Posting on the blog gets put on hold while I attend to all the other chores. It's not that the blog isn't important. It's just that there are farm chores that must be done... new pens need to be built, electric fencing has to be moved and planting has to be done. The list of things to do is much, much longer than this, but you get the idea. Spring is also the time when new babies are born here on the farm. Last week, we had our first litter of American Guinea Hogs. 3 boys and 2 girls. Today, another litter of 4 were born (2 boys, 2 girls). Our small herd of guineas is growing fast!

runaway piglets

The red wattle piglets are now almost a month old. They will be weaned in a couple weeks. Man, they grow fast! Lately, their favorite activity is to squeeze under the fence of their pen and go exploring. My wife, Jane, calls them the runaways. They walk around in a pack exploring the cow pasture and the machine shed. But if something frieghtens them--a loud noise or a curious holstien steer, they bee-line it back to momma sow and safety.

Muscovy family

Even the ducks are getting into the act. Yep, spring is here!

Breed them or eat them?

2012-03-27T21:13:00.026-05:00

In the last couple months, four litters of red wattles were born here at Wickham Farm. In many ways, young piglets are like most other youngsters. They have an insatiable appetite and want nothing more than to eat (nurse), sleep and play. Over time, this can cause the sow to become wore down and loose body condition. To keep mama from getting too wore down, the piglets are weaned (separated) from their mother at around six to eight weeks of age. At this point, they are eating solid foods well and are more than able to make it on their own. They quickly adjust to their new life and grow very quickly. At this stage they are referred to as weaners and can gain nearly a pound of weight a day.

There are a couple of nice looking gilts (young females), one very nice boar (sexually intact male), and several barrows (castrated males) in the group. Most of these piglets will be raised to become hams, bacon, roasts and other tasty cuts of pork. Red wattle pigs are very rare animals with less than 2,000 of them known to exist worldwide. They are listed as critically endangered by the American Livestock Breed Conservancy. Because of this, you would think that every piglet would be saved to increase the breed's numbers. Frankly speaking, this just isn't practical. Most farmers, us included, can't afford to raise livestock without a market for them. As much as we enjoy them, they aren't pets. That's why we sell red wattle sausage, bacon, ham and other cuts of pork. For the long-term benefit of the breed, we follow the "breed the best and eat the rest" maxim of livestock breeding. Fortunately, pasture raised red wattle is some of the best tasting pork in the world. Once you've tried it, you'll never want grocery store pork again!

There are a couple very nice looking breeding quality piglets in the bunch. If you are looking for a nice red wattle piglet for breeding or just one or two to raise your own pork, drop us an email. We probably have just what you are looking for. Or see us this summer at the Clinton, Iowa farmers market and buy your pork by the package. Either way, your purchase will not only help to support our small farm, you'll also be helping to preserve a rare livestock breed.

My other job

2012-03-14T20:01:00.008-05:00

I don't talk much on this blog about my life off the farm. Believe it or not, I do get off the farm.When I'm not busy feeding hogs or pasturing poultry, I am employed as the Executive Director of the Clinton County Conservation Board. I've been with Clinton County for over 27 years, serving first as a Park Ranger and for the last 8 years as the department director. I manage 11 employees, 4 campgrounds and over 2,000 of public lands. Most days, I really love my job. Yesterday qualified as one of my best days at work.

Our latest under taking is the construction of a park visitor/nature center called the Mississippi River Eco Tourism Center. Yesterday, we had an 8,000 gallon aquarium delivered to the new facility. It is huge! 18 feet long, 10 feet wide and 6 feet deep. The aquarium arrived by semi from a custom manufacturer in California and was skillfully placed in the building by a local crane service. Here's a news story from a local TV channel.

Eco Tourism Center In Camanche

Yes, that's me in the video.

One egg omelet?

2012-02-25T17:38:00.000-06:00

Every year around late February or early March, our chickens start to increase their egg production. Usually, this means the hens all start laying a lot more eggs. But for one hen, it meant one really, really huge egg.


Extra, extra, extra large egg.

Most of the eggs on this plate would grade out as large or extra large. The one in the center.....well, I would call it humongous! You have to wonder how she was able to even get this one out. Ouch! Any guess as to how many yolks this egg will have? I think you could make a pretty decent sized omelet with this one egg alone.

Goats at Wickham Farm

2012-02-11T20:57:00.005-06:00

Goats were the first "real" livestock that we had here on the farm.Being the greenhorn goat herders that we were, we made a lot of mistakes when it came to goat farming. Our very first mistake was purchasing a pair of goats from a sale barn. We didn't really know anything about goats at the time, but they looked pretty good to us and we heard that goats would be good for keeping down the weeds around the farm. Sounds simple enough. Boy, did we have a lot to learn! One of my coworkers who just happens to have grown up on a goat dairy stopped by after work one day to look at our newly purchased goats. To our surprise, she took one look at our goats and laughed out loud. "Why did you buy such old goats?" We were a bit surprised. They didn't look all that old to us. Like I said, we had a lot to learn about goats.

That was about 12 years ago. While our first goats didn't last long... after all, they were already senior citizens... we did learn to love goats. At times, we have had as many as 50 goats on our small farm. I have hand milked as many as 10 goats twice a day everyday. Jane made cheese and soap from the milk and our children earned a lot of ribbons showing goats at the county fair. Today, we are down to only five nannies and my milking chores have been nearly non-existent. While we will probably always have a few goats around, I don't think we are likely to have a large herd again. At least not anytime in the foreseeable future. Notice that I didn't say that we would never have a large herd. I have learned not to say never when it comes to our farm animals. Just three years ago, we didn't have any pigs. Today we have over 50! But then that's another story.

Last week, one of our boar nannies, Heidi, had twins. A boy and a girl. Thank goodness she had them before the current cold snap hit. Mother and kids are doing fine and our goat herd now numbers 7!

Winter Farrowing

2011-12-18T21:03:00.003-06:00

Two new litters of piglets were born on the farm this month (so far). Much of what I have read on the internet says that newborn piglets need temperatures in the 85 - 90 degree F range. I think it is safe to say that our unheated sheds are much colder than this. Our temperatures have been a bit warmer than normal--global warming anyone? But night-time temperatures still dip down below 20 degrees F and the piglets seem to be doing fine. Plenty of dry bedding and a nice warm sow to cuddle up is all they need.

One of the litters was from our sow Helga (registration #1953) and our boar Herbert (#1957). There are 4 boars and three gilts in this litter. One of these gilts has already been spoken for! Helga and Herbert have produced some outstanding piglets for us in the past. So good in fact, that we kept two of the gilts back for our own breeding herd. Wilma (#3342, a Helga and Herbert daughter) and our boar Wilbur (#3339) recently had a litter of 10. Wanda (#3340, another Helga and Herbert daughter) is due anytime now. Can you say Christmas babies!

Breeding quality piglets are available for $250 each. If you would like a boar, please let us know asap--before they become barrows! A limited number of barrows will be sold for those wishing to raise their own pork at $80 each. The rest will be raised to supply our farmers market customers.

Port-a-huts

2011-11-12T20:03:00.002-06:00

I really love craigslist. I check the farm and garden listings for our area almost daily. Over the last couple of years, I've snagged some pretty good deals on used farm equipment through craigslist and have even utilized the site to make a few sales myself. The news media tells us all about the bad things that can happen when using craiglist--scams, rip offs or worse, but I've had nothing but good experiences. Take for example the port-a-huts that I bought yesterday. I saw the ad last Saturday and emailed the seller immediately. After settling on a fair price, I told them I would be there to get all nine that they had for sale.

Inspecting some of my newly purchased huts.

Port-a-huts are small metal huts that are used for pasture pig farrowing and other small animal housing needs. They have the advantage of being relatively light weight (145 lbs according to the manufacturer) and they're very durable. Next spring, we'll put them in the pasture for the pigs to farrow (give birth) in. Today, I put two in the garden so that I could put hogs there to clear the weeds and leftover veggies this winter. The hogs will eat the vegetation and root up the soil making next spring's garden prep work go much quicker and easier for me. My wife and daughter helped add some old hay to the huts for bedding. The pigs will have a warm, dry spot to sleep in while they do their garden clearing duties.

Adding bedding to the huts.

Two huts ready for the pigs.

Hogs Bobbing for Apples

2011-11-06T21:49:00.000-06:00

In an earlier post I mentioned getting a load of apples from a local orchard to feed to the pigs. Jane thought it would be fun to see if the pigs would bob for apples. You know, the way they used to do at Halloween parties back in the good ol' days.

So we pitched a couple apples in the water tank and watched.


I'm not going to try it, you go first. No, you try first.

O.K. Here goes!

Success! Or the guest of honor at a luau party.

As you can see, pigs are pretty good at bobbing for apples. Who'd of thunk it.

One season of piggy salad bar pasture

2011-11-06T21:29:00.001-06:00

Last June I wrote about what I called the "piggy salad bar" pasture mix. This was my first attempt at planting pig pasture. After reading all I could find on the subject on the internet, I planted about 1 acre of land to a mix of dwarf essex rape, oats and cow peas. Recently, I've been asked to write a little about the results of this summer's grazing. The pasture mix was grazed by our red wattle sows and gilts. I divided the pasture into three sections and the hogs were rotated to fresh pasture as the patch they were in was grazed down. All of the pigs did well and the gilts continue to grow at a good pace.As a group they ate about 25% of their normal feed ration. This made for a substantial savings on the feed bill. I have to say that overall, I was very happy with the planted pasture. I think the pigs were happy too. While I think it is fair to say that my pasture mix was a success, there are a couple of things that I will try to do differently next year.

First, I will plant more ground to an annual grazing mix with staggered planting dates. This way I can rotate the hogs into fresh pasture that is not overly mature. By the time I put them on the last bit, the oats were getting a little bit tough and the cow pea pods were drying up.
Second, I will try to expand the variety of things I plant. Maybe some turnips or beets for fall grazing. Or some corn to hog down. This fall, we were fortunate enough to get a couple of truck loads of pumpkins given to us. I may plant my own patch next year and let the hogs harvest them, thus eliminating all the heavy lifting!


Trailer load of pumpkins, gourds and squash for the pigs.

Guinea Hogs enjoying a couple pumpkins.

The vast majority of pigs today are raised in confinement buildings and fed a ration of corn and soybeans with low levels of antibiotics added to promote good heath and faster growth. This produces a fast growing hog that is profitable for the farmer and inexpensive for the consumer, but pretty much tasteless. The kind of pork you find in most supermarkets today! I firmly believe that the way to raise the best tasting pork it to raise healthy, happy hogs who get fresh air and a diet that consists of more than just corn and beans. After all, you are what your food eats!

American Guinea Hogs

2011-10-30T18:06:00.002-05:00

Wickham farm has been raising red wattle hogs since 2009. We currently have 6 red wattle sows/gilts, 2 red wattle boars and 5 piglets. We really love the red wattles, but are always open to something new and different. I had heard about a farm in Dell Rapids, South Dakota that specialized in preserving rare breed hogs (isn't the internet great!). After exchanging a couple of emails and phone calls, Jane and I made the long drive to Maveric Heritage Ranch in Dell Rapids, South Dakota to add American Guinea Hogs to our farm. I thought we would come home with 3 gilts and a boar. Silly me! Maveric Ranch has several lines of Guinea Hogs so choosing just a couple was very difficult. Jane picked out 8 girls and 2 boys, but Arie McFarlan, owner of Maveric Ranch made sure that the long drive was well worthwhile. Five more girls were added to the trailer so as to have a full load. We came home with 13 girls and 2 boys. An instant Guinea herd. Thanks Arie!

Our son Nick saying hello to one of our new Guinea Hogs.

So why Guinea Hogs? The American Guinea Hog is a small black pig that is unique to the United States. The breed was popular in the United States for many years, but became nearly extinct. They are now listed as critically endangered by the ALBC. Thomas Jefferson was among those who documented early imports of the breed to the U.S. The hogs were imported to the U.S. from West Africa in conjunction with the slave trade. More info on the Guinea Hog is available at the American Livestock Breed Conservancy's website.

We feel that Guinea Hogs are ideal for the small homestead. Guinea hogs were expected to forage for their own food, eat rodents and other small animals, grass, roots and nuts, and clean out garden beds. What more could you ask for from a pig? Oh yea, what about taste? Although we haven't eaten any yet, we are also told that they taste great! Arie has entered her Guineas in many taste tests and won! Her hogs are featured on the menus of many fine restaurants across America. We hope that Wickham Farm Guineas will do so well.

Apple Time

2011-10-10T20:50:00.001-05:00

Fall is a time when all kinds of crops are plentiful. There is a lot of food that is wasted because it is over ripe or blemished. Much of it makes good feed for our hogs. Saturday, we gathered up windfall apples for pig food. We gathered the apples from under 6 or 7 trees in no time. These would otherwise go to waste.

Big scoop for a little girl!

Just a few more buckets and the truck will be full!

This is just one more way that we try to offer our pigs a healthy and varied diet. You wouldn't want to eat the same old thing every day and neither do they. Much thanks to our friends at Indian Hills Orchard in Fulton, IL and the other farmers market vendors who have sent surplus produce home for our pigs. It makes great pork!

Making Hay

2011-09-09T21:49:00.001-05:00

I have a sort of love/hate thing going when it comes to making hay. When everything works and the job is done, I love it. Nothing better then the smell of fresh cut hay! BUT....when its excessively hot and humid, or the equipment breaks down, or when the hay is rained on before it's put up, baling hay just plain sucks! It sucks more often than I care to remember. Thankfully, yesterday was not one of those days. It was cool and dry with temperatures in the 70's and the equipment worked as flawlessly as a bunch of antique farm equipment can. At the end of the day, I had made 27 4x4 round bales with a 1955 AC WD45 tractor and a 1970's era Vermeer 504c baler. Ancient equipment indeed, but it got the job done and it's all paid for. Ad these new bales to the 38 that I had made earlier this year and we should have more than enough for our beef cows and goats to eat this winter. Some will even go to the pigs for bedding and for munching on. Yes, pigs will eat hay. While pigs are not ruminants, they are omnivores and they will eat hay. In fact, I think they really like it.

Baby Ducklings

2011-08-31T21:16:00.000-05:00

Muscovy hen and her ducklings

There isn't much that is cuter than a fussy little baby duckling. Mama Muscovy was parading these newly hatched ducklings around the farm this morning. She seemed pretty proud of herself! The ducks are my son Nick's project. He started off with just a couple ducks and now has more than I care to count. His hope is to be able to sell some of his flock this fall and make a little cash for himself.

Muscovy are fun to have around and they almost take care of themselves. They spend the day roaming the place catching bugs and eating grass. The Muscovy is a large duck with a lean dark meat and are the only domestic duck that is not descended from the Mallard. They are native to Mexico and Central and South America but feral populations are spreading in southern states where they can become a nuisance. Here they are just a part of the farm.

Pork Price List

2011-08-28T14:56:00.004-05:00

We have had a lot of interest in our pork since we began selling it at the Clinton Farmers Market just over a week ago. The pork we are currently selling is of mixed breed. These pigs are pasture raised and antibiotic and hormone free. The price list for this very good tasting pork is below. Beginning in the spring of 2012, we will begin selling our red wattle pork at our Clinton Farmers Market stand. See you at the Farmers Market!

Ground Sausage with just the right amount of spice!

Great Wieners! These are the real thing!


Click for larger view. UPDATE: Pork prices have been updated and can be seen on our new "pork by the cut" page.

Pork For Sale at Clinton Farmers Market

2011-08-21T14:29:00.001-05:00

We now have packaged pork for sale by the cut at the Clinton Farmers Market! A couple weeks ago, we took two hogs to Mark's Locker in Rowley, Iowa for processing. There lockers that are closer to us, but we chose Mark's Locker because of the quality of their processing. Mark's locker is a state inspected locker that is owned and operated by Tom Taylor. I first learned about Mark's locker through Tom's son Brad. Brad works for me as a Park Officer at Rock Creek Marina & Campground. When I'm not home on the farm, I work as the director of the Clinton County Conservation Department--but that's another story. We work hard to produce quality pork and we wanted a top notch butcher. The hams, bacon, brats, wieners and sausages from Mark's locker are second to none! In fact, Mark's locker just took first place at the 2011 Iowa State Fair for their smoked hams and third for their cooked brats. Congratulations to Tom Taylor and everyone at Mark's Locker (loud applause)! If you are looking for some truly great pork, come see us at the Clinton Farmers Market. The market is located at Four Squares Park on the corner of Roosevelt and Main Avenue in the Lyon's business district. We are there on Wednesdays from 4 to 6 pm and Saturdays from 8 to noon.

Our freezer is now full of packaged pork to sell at the Clinton, Iowa Farmers Market!