Getting started with forest-raised pork

In January 2024, my wife and I got rid of our goats in favor of raising some pigs in our woods. Our property is heavily wooded and we wanted an animal that could help clear our underbrush. The goats we had were not clearing the land like we had hoped and research suggested pigs might be a better option.

I spoke to a co-worker who is a homesteader and he sold me four piglets a few weeks later. Two males and two females. I arrived at his farm, placed the pigs in a dog kennel and drive back to Oz Homestead. Days prior, I set up their enclosure as follows: 32x32ft enclosure consisting of t-posts and cattle panels, 1x 6x6ft lean-to shelter (I built myself), asmall water trough and food bowls. This setup worked great as the initial receiving area. I fed them twice a day with locally sourced feed from CFC in Bealton, VA and dug out a wallow with my tractor.

After a few weeks, we purchased a Premier One electric hog net system with solar charger. We set up a line of netting in their 32x32ft enclosure and connected the solar charger. After a few minutes, the curious pigs approached the net and received a shock which sent them scurrying. After a week, we were satisfied that our four pigs were trained to the electric net.

I took a walk-behind brush cutter and cut a trail in the woods adjacent to their enclosure and set up the electric netting. I had a 100ftx100ft area enclosed by the netting and removed a cattle panel from their enclosure to release the pigs. They scurried into their new paddock and had an absolute blast rooting up the soil and foraging. After a month, the pigs had cleared much of the brush in their paddock. I repeated the process and moved them to another new paddock using the electric netting. I would then enter their old paddock with my chainsaw and tractor to clear the area of unwanted trees, while leaving some trees for shade and acorns, this is called “silvopasture”.

When the pigs began to reach a weight of approximately 250lbs, placed my livestock trailer in their paddock and fed them in it for a week. The pigs were cautious at first, but eventually entered the trailer to eat. When my targeted pig entered the trailer in the evening of day seven, I closed the back door and took the pig to our USDA certified butcher the next day. I picked up the packaged pork from the butcher a few days later and tried it for the first time that night. My wife and I cooked up pork chops that were outstanding. The color of the meat wasn’t grey or pink like the grocery store, but a nice red with marbling. It was the best pork I have ever had. This truly is the way to raise pork!