Pork is Everywhere

What!? There's more to pigs than pork?

You bet there is, pork ain't just dinner...it's everywhere.

Back From the Dead!

I am the Bacon Blogger and I have come back to life!

I realize it has been a while since my last transmission but I have managed to crawl out of my grave and with my zombie pig friends we are ready to blog. My piggy minions and I are stalking back to blogger to talk shop, cook pork, and agvocate like crazy. Stay tuned for some recipes, pork news, and more photo shopped (or not) piggy pics.



"We're coming for you..."



2011 Year of the PIG

Well folks, we've completed our first full week of the new year and now it is 2010 reflection time. The year 2010 was a heck of a year for Bacon Blogger HQ. For starters, The Bacon Blogger was born, which spawned the BaconCam channel on YouTube, my husband and I were privileged enough to participate in a social media training session at the National Pork Board's home office, we went to World Pork Expo, won the We Care video contest, and all this was shared with all of you, which is amazing unto itself. Here's what else happened in 2010 and what to expect in 2011...

Grilled Loin

Pulled Pork

 This past year I cooked some mighty yummy pork, among other things, and shared the recipes with you.

2011 Resolution: Cook more and blog about it. One segment I would like to start is the Pork of the Week, which would include a new pork recipe every week.

We added a new member to our family in 2010, Miss Mina. She is an absolute doll and a perfect match to our family. In fact, the 20th of January Miss Mina will celebrate her first birthday.

2011 Resolution: Find a soccer ball that she cannot pop. 

 We learned more about our family in 2010 and enjoyed a road trip on memorial day to seek out the final resting places of our ancestors. By the way, that is my daughter on the left! I can't believe how grown up she looks, my little girl isn't my little girl anymore...whimper, sniff, whimper...

2011 Resolution: Teach our children more about our family's heritage.Here is a picture that will make any mom cry, my baby's first day of school. That's right, my baby boy started school in 2010 and now I feel old and useless. It's terrible to admit but I enjoyed when my baby had the flu last week because he was so needy and cuddly. Is that wrong?

Little man also learned how to drive his first tractor in 2010. He's so big!

The year 2010 also brought the usual planting, harvesting, playing with pigs, and of course, I got a little silly at Halloween but that's what life is all about, isn't it. Working, playing, and getting a little silly every now and again.

2011 Resolution: I have a few educational projects I'd like to see get off the ground and I'd like to expand my blog even further. 2011 may be the year of the rabbit but here it is the year of the pig and you can bet you'll see a lot more of The Bacon Blogger.

No matter the weather or time of year, you can bet we'll make the best of it and always remember to stop and smell the wild flowers.

Life is too short, enjoy it!

Pork Trivia

 Missouri ranks 7th among all the states in pork production producing 6% of the U.S. Pork.


 In 2006 the pork industry created nearly 25,000 jobs.

 The pork industry contributes more than $1 billion dollars to Missouri’s economy.

 The biggest pig ever recorded was 5 feet tall and weighed over 2,500 pounds! That’s as big as a car.

 Pigs can’t sweat. They don’t have sweat glands.

 It only takes around 160 days to raise a pig to market weight of 220 pounds. That’s just over 5 months.
They sure grow up fast!

 A pig’s Squeal Can Reach 115 Decibels–that’s as loud as a supersonic jet engine. You better cover your ears when they start squealing!

 Pigs, both wild and domestic, eat fruits and veggies but they will also eat eggs, birds, rodents, even snakes. Maybe that’s why they’re called pigs.

Entertaining Swine

Recently, the question was posed, "What do they do all day?" It is a valid question but let me back up and start from the beginning.

As most of you know I posted our first video on YouTube, don't worry there are  more to come, and a teacher of mine watched it. She mention how much she enjoyed seeing the inside of one of these barns and was impressed by the size. However, she noticed that there was no entertainment in the pins. She was concerned that they would get bored and asked, "What do they do all day?"

Well, I am trying to make a video to show some of the amusing items we put in there I just haven't had time with work, school, preparing my own children for their return to school, weddings, family events, etc. Hopefully after this week things will start to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n and I can get some blogging done.

Currently my mother-in-law "hogs" most of the hog "toys" for her own barn so we have to do some scrambling to get some in ours (and keep them there). Keep an eye out for my future videos. One will be on this very subject and don't forget, fall is around the corner and if you've ever wondered what we do with the waste stay tuned.

So, back to the question at hand, "What do they do all day?" To give you a hint....

 

Can you guess what one of the "toys" we give them to play with is? You'll find out soon.

Introducing BaconCam--Playing at a YouTube Near You

Drum roll please................The BaconCam is officially up and running! I'm no Spielberg and even though my films are rough around the edges at least now we can give the world a first hand view of a modern hog farm from a farm family's perspective. In Modern Hog Production Part 1 A Family Affair viewers can see how our family pulls together to get the job done--even the kids, although they mostly just play.

Modern hog production has been a controversial issue for some time now. I've heard things like CAFOs are "factory farms that cause animal abuse" and that "CAFOs aren't real farms." I've also heard people say, "Those big hog businesses are putting family farmers out of business." It's past time the pork industry got some positive press. I hope this video, which is only the first of many, will help others to understand modern hog production for what it is--a family affair.

What did you think of the film? Was it what you expected? Do you have something special you would like the BaconCam to film? Please drop me a line in the comments box. I'd love to hear from you.

Farming--A Business That Cares

A Small Loss, A Big Lesson Learned

by Matthew & Erin Sweet

We are a small scale pastured poultry operation, meaning our chickens live outside exposed to all of the elements. Because of this we can only raise our birds during certain times of the year. We learned a tough lesson today. Upon returning home from our state YF&R summer meeting, we spoke to the young man who cared for our birds this weekend. Though he made sure that the birds had constant access to water, the over 100* temperatures claimed 30 of our birds on Saturday. This is a reminder of why mainstream animal production needs to continue using climate controlled buildings to house their animals. Though the breed of chicken we raise is better suited for the pasture, it still does not make them invincible. These birds are just like humans and always function better under optimal conditions. Our chickens have one job and that is to eat, drink and be merry. If the temperature gets too high, their main focus shifts to staying cool and everything else becomes secondary. Our job as the farmer is to do everything in our power to keep the conditions optimal, so that the birds have no concerns. But as state laws continue to become more restrictive on animal housing, we have to ask ourselves, whose best interests are really at hand?

This is a great post from the Farm Bureau's blog, FBlog. It really illustrates the importance of housing animals in climate controlled environments. Yes, animals are naturally meant to be outdoors but look at dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, snakes, etc. None of these animals are naturally domesticated pets nor are they naturally meant to sleep at the foot of our beds, but they do. Why? Because people care about their pets so much that they want them to be part of their family. We as farmers care about our livestock and want them to remain comfortable, safe, and alive no matter the weather. That is why we house them in climate controlled barns.

Some will argue that it isn't their comfort we care about, it's how fat we can get them in the shortest amount of time. I'll be the first to admit we are running a business. Yes, we have a certain time limit to get our pigs to market. Yes, we want them to be of proper market weight within that time limit--not too big, not too small. Yes, economics play into our everyday lives but does that mean we don't care about our animals? Hell NO! I've never seen any group of people work so hard for so little. Farmers put in more hours of hard physical labor than most Americans spend complaining about their 40 or less hours a week. And for what? For crops that don't always come up and have to be replanted and replanted and replanted. For people who don't complain while they're scarfing down that ninth slice of bacon but by golly they're gonna harp when it suits their agenda. For no respect and little money for the time invested; would farmers farm if they didn't care? I think not. Farming is a way of life and a business.

Just because people are starting to see farming as a business they automatically assume that it's all about the money now. Here is a news flash--farming has always been a business. But for people to claim we don't care about our animals is unfair and completely untrue. See one of my past posts, My Fine Swine, for an example of how much we care. The fact that producers are constantly finding newer, better, safer, more reliable means to raising animals is a testament of how much we care about our animals.

If we didn't care the term "agvocacy" and blogs like this one wouldn't exist.  

There's Something About Pork

Australia’s Pork Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) is studying the benefits of pork. So far the study suggests added health benefits besides protein. The research team is currently studying pork's "role in improving thiamine status and reducing heart disease and type two diabetes," among other benefits, according to an AFN news report by Josette Dunn.

The report also stated that "with high protein, meat-based diets commonly promoted for weight loss and pork being the world’s most eaten meat, their early stage research studied the health impact on overweight/obese individuals of increased pork consumption...Initial results showed subjects on pork-based diets actually lost weight [emphasis added], in the form of body fat, during the study, but subjects on control diets gained weight."

There you go folks! Eating a high protein pork based diet can actually slim you down and what better time of year than summer to loose weight. Pork is a dish best served grilled anyway and summer is grill season.

Stay tuned for some lean, healthy, grill time pork recipes and get into that itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini!

Dr. Roger Campbell, CEO of CRC says it best, “There’s something about pork..." There certainly is doc, there certainly is.

Read the full story by Josette Dunn.

My Fine Swine

Fare thee well my fine swine

Fare thee well my pink friends

You’re off to fulfill your destiny

You’re off to feed the world

Thank you for your hams and hocks

Thank you for your steaks and chops

Even though it’s changing now, to me

You’ll always be “The other white meat.”

I'm certainly no poet but I thought I'd just throw this out there for the hell of it. We just shipped out the last of our piggies and now they're off to feed the world. It's pretty cool when you think about it. We get them in when they're just little piglets, raise them, feed them, care for them until they're all grown up and ready for market.
 
My husband surprised me with this group of pigs, though. We had just gotten back from our training session in Des Moines, it was late and early the next morning a load was going out. I had to convince my husband to get some sleep instead of going to help load. I asked him why he was so set on being at every load and he said,
 
"Because I feel like I'm missing out. I raised them, I wanna be there." 
 
For all those animal activists who claim we don't care about our animals and we mistreat them, take another look at that quote. We had driven 5 hours, it was 10:00 at night, and my husband still wanted to go and load a 2:00 a.m. load of hogs because he didn't want to miss out. If that's not dedication, I don't know what is.

Slip-N-Swine

Phew! is it hot. We're currently at 91 degrees with a heat index of 102 and if that's not bad enough we're also sitting on 59% humidity. I'm sweating just sitting here typing and I'm in the A/C. My kids know how to beat the heat. As soon as they got off the bus (summer school) they jumped into their swim suits and begged me to drag out the slip-n-slide.

Nothing like slipping and sliding on a tarp with a built in sprinkler. Trust me. I had to belly flop down that thing a couple times myself.

Any who, slip-n-slides are not the point here. I really want to talk about how we keep our pigs cool on days like this. We tried the slip-n-slide approach but it just wasn't working out. The pigs couldn't get the hang of the flop-and-slide technique. Instead, we've gone with the reliable fan and sprinkler method.

As you can see our barn is lined with huge fans. My daughter standing next to one of the fans (she almost blew away) shows how big these things are. We drop the curtains in the front, kick on the fans in the back, and let the wind begin. 

 We also have a sprinkler system that we turn on during hot weather. The pigs just love water. You can see in this next pic a group of pigs chillaxen (my daughter's word) by one of the many sprinklers.

Just like my kids, they love their sprinkler. A bunch of the other pigs came up to me to say, "Hi." But these piggies just sat there looking at me. They grunted a greeting but they were happy to just stay put. I can't blame them. It's too dang hot to do anything but sit and sweat. If it gets any hotter I might just cozy up to that sprinkler with them. Stay cool everybody.

Grill A Loin--Mmm, Mmm, Good!

I made another yummy in my tummy pork dish last night that I must share. This one is soooo easy!

I bought a center cut tenderloin half and rubbed it down with Plowboy's Yard Bird until the whole loin was red as a beet. Then, I grilled using an indirect heat method. For those of you who don't know what indirect heat grilling is (I didn't until last week), you place a drip pan (I used a metal bread pan) in the center of your grill and arrange the briquettes on either side of the pan.

Once you get your grill good and hot put the loin directly over the drip pan, replace the lid on your grill, and voila! Your grill is now an oven. I didn't time mine I just went out every so often to check it. I think total cook time was between 45 minutes to an hour.

Once I got my tenderloin to about 130 degrees I basted it with Blues Hog BBQ sauce and let it continue cooking until it reached between 155-160 degrees. It was so delicious!

Y'all have got to try this one! After all, you can't beat grilled pork. Got any great pork recipes? I'd love to hear about them.

Deadline Looms And PSF May Pay Unfair Price

Deadline looms for PSF stink

State could sue if hog farms not fixed.
Monday, May 17, 2010

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Hog processing giant Premium Standard Farms LLC spent $40 million over the past decade developing technology after a court ordered it to sharply reduce odors at its Missouri farms, but a looming deadline is threatening another costly lawsuit.

A panel of experts recently approved a barn-scraper system that met goals established under a 1999 court settlement with environmental groups to develop “next-generation technology.” But the deadline to implement the system is July 31, and the company — which said it had little success developing the technology until now — needs another two years to get the system in place.

Missing the deadline would allow the state to sue, and the Missouri attorney general’s office said July 31 remains its target. The deadline has already been pushed back once

“It’s going to take some time, and people need to be aware of that,” Premium Standard President Bill Homann said.

The Princeton, Mo.-based company employs about 1,100 people in the state, mostly in economically depressed communities in northern Missouri. It has roughly 97,000 sows that are expected to produce about 1.8 million market hogs this year.

An expert panel established by the court approved biofilters as next-generation technology in 2008, but Premium Standard called them ineffective and too costly to install at its dozens of farms in northern Missouri.

The three-member expert team turned down all of the company’s other plans until April, when it determined the criteria also were met by a system that would use giant scrapers to push manure into gutters, where it would be removed from the barn and trucked away.

The method would replace current systems that use water to flush hog manure from barns and into big lagoons for treatment.

But the panel’s decision came barely three months before Premium Standard’s deadline to have new technology implemented.

The Missouri attorney general’s office must now decide whether to grant Premium Standard another extension or to file a lawsuit against the company. In 2004, the original deadline for compliance, the target date was pushed back to July 2010.

“Discussions between the parties are ongoing,” said Nancy Gonder, spokeswoman for Attorney General Chris Koster. “There has not been a resolution. The July 31 deadline remains our target.”

But it could get tricky.

Premium Standard officials warned in March that the company’s Missouri operations could be moved elsewhere after a Jackson County jury awarded 15 plaintiffs more than $11 million in a nuisance lawsuit. Many other lawsuits are pending.

At a mid-March meeting that packed a junior college gymnasium in Trenton, Premium Standard supporters pleaded with the expert panel to look favorably upon the company’s latest odor-management proposals.

“Finally we have found a solution amiable to both sides,” Homann said Thursday. “We can go back and say the missing link was barn odor control technology. Now it’s up to the attorney general’s office to agree or offer alternatives.”

Yikes! Not only do hog producers have activists, sue-happy neighbors, DNR regulations, and general PR to deal with; now, we have to worry about getting sued by the state itself. Odor is something that comes with farming in general but now we can have legal action against us for it. Our barns stink when it's super humid or when we agitate the pit but the organic farm across the road from my house stinks just as bad for the same reasons. Bottom line: poop stinks, get use to it.


Premium Standard farms has been working on "next generation technology" for several years now to control the odor. However, the problem remains because there hasn't been a cost effective method that actually works. To put a deadline on technology that doesn't even exist yet seems a trifle unfair. To make this even less fair (if that's possible) all of Premium Standard's proposed ideas have been turned down until just a few months ago. How does the state, which takes several months to just decide anything let alone act on it, expect an entirely new system to be constructed and operational on dozens of farms in only a few months? It's just unrealistic.


This is a real threat to hog farmers. I can't speak for everyone but I know our farm and the vast majority of other hog producers in Missouri follow the rules, get the permits, pass inspections, and do everything within their power to keep the farm running as it should and as it is required to run. Despite all this, despite following the rules and complying with new ones our government still won't stand behind us. Hog producers and farmers in general pay loads of state and local taxes that go toward improvements, schools, etc. and yet our state won't stand behind us. Premium Standard Farms employs 1,100 people, local people; our little hog operation employs 6 people, four separate households, and yet our community won't stand behind us. It's a sad day when good country folks have turned so bitter that they would rather sue thy neighbor than love thy neighbor.

Everything But The Oink: Swine Waste Hits The Road In St. Louis

Here is a great story for all my pig eating friends; a 500-foot stretch of St. Louis roadway was paved with recycled swine manure. That's right; the outer road along Interstate 44 next to Six Flags is now pig poop pavement. Pigs make so many by-products, from plastics to fiberglass to insulation; we can now add bio-oil and asphalt binder to the growing list. One of the big issues that animal activists overlook is the plethora of products that would become near impossible to make (or at least unreasonably expensive to make) if animal Ag was abolished.

Innoventor with the help of Pace Construction Co. have embraced the three R's of sustainability--reduce, reuse, recycle. By replacing petroleum based products with a renewable resource, like hog manure, they are not only helping the environment but also finding a use for a controversial waste product. This is truly a win-win situation for environmentalists and hog producers everywhere. I just hope everyone is willing to see it as the great achievement it is.
 
Read more...you know you want to.

Journalism Ethics Out the Window

When did ethics, fact checking, and overall good reporting become optional? "The Problem with Factory Farms", written by Claire Suddath, both shocked and horrified me; however, it was not the content but her journalism--or lack thereof. Her interview of David Kirby was biased, contained as many comments as questions, and she never once challenged any information--even false. This article was clearly the work of an activist, not a journalist.

The article claimed, "The farmer can't even eat his or her own animals." In reality, yes we can. In fact, we have a pig, which we hand picked out of our own barn, resting comfortably in delicious pieces in our freezer. Kirby also criticizes companies because they "tell them [the farmers] exactly how to build the farm, what to grow, and what to feed." For one, we choose how to build our farm, the company only provides blue prints for the buildings. This is handy since none of us are building engineers. We have never been told what to grow and the feed is provided by the company to insure optimum nutrition during the different stages of growth. In addition, Kirby's definition of a CAFO is severely lacking; however, Suddath does nothing to correct him or even follow up on the issue.

Another point this article made that shocked me was Kirby's views on manure. "It has nowhere to go." He claims, "You don't have enough land to absorb their waste." I am sure if Suddath or Kirby consulted the Department of Natural Resources, they would find such claims to be false. In fact, DNR will not issue a permit if the farmer does not have a manure management plan in place and land enough to apply it. This article also claimed that "this kind of stuff" is not regulated. Please visit the Missouri DNR website and you will quickly find just how regulated "this kind of stuff" really is.

Finally, as my rant lingers on, I must comment on Kirby's closing statements. "There's no farm house on a factory farm..." and his claim that the pigs in a CAFO sound like "kid's being tortured...all night long." Not only does our family live only a few hundred yards from our barns but we have never had any problems with the sounds of "kid's being tortured." Of course, pigs squeal and make noise but, like any other animal, they eventually settle down and most pigs even snore. We farm land, we raise pigs with concern for their health along with the environment's, we live on the farm close to the barns, all the above mentioned are things Kirby and Suddath claim don't exist with CAFOs. Yet another misconception.

Bottom line, this kind of reporting, especially by major periodicals such as Time, is dangerous to agriculture, farmers, and the economy. Spreading misconceptions to consumers is both irresponsible and just bad reporting. I for one am sending an email to Time magazine to complain about this biased, misleading article. If you care about agriculture and maintaining affordable food in this country, I urge you to do the same. Email the Editor at letters@time.com.

Confinement Situation

I can't believe it! I just can't believe it! I had no idea adopting a dog could be this difficult. Allow me to back up a bit. My family and I had been discussing a dog. We decided to adopt instead of going to a breeder. We were even happy to pay the adoption fee. Sounds like a good plan that helps both a needy dog and an overcrowded shelter, right? Turns out, not so much. Apparently, adoption shelters don't really want to adopt there dogs. Who knew?

I called a local humane society shelter...denied. I called a private animal shelter...denied. I contacted private shelters in two other towns...denied, denied.
You can imagine my frustration. I filled out the application form, I informed them of were I live, were the dog would stay, what my family was like, agreed to the adoption fee, gave them my veterinarians name and phone number, and if they would have asked for a urine and blood sample I probably would have given them that, too.

So, why was I denied? Turns out the humane society and private shelters in this area have a strict policy in adopting their animals. I was informed of this policy via voicemail, "Yes, I'm calling in regards to Buck, you had inquired about adopting him. We have a policy that requires all the animals we adopt out to be indoor pets so it looks like that adoption for Buck won't be happening. Thanks for your interest. Bye."

What?! I have been denied by every shelter in my area because I want an outdoor dog? Mind you every dog I inquired about were obvious outdoor dogs. I had applied for a German Shepherd, a shepherd mix, a Border Collie, and an Australian Shepherd. Also, the woman I spoke with about Buck was very excited because they had been having a hard time adopting him. Gee, wonder why? I have nothing against indoor dogs but refusing a dog a home because he/she would be outside seems ridiculous to me.

This brings me to another point. Being CAFO owners we are constantly under attack by groups like PETA, Sierra Club, and--here's the kicker--HSUS. For clarification, we are required by the HSUS to house our dog indoors, in a climate controlled building and are not to let them live outdoors. However, the HSUS require our pigs to live outdoors otherwise it is viewed as inhumane to house our pigs indoors, in climate controlled buildings and not allowing them to live outdoors. Do I have this right? Can someone please explain the logic to this.

Anyway, we are now the proud owners of a beautiful English Shepherd and couldn't be more pleased with our decision to go to a breeder. She is perfect in every way, enjoys running around our 3 acre yard, and has never once complained about her dog house. In fact, it is her cozy little hidy hole. She is part of our family but remains outside and she is very happy with this arrangement.

I just think it is a little ridiculous to force confinement on a dog while complaining about confinement of a pig. Perhaps the HSUS and other organizations like it should take a look in the mirror; they are just as much a confinement operation as we are. The difference is we don't force others to do the same.

While writing this blog I lumped my local humane society and private shelters together with HSUS. This was wrong and I apologize; however, I do feel my local shelters need to change some of their stipulations of adoption in an effort to adopt out more dogs. One thing that we all need to keep in mind is the fact that local shelters are in no way affiliated to HSUS. HSUS gives less than 1 percent of their multi-millions to local shelters. If you would like to help your local shelters please give directly to your shelter NOT the Humane Society of the United States.

Family Owned Means Family Farm

In rural Missouri there lives a family, this family has a farm. The farm on which this family lives has quite a few large barns. These barns are home to lots of pigs and these pigs are corporate owned. The building on the farm that's owned by the family is classified as...a CAFO.

The screams of discontent are already echoing through my computer's monitor. But before you click out of this blog let me just say with a big ol' grin, welcome to the Bacon Blogger, stick around and you just might learn something.

I am the Bacon Blogger and I am here to try and give the other side of the story. Yes, we have a corporate contract. Yes, we raise our pigs in a climate controled building with automated feeding and watering systems. Because of this are we still "real" farmers? According to the vast majority of the animal activists and those who adamantly support them we are not "real" farmers. Really? That's news to me. Then, what exactly have we been doing every day with these pigs and tractors?

Obviously, I can't speak for every farmer out there nor can I speak for every CAFO out there but I can tell you this, don't believe everything you read. One of the many misconceptions about this type of operation is that all CAFOs are corporate owned and migrant workers slave away in brutal conditions. Not true. Given, there are some corporations that buy the land, build the building, and hire workers (mostly locals) to take care of the livestock; BUT (and as you can see from the caps lock that's a big but), there are also companies that go directly to the farmer (a really real farmer) instead of just buying them out. Some companies, like the one we go through, keep families farming. The farmer still owns the land and the building, the only thing on this farm that is not the property of our family are the pigs however we care for them, no one else.

"What!?" You might be asking, "You mean the people who own the buildings aren't just a bunch of greedy, tycoon shareholders that rape the profit from the working man?"

It's true. Yet another CAFO misconception. Without our barns this family farm would not have been able to grow from 80 acres to over 500 acres and this farm would not have been able to provide jobs and financial support to four separate households, all of which are family. However, despite all this there are still people out there that claim we are not a family farm nor are we "real" farmers.

As stated before, I can't speak for everyone but I can speak for our farm. Just as not every vegan is a radical activist willing to kill for what they believe in, CAFOs are not animal warehouses filled with disgruntled swine. We DO NOT abuse our animals and we DO NOT "spray them down daily with antibiotics" (yes I've actually read that one). What we do do is care for these animals and keep them healthy. That is no easy task, either. We work seven days a week to keep this ship afloat and if that's not real farming then I don't know what is. These animals are our livelihood, not one family but four families livelihoods, we can't afford to mistreat our animals nor do we want to.

Bottom line, before you judge a CAFO why don't you try learning about a real CAFO from a real farmer.

I am the Bacon Blogger and we are real farmers.