Hi there everyone! What a crazy, wonderful "winter" here in the Ozarks!! It is over now and spring has sprung. Crab apples and dogwoods are blooming; definitely time to start the early plantings in the garden!!
It is also time to get your young heritage breed piglets to raise for processing this fall!! One batch is 8 weeks old, and the other is 6 weeks. All are weaned & eating well. The boys have been cut (by a Vet; very little squealing and got a tetanus shot when done. I was amazed at how calm these were compared to the last batch; VERY worth the extra cost!) and are healing up nicely.
I hope to post pics soon of what the meat looked like from the load that went in last month. Everyone that bought it has commented back on how delicious it is, and we agree!! GOOD stuff!! :-)
Send a text to my phone if you want to buy piglets, or have us raise one for you if you don't have the facilities to raise them. 417-217-6088
Piglets THIS WEEK ONLY 3/26-4/1 are $75 each or TWO for $120. Price goes up $10 week to cover feed and labor.
Contract growing is $4.50 per pound for a whole or $5 per pound for a half to us (based on hanging weight projected at 180-200#), plus processing fees directly to the processor when you pick up your meat. Contact us for down payment and monthly terms. We use Clouds in Carthage for our processing. They have an excellent team and do a great job!!
We WILL deliver your processed meat to a pick up point in Springfield, MO. and Tulsa, or Owasso OK. for customers needing that service @ .50 cents a mile one way.
First come, first served so don't wait. Call today!! My phone is acting up on occasion, not receiving messages. I will respond back with at least an "OK" no matter how busy we are. If you don't get a response within 24 hours, please try again.
Sincerely,
Ron and Brenda Merrick
Sei Bella Farm at Monark Springs
417-217-6088
Thursday, March 23, 2017
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
New Arrivals!!
Spring hasn't quite "sprung" yet, but is certainly in the air when the babies start arriving every couple of weeks!!
Baby goats are so fun to watch! And there is nothing more amazing than seeing a little bitty, tiny, new born piglet standing next to its "huge" momma!! And how fast they grow! Wow! That first 2-3 weeks seems like you can practically stand there and watch them grow.
We will have weaned piglets available starting March 6th. They are $125 each.
For those curious about how we arrived at that price:
It costs $30 a month each to maintain the boar and sows. It averages about $500 a year for feeders, waterers, shelters, hog panels, electric fencing and posts, etc. Hogs are VERY hard on infrastructure.
Divide all the expenses up by the "projected" number of piglets raised per year and our cost, not one dime of profit or labor, comes out to $85 each. So we figure in a very modest amount for our labor and arrive at $125. This comes out to $400 for 6 months work per sow (IF she averages 10 per litter.). If all you look at is the income- it most definitely is NOT worth the time and effort involved.(Farm animals in the winter is the pits; even a mild winter. Busting ice out of water pans 3x a day, in freezing wind chills, etc. is "not" fun.)
Can you get cheaper pork. Certainly you can!! We are not in this to compete with the big confinement operations. You can get all of that you want at the store, really cheap, most of the time. We do this because it is a "Quality of Life" issue to us; both for the pigs and for ourselves.
We want quality, marbled meat from full-flavored, heritage meat breeds raised on pasture, without a lot of medications; not bland, dry "other white meat" that is like chewing on sawdust. That is why we chose the Berkshire x Large Black cross. Berkshires are the number one chefs choice for cooking; but on the farm side of things, can be a little on the "delicate " side when it comes to hardiness. The Large Black puts a little bit of hybrid vigor in there so they can withstand rough weather, etc. a bit better.
Raising weaned piglets through the spring and summer, to butcher in early fall is the way to go if you have a place to do it. It will cost you some labor and a little more money than the store bought "stuff"; but is SO worth the effort!! Call to reserve your Sei Bella Farm Premium Heritage piglets today. They will go fast.
Be blessed!
Ron and Brenda
417-217-6088
Baby goats are so fun to watch! And there is nothing more amazing than seeing a little bitty, tiny, new born piglet standing next to its "huge" momma!! And how fast they grow! Wow! That first 2-3 weeks seems like you can practically stand there and watch them grow.
We will have weaned piglets available starting March 6th. They are $125 each.
For those curious about how we arrived at that price:
It costs $30 a month each to maintain the boar and sows. It averages about $500 a year for feeders, waterers, shelters, hog panels, electric fencing and posts, etc. Hogs are VERY hard on infrastructure.
Divide all the expenses up by the "projected" number of piglets raised per year and our cost, not one dime of profit or labor, comes out to $85 each. So we figure in a very modest amount for our labor and arrive at $125. This comes out to $400 for 6 months work per sow (IF she averages 10 per litter.). If all you look at is the income- it most definitely is NOT worth the time and effort involved.(Farm animals in the winter is the pits; even a mild winter. Busting ice out of water pans 3x a day, in freezing wind chills, etc. is "not" fun.)
Can you get cheaper pork. Certainly you can!! We are not in this to compete with the big confinement operations. You can get all of that you want at the store, really cheap, most of the time. We do this because it is a "Quality of Life" issue to us; both for the pigs and for ourselves.
We want quality, marbled meat from full-flavored, heritage meat breeds raised on pasture, without a lot of medications; not bland, dry "other white meat" that is like chewing on sawdust. That is why we chose the Berkshire x Large Black cross. Berkshires are the number one chefs choice for cooking; but on the farm side of things, can be a little on the "delicate " side when it comes to hardiness. The Large Black puts a little bit of hybrid vigor in there so they can withstand rough weather, etc. a bit better.
Raising weaned piglets through the spring and summer, to butcher in early fall is the way to go if you have a place to do it. It will cost you some labor and a little more money than the store bought "stuff"; but is SO worth the effort!! Call to reserve your Sei Bella Farm Premium Heritage piglets today. They will go fast.
Be blessed!
Ron and Brenda
417-217-6088
Monday, November 7, 2016
Our Premium Pastured pork
We are very thankful for the nice weather we are still having this first week of November 2016!!! We are adding on to our breeding pigs fenced area, so we will have 8 separate rotational grazing areas; plus 4 large pens for farrowing, sorting, & selling. It is wonderful to have weather warm enough to take your jacket off while working!
I love looking out the kitchen window and seeing happy pigs with tails wagging, on fresh green pasture!!
We have already started a "waiting list" for next spring. We will not take deposits until piglets are 2-3 weeks old; but will go in the order of the list when we do. So, let us know if you want your name added.
We do NOT clip teeth or dock tails. We DO give one iron shot at 2-3 days old. I am still researching on the whole "castration" of males thing. After losing one little barrow to Tetanus 2 weeks after he was castrated; I am thinking there has to be a better way. Most other countries have banned the practice. I have read that if the males are butchered at 6 months or less; there is no "boar taint". Some say that boar taint is genetic and can be bred out of the line. Others say that if the boars are kept completely separate from the females for 30 days....there will be no boar taint. And that this even works on older boars headed for slaughter.
This is something that we will have to personally test (eat) before we make final decisions which way to go. That will take a couple of years, and several pigs at different ages to learn what "our herd" does. In the meantime, our options are to continue castrating as humanely as possible; or sell in tact and let buyers take them to a vet, or do it themselves. As always, we want to do what is best for both our pigs AND our customers.
Only 17 days until Thanksgiving!! Enjoy your turkey (AND Ham, and stuffing with Sausage, and of course Bacon has to be "in or on" something!! Don't forget to have everyone say at least one thing they are thankful for. (Hint: Do this well before the meal serving time. In large family gatherings, it takes too long to "get around the circle". The food is getting cold and everyone is rushing to get through, rather than truly reflecting on their thankfulness.) Be BLESSED!
Sincerely,
Ron and Brenda
417-217-6088
I love looking out the kitchen window and seeing happy pigs with tails wagging, on fresh green pasture!!
We have already started a "waiting list" for next spring. We will not take deposits until piglets are 2-3 weeks old; but will go in the order of the list when we do. So, let us know if you want your name added.
We do NOT clip teeth or dock tails. We DO give one iron shot at 2-3 days old. I am still researching on the whole "castration" of males thing. After losing one little barrow to Tetanus 2 weeks after he was castrated; I am thinking there has to be a better way. Most other countries have banned the practice. I have read that if the males are butchered at 6 months or less; there is no "boar taint". Some say that boar taint is genetic and can be bred out of the line. Others say that if the boars are kept completely separate from the females for 30 days....there will be no boar taint. And that this even works on older boars headed for slaughter.
This is something that we will have to personally test (eat) before we make final decisions which way to go. That will take a couple of years, and several pigs at different ages to learn what "our herd" does. In the meantime, our options are to continue castrating as humanely as possible; or sell in tact and let buyers take them to a vet, or do it themselves. As always, we want to do what is best for both our pigs AND our customers.
Only 17 days until Thanksgiving!! Enjoy your turkey (AND Ham, and stuffing with Sausage, and of course Bacon has to be "in or on" something!! Don't forget to have everyone say at least one thing they are thankful for. (Hint: Do this well before the meal serving time. In large family gatherings, it takes too long to "get around the circle". The food is getting cold and everyone is rushing to get through, rather than truly reflecting on their thankfulness.) Be BLESSED!
Sincerely,
Ron and Brenda
417-217-6088
Monday, September 5, 2016
Our first batch of baby pigs!!!!
UNcommon Pork for an Exceptional eating experience!
These are exciting days here at Sei Bella Farm! We went several years without eating pork of any kind because I would not eat pork that we had not raised ourselves.During that time we were not in a location/position to raise our own; so we did without.
You see, in the Bible, pigs are called "unclean animals" because whatever they eat literally becomes a part of their meat within hours. In our opinion; of all the meat animals, pigs are the most important one to raise yourself (if you possibly can), so you "know" what it ate and how it lived. We have purchased and raised pigs in the past, both recent and distant. But now, NOW!, we are raising our chosen crossbreed for their many excellent qualities and are celebrating our first litters!!
We are selling these first litters for less than our cost, because we want people to try them; and most importantly, give us feedback on their experience with these particular pigs. Here are the breeds included and "why" we chose to include them.
Berkshire- These are the "Kobe Beef " of the pig world. They have a dark, juicy meat with a rich flavor.
Large Black- Note; NOT every "large black" pig is the "Large Black" breed. They are actually quite rare. They are known for superior milking and mothering ability (one of ours had 14, yes, FOURTEEN!!! and raised 13 of them) docile temperament, no sunburn problems, exceptional bacon and moist meat with old world flavor. (NOTE: Before anyone starts seeing dollar signs in their eyes; let me clue you in here. This sow eats 19 POUNDS of quality pig and sow meal every single day (for the last 8 weeks); 6 pounds for her own body maintenance and one pound for each piglet she is feeding. That doesn't even touch on the 6 months of feeding her out to breeding age, and 4 months to get the litter, PLUS growing out and maintaining a boar. Do the math. Even if we charged a pittance for our labor; these pigs should sell for $125 each. On this first batch only; we are not charging anything for our labor, and are taking a hit on some feed costs because we truly want your feedback.)
Duroc- Just a little of this in there to give that little extra "Oomph" for speed of growth; plus they are known for their lean, juicy meat.
There is also a "touch" of Red Wattle on the sows side back there somewhere because they have wattles. Some of our babies have them and some don't.
We are very anxious to get this batch grown out and see what they look like at "cutting time"; because they sure do look nice right now! We are selling barrows for $70 and gilts for $85. You are saving $40-55 each by being part of our "test group"! :-)
Most of the pigs are all black, because black is a dominant color. There are a few red ones that I think come more from the Duroc, than the Red Wattle; simply because we have a known percentage of Duroc.
After September 9th: pig prices will go up $1 per day to help cover extra feed. Please Note: we do NOT haul in truck loads of rotten produce to feed our pigs. Yes, we have a scrap bucket on the kitchen counter from our meals/ vegetable trimmings, etc. that goes out daily. We are very choosy about what goes in it; nothing moldy, rotten, or very strong flavored [like raw onions] and NEVER any pork products. It is just wrong to feed an animal its own kind.
So now you know a little more about what we are raising, and WHY we are raising it that way. We would be honored to be "your" pork farmer. Please give us a call and make arrangements to come choose your pigs today!!
Sincerely,
Ron and Brenda
417-217-6088
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Happy Mothers Day!!
First I want to say "Happy Mothers Day" to all the moms. I hope you have a wonderful day.
We had a great day at the Farmers Market yesterday! Praise the Lord, the rain held off, so we didn't get wet and have to pack up a wet canopy.
I had Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls, plates of Cinnamon Rolls, homemade Raspberry Danish, Grandma's Apple Dumplings and Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes. Sold everything but a few cupcakes.
Thank YOU so much for coming out and supporting the Neosho Farmers Market and an extra "Thank You" if you came by our booth and supported us. We appreciate your business!
Sincerely,
Brenda
We had a great day at the Farmers Market yesterday! Praise the Lord, the rain held off, so we didn't get wet and have to pack up a wet canopy.
I had Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls, plates of Cinnamon Rolls, homemade Raspberry Danish, Grandma's Apple Dumplings and Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes. Sold everything but a few cupcakes.
Thank YOU so much for coming out and supporting the Neosho Farmers Market and an extra "Thank You" if you came by our booth and supported us. We appreciate your business!
Sincerely,
Brenda
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