Frog Song’s Pasture-Raised Meat

Why we raise pigs

When we first started growing vegetables, we didn’t plan on raising pigs at our farm. We soon realized the amount of fertility needed to produce our organic crops and the pests that can build up when not utilizing chemicals in North Florida.

After just a few trials it was clear, pigs and chickens are an irreplaceable part of our regenerative agricultural practices at Frog Song.

Sweet potatoes grew so well for us in the field but we found disappointment the first season when we went to get a bulk bin out of inventory. The contents were completely infested with the sweet potato weevil! This native pest, accustomed to feeding on the morning glory vines, found our newly planted crop of yams irresistible. We observed that if we didn’t eliminate all of the old pieces of vines and ‘taters from the soil after harvest, the pest festered the next season and migrated to nearby plantings. 

Without an animal to graze down all of these undesirable taters and bits of vines, we’d have to rely on a tractor and plow to clear the fields. Due to the nature of the plant, it would take many passes and multiple months to kill all of the volunteer sweet potatoes before the field was clear to plant a different crop. This excessive tillage destroys the quality of our soil and reduces the carbon stored for the microbes and the next crop. Non-organic farmers rely on toxic herbicides to accomplish a similar goal. These synthetic chemicals persist in the soil, harm workers and wildlife, and contaminate surface water and our aquifers. 

After a few trials of different breeds, we came upon the Old Spot and Red Waddle pigs that loved to dig and push up the soil. They plow their paddocks searching for the tasty pieces that would be a liability for a farmer. They turn this into a resource and do the work of a tractor and shorten the time necessary to turn over the field into the next crop! 

Each week, we move the pigs to new paddocks, eating old sweet potatoes and cover crops we plant for them.

Rotational grazing minimizes diseases, parasites, and the manure doesn’t build up as much in confinement systems. Instead, the pigs enjoy a fresh pasture weekly and spread their own manure across the farm in a way that benefits our soil and farming system. We never have to shovel pig manure at Frog Song!