Visited Andre's pig farm in Pagolle, in the
Basque area of France, an organic farm raising an old breed of pig. The pigs
live outside most of the year, eating green grass and cereal (maize, wheat,
bean) during Spring and Summer, forage in the forest from Sept to Dec, feeding
on acorns, chestnuts and worms.
Andre is a happy man with 30 hectares of
land, 20 of which are hilly and half covered with forest, the rest he could
grow cereal.
He raises 40 pigs each year, on average 2 per hectare of green hill, enough grass for the pigs to eat and dig for worms and for the grass to have time to re-grow, a delicate balance.
This race of pig takes 15 months to fatten to 150kg to be slaughtered.
He raises 40 pigs each year, on average 2 per hectare of green hill, enough grass for the pigs to eat and dig for worms and for the grass to have time to re-grow, a delicate balance.
This race of pig takes 15 months to fatten to 150kg to be slaughtered.
He sells direct to school cantines, restaurants and in the market, without going through middleman to maximise profit. The pork is juicy and full of flavor.
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