June has been a momentous month here at Pig and Earth with the first official kill at Jonai Abattoir, just around the corner from our farm. This event has been a decades-long collective dream held by a handful of local farmers in the area: to be able to give the animals we eat the most humane, considered, local and low-stress death possible.
Pig and Earth are really honoured to have our pigs be the first official commercial kill at the Jonai Micro-abbatoir, a mere ten kilometers from us. Here’s how the day unfolded:
We loaded the pigs into our trailer in the morning as usual but instead of making the 100km drive to Laverton, it was a relaxed five minute trip down country roads. We were received by friends and fellow farmers Tammi and Stuart who have made this micro-abattoir a reality through years of dedication, grit, and genuine hard work (Stuart built this facility by hand using recycled materials, and Tammi championed an epic political battle to bring it into reality). The current intern at Jonai Farms, Tom, was also on hand to assist.
Stuart and Will getting everything in order
We opened the doors of the trailer to unload the pigs into a scene not too different from their home: a small facility set in green pastures. The most noticeable contrast was the silence and calm that greeted their arrival. At the previous abattoir the unloading experience was always marked by the noises of many other confused animals, but at Jonai our pigs were the only ones in the facility for the day. They were the sole focus of three experienced free-range pig farmers who are each committed to providing the best end-of-life for the animals we sell and eat.
A peaceful morning arrival
The pigs enter the abattoir at their own pace, able to disembark calmly from the trailer rather than being pushed to meet deadlines of a busy commercial facility. They are quickly dispatched using a bolt gun which instantly renders them unconscious, then their throats are cut. Will, Tammi, Stuart and Tom each take turns with these steps. It doesn’t go perfectly, as first times rarely do, but a lot of careful planning means even these very first kills are calm and professional, administered with care and acknowledgement of the significance of taking a life.
The pigs are then de-haired, eviscerated, and left to hang and chill before we butcher them here in this same facility a few days later.
It is with extra pride that we’ll be doing CSA deliveries and markets this month as pasture-raised, heritage-breed, waste-stream fed, locally slaughtered and butchered pork lands in the doorstop eskies and freezers and market shopping bags of our customers.
In other farm updates, we’re in the thick of winter here in Central Victoria now and technically in what is called a “green drought”; rainfall is significantly below average for this time of year, but warmer soil temperatures and a few recent rain events mean there’s a deceptive green coverage of new growth across a lot of Victorian countryside. We’re not feeling the effects too much here on the farm so far, mostly because our CSA model means we’re able to maintain a lower stocking density and only run the number of animals that our land can support. Our dairy steers from Tess at Sellar Dairy are growing out well on the pasture we have, and we’re really grateful we don’t have the added stress and expense of providing supplementary cattle feed right now. This week has also seen our seasonal creek start flowing for the first time in 2 years!
Our seasonal creek feeds this secluded swimming hole on the farm
The curious steers were keen to help with some fencing this month
Our pigs continue to enjoy a balanced diet of pasture, a pig-specific grain mix, and brewers grain (grain that is usually discarded after being used to brew beer, but also makes excellent pig feed). Our waste-stream feed activities did result in a bit of a stressful incident a couple of weeks ago when we were offered some pretty delicious-looking cherries and sloe-berries that had been used by a local distillery to brew their spirits. Feeding them to the pigs seemed like a great way to bring some winter cheer and colour to their diets, but when we checked a couple of hours later we found our grower pigs lying flat-out and alarmingly still in their shelters!
After a few moments of panic and checking all their vital signs, it quickly became obvious that the pigs weren’t dead, they were drunk. We monitored them as they recovered, making sure they didn’t need any medical attention, but they soon got up and walked off like nothing had happened. It was probably a great afternoon in the life of a pig, but also an important lesson for us in monitoring the ethanol content of any post-distilling products that come our way in the future.
Our grower pigs having a peaceful breakfast
We had a new litter of ten healthy piglets last week, and one of eight this week. At the moment growth and production is going really well and we have some capacity in the CSA, so if you or anyone you know is interested in a monthly delivery of ethical pork, head on over to the farm store to sign up.
A fresh litter, cosy in their shelter while Mum has a well-earned feed