pig pen
February 2009
Snout and Trotter Rare Breed Pigs at Lower Cadham Farm are being featured in the next issue of Beautiful Britain Magazine. To be published on 27th February. The article looks at our Rare Breed Pigs and promotes our field to plate ethos. Reserve your copy at the newsagents now. Any party booking Trotters Cottage as a result of the article and produces a copy of the article on their arrival at the cottage will receive a 10% refund on the cost of their booking.
2008
We have had an extremely active, but fun year on our small holding. Along with everyone else we have had a very wet ‘summer’ but a pleasingly mild and dry autumn. Our land was mole drained by a helpful neighbour earlier this year so has stood up well to the vagaries of the weather and the erosion caused by pigs. Our new vegetable patch was however, completely washed out and in a frost pocket – so we were not quite as self sufficient as we had hoped for this year!
We have increased our number of Oxford Sandy and Black breeding sows as we have found a demand for fatteners and weaners of this breed as its popularity grows. We have also recently introduced a new OSB boar to our ladies; Buster is 12 months old and is proving to be quite a ladies man! Hopefully George, our much older boar, is enjoying the well earned rest. Our two Large Black sows have recently been sold to a breeder in France as they were rare bloodlines and we found it difficult to locate a good Large Black boar to serve them – so, bon voyage little pigs!
This year we have bred and raised a number of OSB and Berkshire fatteners that will be ready in time for Christmas so that we can offer a hamper service. We have established a regular, local market for our lovely sausages and Oak smoked Bacon and have been working hard on adding value to our meat and developing new products; so that we are now able to offer traditional raised Pork Pies, Pates and Stuffing mixes to our customers.
We are very close to finishing the development of our old barns into a holiday cottage that will be ready just in time for first letting at Christmas. The cottage will sleep eight comfortably and will be available all year round and can be viewed and booked on www.trotterscottage.co.uk or via www.lastminute-cottages.co.uk
