Cows & pigs & poultry – oh my! Join Illinois Ag in the Classroom for two one hour virtual session focused on Livestock. Sessions are at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 22 and Tuesday, June 29.
Those who attend the first session and fill out a reflection will be mailed a box of goodies for the “interactive” session on June 29. Limited to the first 50 who submit a reflection.
Learn about pigs & pork with these exciting activities!
McLean County (IL) teachers can request FREE Beef ag mags and activity kits for their classroom: Click here
Online Reading Materials & Ag-tivities
Pig Farm Videos
When the temperature drops below zero or a blizzard brings blowing snow, livestock farmers have to take extra measures to ensure the safety and comfort of their animals.
Find out how Bane Family Pork Farm works to keep their pigs warm, dry & toasty when the weather outside gets frightful in this week’s Farm Fresh Podcast with local farmer Pat Bane. Plus check out the video clip of baby piglets on Pat’s farm (above).
Tune in every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. for the Farm to Table segment on WJBC radio.
Tis the season for giving! Did you know Illinois Pork farmers have donated more than 437,000 pounds of pork – which is more than 1.75 MILLION servings Illinois residents 2008?
The program, called Pork Power, provides the donated ground pork to the seven regional food banks in Illinois.
Hear from central Illinois hog farmer, Art Lehmann, about the program and ways farmers are giving back to their local communities.
Tune in every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. to hear the Farm to Table Segment on WJBC radio.
Sometimes words we use on the farm can be confusing….and create funny conversations.
I’m a pig farmer and the other day I was talking to an interested mom who asked me “Do you eat the pork you raise?”
“No,” I replied, “I only raise weaners.” (which she heard as ‘wieners’)
“What!?!” she asked, a little bit shocked. “You only have wieners?”
After some nervous laughter and a bit of embarrassment, we sorted out the confusion. I wasn’t talking about hot dogs, and it wasn’t a euphemism!
Allow me to explain. On my farm we have mother pigs (called sows) they give birth (called farrowing) to piglets. At 20 days the baby pigs (weighing 12-15 lbs.) are weaned, which means moved from their mother and transitioned to solid feed.
I don’t think it is actually a word in the dictionary but on the farm, we refer to each group of piglets moved from their mothers as “weaners” or pigs that have been weaned.
My farm is a specialized farrow to wean operation, so the piglets go to a different farm to grow to market weight (280 lbs.) Because we don’t have pigs ready for market, I don’t have pork (meat) straight from my farm
So if you ask me why I don’t eat my own pork it because I only have weaners, is NOT wieners!! Get it?
And if you ask me for a wiener (hot dog), be sure to be clear or you may get a piglet that is no longer with it’s mother, also called a weaner!
Enjoy pork!
