Proof is in the pork

DANIEL and Amelia Bright raise pigs on their 67 hectare Fish Creek property Amber Creek Farm, working with the environment to produce the best quality pork.
They have restored around half the property with native vegetation and have planted around 17,000 trees since purchasing the block.
Amelia said anything too steep to be safely farmed, as well as waterways and gullies, have been fenced off and planted out.
“We have also tried to connect disconnected pieces of bush with corridors and preserve any remnant bushland,” she said.
The couple have participated in certified land management training, funded by the South Gippsland Landcare Network and delivered by the Australian Land Management Group.
Dan said the training was a good way to quantify what they are doing now on their farm and also helped them to set achievable goals for the future.
“It has helped us to develop more efficient systems with the pigs. Over the last six months, we have really changed how we do things in the paddock,” he said.
“Those changes are starting to be reflected in the quality of the pasture and the pork.”
Dan said since the training, they now have procedures in place for things like weed management, vermin and pest control and fire preparedness.
“We have formalised the way we think about those sorts of procedures and improved our time management,” he said.
“It is also good way to show authorities what we have been doing and what we plan to do in the future. It shows we are serious, not just about the farming, but about the environment, our waterways and soil health.”
Dan and Amelia started farming pigs around three years ago after detecting a gap in the market for high quality, free range pasture fed pork.
They have around 70 pigs, which are kept in groups of between six to 14 animals on around five hectares of the property.
They keep several different breeds, including large whites and Wessex saddlebacks.
They are kept on a home pad and petal system, which Dan and Amelia perfected during the certified land management training.
The home pad is made up mainly of woodchips and sawdust, waste products from the Brights’ sawmill.
The pigs will stay on a home pad for about six months, between weaning and leaving the farm to be slaughtered at around eight months.
Using portable electric fencing, the pigs are given access to a section of pasture off the home pad, the petal, meaning the pigs always have access to fresh pasture.
Dan said the aim was to make the pasture around the home pad last for the lifetime of a group of growers.
“We have pasture here year round, however this will be our first summer using the home pad and petal system, so it will be interesting to see how it goes,” he said.
“We aim to have a really diverse pasture which includes wheat, barley, four to five grasses, plantain and chicory, as well as a few things most farmers classify as weeds, such as dandelion and capeweed.
“The vast majority of the nutrition the pigs get is from the pasture.”
Dan and Amelia are focussed on being self reliant.
“The feed we do bring to the farm is what would normally be considered waste products by other businesses,” Dan said.
“Other than that, they are not fed anything we can’t grow here.”
Over the six months the pigs are on the home pad, food, manure and the woodchips combine to create a nutrient rich soil.
“We are creating soil instead of depleting it,” Dan said.
Once the pigs are taken off the home pad, the area is left to rest for 45 to 90 days, depending on the time of year.
Since implementing the new grazing system, Dan said there had been a marked improvement in the quality of the pork their pigs are producing.
“The marbling we are getting is awesome,” he said.
“The pigs are pretty happy and always have fresh pasture to go on to, which makes a big difference to the way the pork tastes.
“We are pretty confident now we have some of the best pork out there.”
The pigs are killed at an abattoir at Sale at around eight months old.
Small goods are produced at a butcher in Rosedale, while the fresh meat is packaged at Prom Meats in Foster.
“We distribute the meat through the Foster and Traralgon farmers’ markets and this summer we will be doing the Mossvale Markets and Foster Craft Market,” she said.
“We also do bulk orders of quarter, half and whole pigs dressed to requirements.”
Dan said they turn over around 100 pigs per year, which is more than enough to provide a sustainable income.
“It is not just a hobby, it is our business. It is too much work to be a hobby,” he said.
“We are just interested in producing the best quality pork we can.”
Amber Creek Farm can be found on Facebook and on the web at www.ambercreekfarm.com.au.

Pork producers: Amelia, Dan and baby Hazel Bright with some of the pigs they raise on their Fish Creek property, Amber Creek Farm.

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Posted by Sarah Vella on Dec 30 2015. Filed under Rural News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry