What Do You Feed Your Pigs? A Look at Our Pig Feeding Program

Feeding our pigs is one of the most important aspects of our farm operation, and it’s a question we get asked a lot. So, I thought I’d take some time to share exactly what we feed our pigs and how our feeding program has evolved over the years.

Since we started feeding pigs in 2015 with our first batch of ten animals, we’ve gone through a few different iterations of feed. However, since early 2021, we’ve settled into a feeding program that has served us well for the past three years.

Our Current Feed Program

We’ve established a relationship with Conway Feeds in Skagit, and each week their truck delivers two to three tons of pelleted pig feed, made fresh in their feed mill, directly to our farm. The blend we use is called “Natural Pig,” and its primary ingredients are Skagit or Washington-grown wheat and barley. These grains provide the energy and calories our pigs need to thrive.

The second key ingredient is Organic soy meal, which means it’s guaranteed non-GMO. This provides the necessary protein to support the pigs’ growth and health. In addition, there’s an Organic mineral mix added to the grain and legume, ensuring our pigs get all the essential salts, nutrients, amino acids, and minerals they need to grow strong and healthy.

Here’s a picture of the ingredient list for the "Natural Pig" ration from Conway.

Supplementing with Our Own Grain

While Conway Feeds provides the bulk of our pigs’ diet, we also produce some of our own grain or legume here on the farm each year. Last year, we harvested about 15 acres of fava beans, and this year we’ve harvested the same acreage of rye and wheat. Below, you’ll find a close-up picture of some of the grain we harvested this year.

Here’s a photo of Matthew driving a borrowed combine—thanks to Hopewell Farms—during the grain harvest, discharging the grain into a trailer. I’ll then drive it up to dump into the grain auger, which lifts and discharges the grain into our storage bins.

The red piece of machinery you see in the photo below is called a mixer mill. It grinds our grain into a powder and then mixes it around in the large cylinder until it’s blended evenly with the Conway pellets. This allows us to integrate our farm-grown grain into the pigs’ diet, adding diversity and a high quality grain that we know the freshness and origin of.

The Evolution of Our Pig Feeding Program

Our feeding program has evolved significantly since we first started raising pigs. Here’s a brief overview of the three main stages:

1. **The Beginning:** When we started, we were farming on leased land and didn't have grain bins for storage, any large equipment, or our own infrastructure. In years one through three we bought certified Organic grain from Scratch and Peck Feeds. It was a way to get started, and matched our values, but as we grew, we knew we needed something more financially sustainable and efficient.

2. **The Transition:** After our first year on our own 45 acre farm in 2018, we planted and harvested 20 acres of barley and purchased a semi-truck load of Organic field peas from Alberta, along with bags of Organic mineral mix. We purchased and Matthew installed grain bins to hold up to 70 tons of grain at a time. We purchased a mixer mill. Matthew would mill an entire batch of feed from raw ingredients every time we needed to feed the pigs. This process was incredibly time-consuming and stressful, especially if the mill broke down or if Matthew wasn’t available. Hungry pigs can be quite loud, and it’s not safe for them—or pleasant for us—when they’re left without food.

3. **The Current Program:** In 2021, we made a significant shift. Matthew was busy building our house and farm business building, and I had left my job at the Whatcom Conservation District to help manage the pigs and work full-time on the farm. We realized that Conway Feeds could provide us with high-quality feed for roughly the same cost as what it took for us to mix and mill our own. On top of that, it saved us a tremendous amount of labor, freeing Matthew to focus on building our farm infrastructure.

This change not only streamlined our operation but also allowed us to move out of our off-grid yurt and into a more comfortable living situation. We now use our own grain to supplement the Conway feed and as seed for renovating pig paddocks, making our operation even more sustainable.

Now anyone can use our skid steer to drive feeders over to our grain bins and discharge pre-made feed directly into the feeder.

Or, as you can see in this picture, Matthew can use the big tractor to drive the PTO-driven mixer mill down into the field, wherever the pigs are living at the time, and discharge the feed from the mixer into the pig feeder.

Conclusion

Our feeding program is a crucial part of how we care for our pigs, ensuring they’re healthy, happy, and growing well. By combining high-quality feed from Conway Feeds with our own farm-grown grain, we’ve created a system that’s both efficient and sustainable. If you have any more questions about our feeding program or anything else about our farm, feel free to reach out, we love to hear from you.