Post by castanea on Aug 22, 2010 13:28:55 GMT -5
"Apple Farmer Uses Pigs Instead of Pesticides
Who needs toxic chemicals when cute little piggies do the job?
By Samantha Cleaver
Jim Koan is doing something revolutionary on his Flushing, MI farm. Or, is he? Instead of using pesticides to rid his orchard of a pest, Koan is going old school and using pigs.
Koan’s 120-acre apple farm in has been plagued by the Plum Curculio Beetle that lays its eggs in apples and makes the fruit drop too early from trees. He could have used frequent sprays of pesticides for years to get rid of the beetles, or he could use pigs. (He tried chickens and guineas, but they weren’t hard enough workers and the guineas were taken away by hawks. He contemplated sheep, too, but in the end hard-working pigs, too big for any hawk or coyote to steal, were the best bet.) Now he has a group of pigs who shuffle through the orchards when the apples infected with beetles start to fall. They eat the apples and the eggs that would have spelled disaster for next year’s crop, and clear the ground and eat weeds in the process. The pigs make short work of an apple orchard, eating every last contaminated apple. And, bonus: once the pigs have solved the beetle problem, Koan plans to sell them as organic pork.
So, revolutionary or not, pigs are a refreshing idea."
kjpermaculture.blogspot.com/2009/01/porkorchard-for-pest-free-fruit.html
Who needs toxic chemicals when cute little piggies do the job?
By Samantha Cleaver
Jim Koan is doing something revolutionary on his Flushing, MI farm. Or, is he? Instead of using pesticides to rid his orchard of a pest, Koan is going old school and using pigs.
Koan’s 120-acre apple farm in has been plagued by the Plum Curculio Beetle that lays its eggs in apples and makes the fruit drop too early from trees. He could have used frequent sprays of pesticides for years to get rid of the beetles, or he could use pigs. (He tried chickens and guineas, but they weren’t hard enough workers and the guineas were taken away by hawks. He contemplated sheep, too, but in the end hard-working pigs, too big for any hawk or coyote to steal, were the best bet.) Now he has a group of pigs who shuffle through the orchards when the apples infected with beetles start to fall. They eat the apples and the eggs that would have spelled disaster for next year’s crop, and clear the ground and eat weeds in the process. The pigs make short work of an apple orchard, eating every last contaminated apple. And, bonus: once the pigs have solved the beetle problem, Koan plans to sell them as organic pork.
So, revolutionary or not, pigs are a refreshing idea."
kjpermaculture.blogspot.com/2009/01/porkorchard-for-pest-free-fruit.html
I do believe it's time to do some piggy shopping.
. Pigs are indeed highly intelligent, that is why a pig tractor type thing probably isn't going to work. Electric is the way to go with pigs if you are going to be moving them. They are incredibly powerful, you wouldn't believe what they can lift with their snout. Our families get pigs every spring for 4H, then butcher about now. We just picked our meat up Saturday. I have apple trees that my father planted over 45 years ago, sadly they are in a spot where running pigs is not an option. Plus, our timing schedule means that the pigs are gone before the fallen apples are a problem. One pig isn't going to be too happy alone either, but you need to get multiples of roughly the same size, or the smaller one will be bullied. Now, a potbellied pig is another thing, since they are basically going to be a pet. Around here you can get them for nothing, it was one of those fads that everyone wanted them, then there was a glut and you couldn't give them away. Pigs will dig,so a young orchard may not be a good idea, but established trees and pigs moved frequently is ideal. If you are having to rake up the apples to take to the animals, you are working too hard. Which is the problem I have with the location of my apple trees. Think through the placement of your trees before you plant them if possible to plan for animals in the future. I want to cut down the trees I have now, too much mess, and the apples attract yellow jackets.