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Woman gets pig processing experience

Hands-on learning is better than by the book, says a soon-to-be livestock producer.  Kristie Griffitts and her husband want to start raising a small number of hogs and sell them locally to restaurants and at farmers markets.

Griffitts learned how to process baby pigs at the University of Missouri Swine Research barn during the women’s’-only Pearls of Production event.  Griffits is a nurse by trade. She tells Brownfield Ag News, “You could teach me all day long in the book but it doesn’t sink in, it doesn’t affect me until I get to do it. And, that’s the same thing with the hands-on stuff, is why I love it so much, because that’s when you actually learn HOW to do it.”

Griffitts says they want to raise Red Wattle pigs, a heritage breed, on pasture, “They’re supposed to be a redder meat. A lot more marbling. Leaner. Not a lot of fat on them. And, they’re very easy to work with, I mean, as far as hogs go.”

Griffitts, from Higbee in Central Missouri, says she also got a lot of guidance on what to talk about with their lender as they get started.

She was one of three students in the afternoon education session at the swine barn. Hands-on learning was also taught in beef production, small ruminants and forage and pasture management. Sessions were held all day this past Saturday in Columbia, Missouri.

AUDIO: Interview with Kristie Griffitts (4:10 min., mp3)