What to seed?

[Tam319]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone seeds any cereal crops (ie. oats, barley) to pasture their pigs on? We need to seed pasture for them this spring, and I'd read that you might as well seed grain and let the pigs harvest it rather than go to all the trouble of taking it off the field, etc. then feeding it back to your pigs. Anyone seeded crops specifically for your pastured pigs? What did you seed? We can't grow corn here due to our short growing season but most other things are options. What is the best crop to seed for finishing hogs on pasture? If properly managed can you get away without feeding additional ration or grain? If so, do you provide a mineral premix somehow?

Thanks!

[tyusclan]

Hogs love any of the "greens"; turnips, mustard, rape, and broccoli. Don't ask me how I know they love broccoli. My wife is still not happy about them getting to her broccoli. You can also plant oats, rye or ryegrass. You should also be able to plant corn for grazing. If the hogs are eating plants and all for grazing, you don't need to be concerned about maturation times.

[Tam319]

Corn does not grow well this far north. Is there something else I could grow that would do the trick?

[tyusclan]

Whatever forage you have available that will grow in your climate, the hogs will eat. If you have the space you might try planting several small plots of different forages. Watch the hogs when you turn them in and see what they prefer. You can then plan future plantings accordingly.

I can tell you here (when they got out into the garden) that the broccoli was the first thing they ate, then the other greens. They did eat the cabbage, but only after everything else was gone. (I do have them stopped from getting to the garden now.)

[agmantoo]

Are you able to grow barley? If so , do you plant it in the fall or spring?

[Up North]

Some great ideas by the posts made so far. The different Hog Producers who are sucessfully grazing Hogs will still feed a small amount of grain per day to get best results.
A good way to go is a mix of 3 species to get a more balanced diet. Also, you want to do staggered plantings(by date). Like maybe a plot every 2-3 weeks depending on how many hogs you have to harvest it. That way when you move them to the last plot it will still be tender young vegetation at it's peak value instead of dried out dead stuff that has gone to seed and has little food value.
A possible mix might be Barley, Red Clover, Turnips. They all do well in cold climates. Or maybe Oats, Clover(Red or White) and Rape. Pay attention to what crops are grown in your area. Those are the ones that will do well.

[Tam319]

Thanks for the great tips everyone. My DH is a crop researcher and often brings home leftover grain at the end of harvest, so we will have some "free" grain to feed as well. I am also hoping to feed extra milk and eggs to the pigs. I am so excited and I can't wait for spring!