Animal care is paramount to us.

Our farm is a farrow to finish operation, that means that we have a herd of breeding females (sows) who we care for approximately for 4 months before they give birth (farrow).

Our sow herd consists of Heritage Tamworth cross sows and commercial Landrace/Yorkshire cross sows that we breed to purebred or high percentage Tamworth boars.

A great deal of time, effort, and care go into the first few weeks of raising pigs. Preventing them getting hurt by their mothers, keeping them warm and dry, paying particular attention to their drinking, eating, and resting habits requires a dedicated, committed and knowledgeable caretaker. Oliver has been involved in raising pigs since the early 1980’s and took livestock technology as his major in college.

After 5 weeks, pigs are drinking free-choice clean well-water and eating non-medicated, fortified nutrient rich feed. Quality balanced and appropriate feed is the key to strong and healthy pigs. These guys are now in a large group pen on straw with pigs of similar size.

At 6 to 7 weeks, pigs are transitioned to our own home-made feed using the corn, wheat, barley, buckwheat, and peas that we grow on the farm… so, yes, we can confidently say, we know what goes into our animals. With the aid of a feed specialist, we ensure that our pig’s diets are balanced to each stage of growth.

Our pigs remain in their established groups to reduce stress and they comfortability continue to be fully occupied with large amounts of straw. All of this takes place inside a predator safe barn that also protects them from the elements, after all… we humans don’t like the extreme cold or crazy heat either, why should our animals be subjected to these harsh conditions? Inside housing also allows us to collect and manage the manure that the pigs produce as our preferred fertilizer and soil building ingredient.

After the 5 weeks, our sows return to their group pen on straw to start the gestation cycle all over again. This system allows us to produce safe, nutritious, consistent fresh pork products for our customers 52 weeks of the year.

With regards to how we feed our pigs. Other than the first two stages of purchased starter feeds… all the feed for our pigs is made right here on the farm, using our home-grown GMO-free corn, wheat, barley, buckwheat, and peas. Only mineral and soymeal are purchased to properly balance the rations barring a disastrous cropping season. Keeping all of our livestock safe and healthy is job one for us!

We do everything possible to ensure that a health challenge never enters our farm, bio-security protocols and a risk reduction strategy are key in keeping our herds disease-free.

We limit introduction of new animals into the farm, we do not allow guests to wander around and we make sure that the quality of the feed and bedding are top notch. It is true that an ounce of prevention bets a pound of cure! We raise our pigs without the regular use of antibiotics (and hormones, but let’s be clear, hormones are not used in Canadian pork production anywhere!). We however will protect the health of and aid in the recovery of a health issue with the individual use of antibiotics. We strictly follow label directions and follow the scientifically proven guidelines of the national on farm food safety program (CPE) for pork production should treatment be required.

The use for high quality feed ingredients, attention to the comfort and environment of the pigs, plus the natural immunity of the heritage Tamworth pigs supported by a solid vaccination program ensures safe pork products from our farm to your table.

Our cattle practices.

Cattle care is much easier than the care and management of the pig herd. Here too, we have a breeding herd of cattle that produce an annual crop of calves. Due to urban encroachment, we have revisited how we keep and care for our cattle. Our herd stays at home on a smaller parcel of pasture with 24/7 access to hay, water, salt, and free-choice mineral.

The herd no longer needs to deal with wildlife risks, be pestered by dogs or stressed by 4 wheelers and hunters. We can very closely monitor the health and well-being of all our cattle at multiple times per day. We know that the feed is of good and consistent quality and that if an issue should arise, it can be addressed in a timely manner. The cattle of course have access to shelter on inclement days and the young calves have their own shelter with 24/7 access to very high protein hay. Just like with our pigs, Haanover View Farms produces all the feed for our cattle, and again… yes, we know what goes into them. Our grass-fed beef animals receive higher quality and higher protein hay and haylage to aid in more efficient growth, which gives our lean beef it’s desired qualities.