Our pigs are here with a purpose. We are working toward raising a smaller, more manageable homestead meat pig by breeding our Juliana boar with Kunekune and Idaho Pasture Pig (IPP) sows. We aren't looking to produce huge commercial-size hogs. We want pigs that make sense for a smaller homestead like ours—easier to manage, useful on the farm, and able to provide a practical amount of meat for the freezer.

Our goal is to sell the gilts we can as homestead pigs to other families looking for that smaller type of pig. The boys that stay here will be castrated (barrowed) and raised for food for our family. For us, it's about being realistic about why we have livestock while still giving them good care and a good life while they're here. We're trying to raise animals that fit our farm instead of trying to make our farm fit the animals.