Pastured pork available... with a twist!

Plus: a long story

Greetings dear pork customers and friends of Nettle Valley Farm!

I hope you're all staying warm, happy and healthy. Big news: whole pastured hogs are now available to reserve for the 2025 season!

However, there's a twist to this announcement... We have decided to transition our pastured pork enterprise to my friend and fellow young farmer Abby at Featherstone Farm. (Full story below) She's been a customer for years and is committed to raising 30 Berkshire hogs with all of our special NVF methods. I'll be mentoring her throughout the season and since the pigs will be raised at Featherstone, they will have access to unlimited culled organic produce and apples in addition to Certified Organic pea and barley feed, lush annual and perennial pasture, and a comfy cozy bedded area for schnoozing. The pork flavor will be bonkers!

Here's the link to reserve your whole hog. (Abby will reach out later for details about delivery vs. pickup, so for now, enter your zipcode in the "Where would you like to pick up your deliveries?", click the day that pops up, then "add to basket".)

NVF customers get first dibs but then they'll open it up to their CSA customers. There aren’t many hogs left to reserve and over 1,100 (!!!) Featherstone CSA members, so if you're jonesing, don't delay!

Questions about ordering or your deposit? Email Abby: abby@featherstonefarm.com

If you're wondering what the heck is going on on our farm, read on. The long and short of it is that in January of 2022 I came down with a rare neurological condition called MdDS and my brain hasn't been quite the same since.

I haven't known how to talk about it publicly until recently. On bad days, MdDS means seasickness, dizziness, unsteadiness, brain fog, depression/anxiety, fatigue, and a whole slew of other unpleasant symptoms that are greatly exacerbated by stress.... like the stress of 85 hogs! On good days, I can almost feel normal aside from some dizziness. The problem is that the ratio of good and bad days is totally unpredictable -- not very conducive to large scale pastured hog farming!

While I try everything under the sun to heal my brain and manage the symptoms — Sauna! Therapy! Acupuncture! Chinese Herbs! Breathwork! Meditation! — we've decided that the best thing for the pigs, our customers, and our family is to make a permanent switch to lower stress enterprises. This was a tough decision but being able to partner with Abby and Featherstone has felt hopeful and positive.

I'm still farming, just on a smaller, slower scale that leaves room for the inevitable ups and downs that come with MdDS.

This fall we'll have some goat meat available from our small herd of 25 brush management goats, we're dipping our toes into growing native and horticultural seeds for Driftless Seed Supply, and we launched a very part time mobile sauna business called Little Dipper Sauna Co.

If you've made it this far, wow! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting our farm these past 10 (!!) years. I'd love to hear how you're doing.

Big gratitude,

Dayna