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Most of the meat that you see on any given day at our dinner table comes from our farm, whether it was raised in our pasture or hunted on our property. From 18-month-old steers, to wild rabbit and squirrel, they all make the same stops and are handled with the same care to provide as little waste as possible, as well as sustainable and healthy meat options to fill the freezer.
This past year, we had the opportunity to harvest a fair pig that my daughter raised. With this opportunity came great reward and I don’t know that there will be a year that goes by that we don’t raise a pig for our table. Why you ask? Read further below.
I will say it’s a great feeling to open our chest freezer, know exactly what went in to the raising/butchering process, and have a wide and personalized selection of cuts and meat types. I am very proud of this.
One disclosure: The 2 biggest animals we raise for meat are beef and pork. For comparison, this blog is going to compare my experience with beef and pork and may seem one sided. It’s not meant to discourage raising beef. I love a good ribeye steak, perhaps better than anything else we put on the grill or smoker. However, there are definitely some factors that may make raising pork more of a staple on our farm in lieu of beef every year.
1. Hogs Grow Fast
In years past, we have always raised a steer or two for ourselves as well as family and friends. We get a feeder calf at a couple days old and raise it until its time for the table. This takes about 18 months, which is a large time investment. Pork, on the other hand, is ready for the freezer in about 6-8 months.
2. Hogs Cost Less to Feed
Compared to a pig, a steer is a much larger animal with more nutritional requirements. Although our cattle are mostly pasture raised, we finish them on grain to get better marbling in the meat, and they can put away a lot of grain!!
The pigs are fed for less time which, obviously, equates to less money. Although they have constant access to feed, a 50 lb. bag will last about 4-5 days. In addition, that can be stretched by feeding table scraps, garden produce, and even food that would be thrown out from local grocery stores and restaurants. Many will be happy to give it to you!
3. Hogs Require Less Space
Pigs require less space to raise if that is an issue. We keep 2 pigs in a 12×24 foot pen made from hog panel and T-posts. They have plenty of room.
We keep our steers on a 6 acre pasture, with the goats, which may not be possible for some. Even if you keep them in feed lots, it will be considerably larger than what is needed for your pigs, and will drive your infrastructure costs way up.
4. Hogs are Easy to Take Care of
Our pigs are happy to lay around in the shade or mud and don’t expend a lot of energy aside from rooting around in the dirt. Unless you really care about that part of your lawn, they really are not hard on anything. Our steers, on the other hand, have given us some headaches. Multiple gate repairs, moved and tipped water tanks and feed troughs, and fence mending are a few things you can count on when raising these large and very strong animals.
Plus, with a self-feeder and large waterer with a nipple valve, pig chores are a piece of cake.
5. Hog Carcass Yield is High
The carcass yield on the pig we butchered was one of the biggest selling points for me. As I said earlier, we butcher all of our market animals at home. When I was done with the pig, the waste pile was so small it was almost unbelievable. A steer, on the other hand, can fill your dumpster, and then some, very quickly.
A quick Google search confirms this. A hog carcass has a yield of about 75% the live weight. A steer carcass is only about 45-60%, depending on the type of cut and how much bone you leave in those cuts (which isn’t edible anyway so it feels like cheating).
Even though you will get more meat in your freezer from a steer, butchering a pig is definitely worth your while.
6. Hogs are Simpler to Process
This comes down to the size of the animal. Getting a pig from slaughter to cooler can be accomplished with 1-2 people. A 1200 lb. steer, however, requires more hands on deck and a large tractor or back hoe for hoisting. It likely will also have to be halved or quartered to get into a cooler to age.
Speaking of aging, a pig will only take about 3-4 days to fully age while a steer will take 21. If you have a cooler, no problem. If you don’t, keeping your beef in an acceptable temperature range for 3 weeks can be near impossible.
Considering the time commitment for processing beef vs. pork, the hog is a clear winner again. I was able to finish the pig, grind and all, in less than a day (the bacon and sausage, which require curing, are not figured in to this time). When we do a steer, it takes me and a buddy about 3 long days to get everything cut, vacuum sealed, and ground for the freezer. Due to the size and complexity, I would advise that a steer be tackled with someone who has done it before and is familiar with all the different cut options.
7. Hogs Provide a Wide Variety of Cuts
From ham to bacon and pork chops to sausage, the variety of cuts that you get from a pig cant be beat. Your freezer hog will give you countless options for meats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
When you butcher a steer, you better be creative for using up all of the ground beef!
I do truly love raising both hogs and steers to feed my family and this in no way is meant to deter you from taking on a steer on your farm. The above reasons simply illustrate why we may skip a year or 2 between raising beef while also adding increased options to our dinner menu.
Butcher, coach, and handyman— there is nothing this man can’t do or fix. He loves the outdoors, playing with his kids, as well as hunting and cooking homegrown or wild meats!