Third-gen swine farmer carries on family tradition
For Kerry Hollier, owner of Teasel Meadow Farms in Red Creek, NY, raising pigs is in his blood.
For the past 10 years, he’s raised freezer pork and feeder pigs full-time, carrying on the tradition of his grandfather, Frank Hollier. Each summer in the early 1900s, the elder Hollier took purebred Chester white pigs on a train to Chicago and “showed them all the way back, ending at the New York State Fair,” Kerry said.
As a boy, Hollier’s family had a few pigs that he raised and showed as a hobby. After graduating from Ohio State with a degree in swine production, he managed some swine farms for a few years and then stepped away from pigs for 15 years. But for the past decade, he’s raised pigs full-time, along with five acres of pumpkins, squash and mums to sell at his farmstand each autumn.
Currently, Hollier has 100 breeding Berkshire/Mangalista sows because “they’re very productive and raise large litters,” he said.
By eight to nine weeks, his feeder pigs are ready to go. Hollier raises about 1,800 annually. He also finishes about 200 head a year once they’re 300 lbs. (at about 26 weeks).
Schrader Farms Meat Market in Romulus, NY, both purchases many of his feeder pigs to raise for slaughter and also processes Hollier’s pigs to sell locally on his farmstand as freezer pork.
After the holiday season, Hollier closes down the farmstand but directs customers to local stores that carry his pork. That way, customers can still make Teasel Meadow their pork of choice.
He also consistently posts on his Facebook page to keep his brand front-of-mind with customers and to update everyone on his farmstand hours and farm promotions. Hollier sells all the standard pork cuts, along with rendered pork lard.
Along with numerous other local vendors, Hollier participates in Nathali’s Farm Market & Supply Fall Flannel Fest in Red Creek to move more pork and create greater brand awareness.
Success in the pork business relies upon more than the daily grind of animal care. Hollier said it’s also about reducing outbreaks of illness such as H1N1 (swine flu).
“Biosecurity and disease control are important,” Hollier said. “People don’t understand that.”
Although swine death from H1N1 is rare and recovery typically happens in a week, pigs can have lower weight and productivity. Pregnant sows that are infected and suffer a fever can experience miscarriage. In a business with narrow margins and little room for error, farmers must do all they can to prevent a devastating disease outbreak that could decimate the herd.
“The other thing is finding the right breeding stock for producing large litters of pigs,” Hollier said. “You need to produce high-quality pork that is good tasting. That’s what the commercial pork lacks.”
He’s found that crossbreeding provides the best outcome for large litters and tasty pork. The Berkshire breed is from Britain and can weigh up to 600 lbs. The Mangalitsa is a Hungarian breed, and its name derives from Serbo-Croatian, roughly meaning “roll-shaped” – suggesting the animals are well fed.
