Grit

Frugal FARMER

I’m gazing at three pigs under the white light of a headlamp. They’re snorting, oinking, and rooting around their new enclosure in the dark after a nearly three-hour drive to get to my farm — they’re already hankering for some food. I’m not too keen on the idea of more mouths to feed, in addition to my chickens and rabbits, but I have plenty of food at my disposal. I swiftly unload a few buckets of spent grain that I nabbed from the brewery down the road, and the pigs rip into the slop.

In early October 2018, I found my swine online for a bargain price — only $100 for a trio of Kunekunes, which are docile, great grazers, and lard producers. I couldn’t pass up the deal, but I also recognized I had already hit my limit with farm expenses. So, I decided I’d only pay to get the pigs to the farm, and everything else would be free. Over the next few days, I made a few more trips down the road to the local brewery to

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