Pasture Pigs in North America is a practical, field-focused guide for raising pigs on pasture, in rotational paddocks, and along managed woodlot edges. Written for North American conditions, it helps new and experienced producers build a system that supports animal welfare, protects the land, and keeps the farm enterprise financially realistic.
A practical pasture pig farming guide
Pastured pork can create valuable products and healthier outdoor systems, but only when fencing, feed, water, shelter, rotation, and market planning work together. This guide explains those connections clearly, helping you avoid damaged paddocks, escaped pigs, slow growth, preventable health problems, and costly infrastructure mistakes.
What you will learn
- How to assess land, soil, forage, drainage, shade, and woodlot suitability
- How to choose pig breeds and crosses that fit outdoor production
- How to train pigs to electric fencing and build dependable perimeter systems
- How to plan paddock rotations that balance grazing, rooting, and pasture recovery
- How to provide clean water, shade, shelter, wallows, and weather protection
- How to combine pasture intake with balanced supplemental feed
- How to manage health, parasites, biosecurity, farrowing, and seasonal risks
- How to repair heavily used ground and reduce erosion or nutrient concentration
- How to calculate infrastructure, feed, processing, and marketing costs
- How to prepare for direct-market sales and honest pasture-raised labeling
Designed for North American farms
The book considers the wide range of climates found across the United States and Canada, from wet spring paddocks and hot summer pastures to cold-weather shelter and frozen water systems. It covers both open-field and woodland-edge production, with practical guidance that can be adapted to small farms, homesteads, diversified livestock operations, and expanding pasture pork businesses.
Recommended next step
Complete Your Pig Farming Library
Cover the full production cycle with complementary guidance on profitability, breeding, health and pasture management.
Land stewardship without guesswork
Pigs are powerful land managers, but their rooting behavior must be directed. You will learn how stocking density, soil moisture, move timing, rest periods, feeder placement, and seasonal conditions affect pasture damage and recovery. The guide also explains active restoration steps for paddocks that need reseeding, erosion control, or a longer recovery period.
Animal care and daily management
Clear sections cover observation, body condition, injury prevention, parasite monitoring, vaccination planning, quarantine, first-aid preparation, and when professional veterinary support is needed. Feeding examples are presented as educational tools and are paired with reminders to consider forage tests, feed labels, water quality, growth stage, and local regulations.
Plan a pasture pork enterprise that can pay
Good husbandry must be supported by sound numbers. Pasture Pigs in North America walks through fixed and variable costs, processing schedules, recordkeeping, customer communication, labeling considerations, and direct-market planning. The goal is a system that is credible to customers, manageable for the farmer, and repeatable from one group of pigs to the next.
Inside this digital edition
- 193-page professionally formatted PDF ebook
- 20 practical chapters plus appendices and reference tables
- Clickable contents and PDF bookmarks for fast navigation
- Coverage of breeds, fencing, rotation, feed, health, farrowing, land recovery, budgeting, and marketing
- Instant digital delivery after purchase
Who this book is for
This guide is ideal for beginning pig farmers, homesteaders, regenerative farmers, direct-market pork producers, diversified livestock farms, agricultural students, and anyone planning a pasture-based pig system in the United States or Canada.
Digital product: You will receive a downloadable PDF ebook. No physical book will be shipped.
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