[TheGirlsMum]

I am still in the planning stages for all this but wanted to be armed with as much information as possible before setting out. We are planning to keep pigs just for our own freezer and then once they have turned over and fertilized the ground for us I want to utilize this area to grow some crops to then feed to our next batch of pigs. I know our local farmers grow swede to feed to their cattle is this the veg to grow or would beet be a better option? This leads to the next question....if you recommend beet (which I presume I could feed to the ponies too) where do I get the seed from in small quantities?

Thank you for reading this and I hope you can bear with my lack of knowledge.

[Fleecewife]

Hi there.  Although I don't keep pigs now I grew up on a pig farm, with the sows living outdoors.  We grew Fodder Beet for them, I think about 5 acres and that seemed to be the right crop.  We also had a Mill'n'mix to make mash, from grains, grass powder, milk powder, fish meal and so on, the proportions varying for the age of pig, with the milk powder added for the weaners (which were not outdoors).
Try contacting the big seed merchants to find who supplies fodder beet seed - they may be willing to supply small amounts, or they may be able to put you in touch with someone else who does.  Or google !

[TheGirlsMum]

Thank you for that