“ I want to say farming was brook into me , ” explain Heather Hansen fromHilltop Farmin Tennessee . As a youngster , Hansen would purloin off to hang out and pass the day at a local stable . “ They got so used to me they ’d rent me stay and help out , ” she recalls .
After meditate agriculture at college , Hansen went in the lead and found Hilltop Farm . Now the class - run farmstead houses an regalia of Kunekune Sus scrofa , goat and poultry , all looked over by the property ’s residentGreat Pyreneesdogs .
We spoke to Hansen about the appeal of her Kunekune pig and the importance of livestock guardians . We also got to the bottom of a circular mushroom mystery .
The Wonder of Kunekune Pigs
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“ We had been breed pigs for 10 year . And I ’d taught agriculture classes at the local college and had a bull projection plump on there , ” says Hansen , when ask about how she came to make pigs a focus of Hilltop Farm .
“ grunter are wonderful for various reasons . But here in the mountains , if you free range them , traditional commercial-grade pigs lean to shoot down up land , ” she adds . “ In the mountains , that ’s not a good affair . ”
After Hansen ’s husband ran into someone who had some Kunekune pigs , he promise her up and tell her about the strain . “ Within weeks of meeting them , we need up our first Kunekune , ” say Hansen .
Some Very Affectionate Pigs
When it come to the ingathering of Kunekune pigs , Hansen key the breed as “ just different in every way — personality , snout duration , marbling in their meat . ”
Hansen exalt her Kunekunes as “ grand ” to spend time with . “ They ’re friendly , they come when they ’re called , they sit and wait for dainty like dogs . They will let you lay right beside beside them in the stall . And they love to be scratched and brushed . They ’re very affectionate pigs . ”
The Role of the Farm’s Great Pyrenees
heavy Pyrenees hotdog play a crucial protective role at Hilltop Farm . “ Great Pyrenees are a traditional livestock defender , so they love to protect and bond with livestock — and people as well . And they faithfully protect their herd , ” explain Hansen . “ That herd can be anything . It can be sheep , it can be ducks . It can be sloven and horses or a combination of any of them , include poultry . ”
On a daily basis , Hansen allege you ’ll find Hilltop Farm ’s gang of Great Pyrenees helping to ward off hawks , owls , stray dogs and galling coyotes .
The Great Mushroom Circle Mystery
of late , Hansen amount across a bunch of mushrooms that had grow in a mysterious circular pattern — seemingly of their own will .
“ It ’s called a fairy ring , ” explains Hansen . “ I was recount that in the past there must have been a really bighearted tree diagram there . It died and rotted , and the fungus appease alive under the land . But when the consideration are correct , it just popped out where the trunk would have been . ”
Forging Connections with the Animals
“ We play as a family . And we have connections to all the animals , ” say Hansen , tot up up the most rewarding part of running Hilltop Farm . “ The animate being are get it on and cared for . And we establish relationships with them . It ’s been great to teach that connection to our shaver along with the study ethic that goes into right relationship . ”
