Those of you who frequent the Pflugerville Pfarmers Market know that regrettably, it isn’t open year-round. Over the past few years, we bridged that gap by offering free delivery of pre orders during the off season at the market location, but this year, we have a better alternative - the Pflugerville Winter Market! This Fall, John was hard at work partnering with local vendors and the Immanuel Lutheran Church to host a winter farmers market during the regular market’s off season. The market will feature familiar vendors from the regular market season as well as local vendors new to the Pflugerville area. Join us in celebrating the New Year by shopping local and supporting local farmers, ranchers, and artisans!

 

The Pflugerville Winter Farmers Market  will be held in the parking lot of the Immanuel Lutheran Church  at 500 Immanuel Rd, Pflugerville, TX 78660 starting January 4th, 2022.  The market will be open every Tuesday from 4 pm - 7 pm until the regular Pfarmers Market resumes operation in March.  

Pigs eat a lot!  So it goes without saying that hog feed is a major expense.  Consequently, when I heard that a local rancher was selling wheat directly from the combine at a price half that of hog feed, I thought I should check it out. 

I did a bit of research and learned that wheat is a very good feed source for pigs. It doesn’t work as a sole source of feed as it’s missing some essential amino acids, but our pigs get a lot of variety from what they glean off of pasture. Besides being more nutritious than corn, wheat also produces better quality meat. The fat produced by wheat has a higher melting point and is harder. This  makes it perfect for that low and slow Texas barbecue. Pigs, however, are unable to digest whole wheat berries (or any other type of whole grain). Like humans, pigs need their feed ground  up. Not to be discouraged, I began looking for a grain mill. 

Feed is typically ground using a hammer mill. In essence, flails are used to beat the grain to pieces until it falls through a sieve. I found, however, that they don’t really make an affordable hammer mill for the small-time guy like me. I did come across an advertisement for a flour mill that was made from steel plates instead of stone; steel plates are great for making cracked grain.  The reviews for this unit were horrible, but at $275 I felt it was worth a shot. I placed an order and eagerly awaited the arrival of my new tool. When it arrived I wasn't surprised that the unit was made with very rough casting and little attention to detail.  I did however have a very beefy motor and aggressive milling plates.

 

I was elated to find out that this sturdy machine does a great job turning wheat berries into pig feed, devouring 5 gallons of wheat in just under 3 1/2 minutes! The mill now allows me to grind a week's worth of hog feed in about 15 minutes, support a local grower, and produce better quality pork..