Bredbo Valley View farm - providing quality education in Permaculture and sustainable living practices.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Hey boy's - come here for a minute....


Our pig tattoo arrived the other day, in the mail, at last. It is a frightful looking piece of kit. They are what is known as a slap brand. It uses our Property Identification Code (PIC) and we apply it by whacking it against the pigs hindquarter. The tattoo needles penetrate the skin and the ink leaves an indelible pattern. I think I will need to have a couple of practice runs with this first – Kids – Kids – where are you??? I need you for a minute…….

To get a pig brand in NSW, you need to first apply for a PIC thought the LHPA – this is similar to the NAIS that the Americans are fighting against currently. Once you have that, they’ll issue you with a certificate. You then need to send a copy of your certificate to a Rural Supplier who stocks pig brands and they’ll make one up and send it out too you. Other states may have different ways of doing this. If you’re sending your pigs to a processor they won’t be accepted without a brand – it’s also the only way you’ll know if you’re getting back the pigs you sent.

I might be picking up my new toy this weekend. I’ve found myself a push along motorised garden vacuum for collecting this year’s acorn harvest – should speed things up a bit. I’m hoping to collect a lot of acorn this year, enough to last until well into spring. This will see me back and forward into town for the next few weeks every day.

The Cook has invited a couple of guys from Bush Heritage over for dinner tonight. I don’t think she expected to be three hours late getting home last night either. The Bush heritage guys are sleeping in the Scottsdale Shearing shed so a nice dinner, in a warm house, will be a real treat for them.

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