I Had An Idea

So in case you hadn't noticed by now, I dream big. You probably came to that conclusion some time ago, but I figured I should throw it out there for those who are new, or hadn't caught onto that fact yet. Hehe. Sometimes my plans work out well, sometimes I learn what not to do, and sometimes I find that an idea has to go on a backburner for awhile, even though I may not want to.

Such was the case with one idea that I've been holding close for a few months now.

Back in October, I watched a beautiful video by the Farmstead Meatsmith about cutting up a side of pork. If you haven't seen that video yet, I would highly recommend watching it (click the second highlighted part of the previous sentence). Watching Brandon do his work, in the way that he does, was absolutely inspiring to see. He takes what most people see only as a gruesome and gory task (slaughtering/butchering) into something beautiful. This guy is more than a butcher. He's an artist. And one who knows what his passion in life is.

I watched all the Farmstead Meatsmith videos that I could. I read his entire website over. This guy was quickly ranking himself among my heroes in life.

A couple weeks after watching that first video, I brought home my first pair of pigs. They were only 10 weeks old, but I already knew who I wanted to butcher them.

I had an idea. 

I wanted the Farmstead Meatsmith to come out and teach a butchering class to a group of locals, using my two hogs.

Two months ago, I contacted Brandon and his wife about my idea. Would they be willing to travel all the way down here to my neck of the woods to teach a class, and butcher a pair of Tamworth hogs? They were more than willing. They were excited by the idea and gave me some dates to choose from. It looked like April 12th and 13th were going to be our days. It was going to be a 2-day event, and folks would get to learn how to slaughter a hog, and then everyone would get to learn hands-on how to cut a side of pork up. I was so excited about it all that I was fairly giddy. Dairying may be my top interest in life, but butchery has an extremely close second-place in my heart. Something about it just feels right to me; working with raw meat, making it into edible cuts and providing high quality protein for people. 

Then disaster struck. My cow got sick and then died. Leaving me with vet bills to pay, and a sudden lack of a way to pay my butchers. I had to call the event off... I will be using a normal butcher this time, who will do the job quickly and cheaply, but it won't be the same.

All is not lost though... I told Brandon that perhaps we can resume our plan in the fall. I'll have more hogs to butcher by then, and perhaps I'll have the funds to bring the Farmstead Meatsmith down. I sure hope so. I don't give up on an idea easily, that's for certain.