What do you do when you raise stock for meat and area butcher shops are closing down, or booked months in advance?
The answer for Jason and Mary Rusnak was to begin raising more of their own animals and to build his own butcher shop and cooling building.
When it came to pigs, the couple south of Yorkton had been buying weanlings and feeding them out to butcher for the freezer, but the young stock was becoming more difficult to source.
They opted for having their own simply out of necessity.
“We can’t find weanlings anywhere,” said Jason, adding they have become very expensive when they are found with prices often in excess of $100.
So, the couple decided to buy some sows and begin raising their own.
A neighbour was looking to sell and actually called, so that search was over before it started.
They ended up with predominantly Berkshire stock, and Jason admitted initially they worried about the black colour, but that worry has faded.
A friend recently butchered one and ensured “it was very nice pork,” and that quelled their fears. “They loved it, the meat was so good,” he said.
Of course, raising sows and farrowing litters was new.
“It’s the first year we’ve had little ones,” said Jason.
While suggesting things have gone quite smoothly, they are learning things as they go, such as the marks that can occur from baby pig teeth when they play fight, and about iron injections.
But, the first litter was born easily enough in a shed among the herd and Mary noted the little ones seem happy “running through the bush.”
And the first litter was rather exciting to start with.
“That was petty cool. The kids were excited,” said Mary. “It was pretty neat to see.”
As for building a butcher shop it was a case of dwindling alternatives available.
“We couldn’t find any place to do our pigs or chickens,” he said.
Fortunately, Rusnak had some experience butchering, working on and off for seven years with Brian Naby in Melville. Having a good knowledge of how to kill, cut and wrap meat, he and his wife Mary, with some help, built the two buildings and stocked the butcher shop with the necessary equipment.
In regard to equipment for the shop Mary said “we just shopped around,” buying from various sources which included Cabela’s, Princess Auto, and online where they found some good deals as small butcher shops have closed.
One such shop was in Esterhazy where the woman running it was finally retiring at age 86.
The move into butchering was just another step in the evolution of Mary, who grew up in Saskatoon, and initially found adjusting to rural life south of Yorkton more than a bit difficult.
“I was actually depressed the first year,” she said. “… I felt unsafe,” being somewhat isolated on the farm.
“It was just a huge adjustment.”
But, adjust she did. The fears disappeared and the way of life of the small farm ultimately charmed Mary.
“I love it now,” she said, adding she has come to appreciate the solitude, adding having neighbours, but not just next door suits her fine now.
Of course it’s not that Mary and Jason don’t have plenty to do. Both work off the small farm.
And, on the farm, there are four boys, ages 3 to 16, to keep an eye on.
There is the flock of free range birds, chickens including laying hens, exotic naked neck chickens, wild turkeys, pheasants and Guinea hens.
All the stock is being raised organically, and that means some added bookkeeping and rules to follow.
“It’s pretty strict,” said Jason, adding “that’s a good thing.”
The strict aspect does include visits, with bin checks of the grain they grow. Jason said having testing done ensures compliance within the rules.
While the grain goes into the stock, the stock ultimately goes into the freezer. That was why they built the butcher shop, as a place to process their chickens and pigs, the children’s 4-H lambs in the past, his father’s bison, and the occasional hunted animal – Jason has been drawn for elk this fall and is confident he will put one in the freezer.
“We don’t do any custom,” said Jason, adding while there would likely be demand, that would require certification, and more time than a career in the nearby potash mine allows.
So how did the former city girl take to butchering?
“Actually it wasn’t too bad,” said Mary, adding before moving into Saskatoon she had been on an acreage as a small child and had seen chickens butchered in the past. “The first time I was grossed out a bit … but now it’s fine.”
It is however, not a cheaper way to put food on the table.
Even at $3.50 a pound for a chicken “you don’t make any money,” said Jason, once you factor in the cost of feed and assign a value for your time.
All of the work, from feeding the stock, to gathering eggs, to pickling cucumbers, to butchering pigs, is done for one reason say the Rusnaks, the four boys. They get to learn about the responsibility of chores and be aware of exactly where their food comes from.
Mary adds they get to eat better too. Yes, the eggs have darker yellow yolks because the chickens are free range, but everything tastes better too, she said. •
— By Calvin Daniels
