DaleWood Farm

08/31/2026

Two pigs left DaleWood Farms for Ohio today.
That sounds like the story.
It wasn’t.
The family who came for them already raises Meishans and understands Berkshire genetics. What could have been a quick pickup turned into a long conversation about animals, genetics, markets, infrastructure, mistakes, lessons, and the things each of us has learned building our farms.
We talked long enough that I never took a picture of them loading the pigs.
And I’m okay with that.
Because Journal 006 covers a lot more than one sale.
Over the last two weeks, we castrated piglets, brought five purebred Meishan gilts into the herd, worked through wet-ground and pasture recovery, advanced our beef-processing skills, heard from a former customer who now wants help learning to butcher the pigs he bought from us, and started seeing more pieces of DaleWood connect.
Livestock.
Food.
Processing.
Education.
Customers.
Infrastructure.
Other farmers.
That’s what the “next stage” is starting to look like.
📖 DaleWood Farms Journal 006:
“This Is What the Next Stage Looks Like”
dalewoodfarmsllc.com
If you read it, tell me what part stood out to you.
And if you know somebody trying to reconnect with where their food comes from, share it with them.
Pasture-raised. Purpose-driven.

Two weeks of change at DaleWood Farms: new Meishan gilts, piglet management, pasture recovery, beef processing, customer education, and two Black Beauties headed to Ohio.

08/29/2026

Most people never see this part.

You might see the piglet.

You definitely see the pork at the grocery store.

But what happens during the months in between?

That’s actually one of the questions we hear pretty regularly at DaleWood Farms:

“What do your Black Beauties look like when they’re grown?”

Well… here you go.

These two boys left DaleWood Farms as piglets earlier this year and went to a local customer after being born during our winter farrowing season.

One is a barrow. The other was left intact as a boar.

Now, roughly seven months later, their owner sent us these photos and an update.

Using a tape measurement, they’re estimating both hogs at more than 200 pounds, and at least one of them is getting close to the end of his grow-out and the beginning of his next purpose—putting food in their family’s freezer.

And they’re extremely happy with the way these Black Beauties have grown.

That’s important to us.

Because anybody raising pigs can show you a cute piglet.

What we need to know is what happens after that piglet leaves the farm.

How does it grow?

How does it develop?

What does it look like six or seven months later?

And ultimately, does it do the job it was raised to do?

These customer updates help answer those questions with something better than a sales pitch:

results.

They also show something I think we’ve become far too disconnected from.

Food doesn’t begin in a package.

There’s an animal before the pork chop.

There’s a farmer before the freezer.

There are months of feeding, watering, fencing, weather, mud, chores, decisions and responsibility between the piglet and the finished product.

This is part of that story.

So even if you never intend to raise a pig yourself, these are still pictures worth seeing.

Because understanding where our food comes from shouldn’t only matter to farmers.

And for those who have been wondering what one of our Black Beauties can look like several months after leaving DaleWood Farms…

Now you know.

Pasture-raised. Purpose-driven.

DaleWood Farms

08/27/2026

What if knowing where your food comes from could start right here?

What you're watching isn't a stock video or somebody else's farm.

This is DaleWood.

These are our Black Beauties, out on pasture in Daleville, Indiana — part of a first-generation farm we're building from the ground up.

And depending on what you're looking for, there are three ways into what we're building.

🐖 RAISE IT.

Maybe you've been thinking about raising more of your own food. Maybe you have the land but haven't taken the next step. Or maybe you're already raising livestock and looking for something different.

Our Berkshire × Meishan Black Beauty Piglets are where that path begins.

🍽️ EAT IT.

Maybe you don't want to raise a pig.

You just want good food and a better connection to where it came from.

DaleWood Market gives you that path — farm-raised food from a farm and family you can actually get to know.

🌱 FOLLOW IT.

Maybe you're not ready to raise or buy anything today.

But you're interested in what happens when a family decides to build a farm without inheriting a finished one.

We document that too.

The births. The work. The mistakes. The lessons. The setbacks. The progress.

We didn't inherit a finished farm. We're building one.

And somewhere along the way, we've realized that people don't all need the same thing from a farm.

Some want to raise it.
Some want to eat it.
Some simply want to follow it.

Wherever you fit, there's a place to start.

Come see DaleWood for yourself:

dalewoodfarmsllc.com

DaleWood Farms
Pasture-Raised, Purpose-Driven.
Daleville, Indiana

08/24/2026

**Some are leaving. Some are staying. And six new females just joined the future of the program.**

There's a lot happening in this pen right now.

These are some of our July Black Beauty piglets. They're weaned, eating well, our gilts are tagged, the boys have become barrows, and several are getting ready to leave DaleWood Farms for their new homes.

But mixed in with them are six young **purebred Meishan gilts** we brought home from Illinois this weekend after visiting Josh, my mentor and one of the people who has helped guide us as we've developed our Black Beauty program.

Those six are prospects—not guarantees.

We'll raise them alongside the rest, watch their structure, growth, temperament and development, and eventually select the females that we believe can actually improve the next generation.

That's the part of breeding that doesn't always make it into the pictures.

**We're not just trying to make more pigs. We're working to build better ones.**

And there are opportunities here for other farms, too.

We still have Black Beauty piglets available from our summer litters, and we've intentionally left a few males intact from our later litters. If you're looking for a **Black Beauty boar prospect for your own herd**, contact us and let's talk about what you're trying to build.

Whether you're looking for pigs to raise for pork or genetics for your own program, we'd be glad to have the conversation.

Learn more or contact us:
dalewoodfarmsllc.com/black-beauty-piglets/

**DaleWood Farms**
*Pasture-Raised. Purpose-Driven.*

08/23/2026

I've spent most of my adult life trying to become the man I wish someone had been for me.
That desire led me to mentor young men, lead soldiers, coach technicians, help strangers, and invest in people who simply needed someone to believe in them.
Sometimes it worked.
Sometimes it didn't.
Eventually I realized something that changed my life:
You can influence another person... but you cannot choose for them.
This week's Movement Series is one of the most personal articles I've written.
It isn't about giving up on people.
It's about learning where compassion ends... and responsibility begins.
If you've ever stayed awake worrying about someone you couldn't save...
I think this story will speak to you.
After you read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
If these stories have value to you, consider subscribing, sharing them with someone who needs them, or supporting the mission. Every reader helps us continue building something much bigger than a farm.
🔗 Read the full article here:

What if helping someone doesn't mean carrying them? Discover the difference between influence and responsibility in this powerful Movement Series essay.

08/21/2026

**You don't really know what you've bred until the conditions test it.**

Last week, Indiana got tested.

Days of storms brought record flooding across central Indiana. Roads disappeared under water. Communities were evacuated. Here in Delaware County, the flooding hit close to home — and DaleWood Farms took its share of the rain too.

So when I walked the property this morning, I wasn't looking at the mud.

**I was looking at the animals standing in it.**

I was checking condition. Watching the mothers. Looking at how the piglets are developing. Watching how the herd moves, responds, and handles the environment after everything that came through here.

Because that's part of what we're building with the **DaleWood Black Beauty** program.

We're working with Berkshire and Meishan genetics, but genetics on paper aren't enough. The animals still have to prove themselves here.

Maternal ability. Piglet vigor. Temperament. Structure. Growth. Pasture hardiness. And ultimately, the quality of the pork they produce.

Indiana is going to give them heat, cold, rain, snow, drought — and, apparently, sometimes more water than anybody asked for.

**Our animals have to live here and perform here.**

Hardiness isn't just something we advertise.

**We select for it.**

If you're looking to raise your own pork, add Black Beauty genetics to your farm, or you're interested in what we're building at DaleWood Farms, learn more about the program and submit your inquiry here:

https://dalewoodfarmsllc.com/black-beauty-piglets/

**Pasture-Raised. Purpose-Driven.**

08/20/2026

We’ve been doing some work behind the scenes at DaleWood Farms.

Not just raising more pigs — getting better at explaining what we’re raising, why we’re raising them this way, and who they may be a good fit for.

Our Black Beauty piglets come from the Berkshire × Meishan genetics we’ve spent years selecting around actual performance here on the farm.

Maternal ability. Piglet survival. Temperament. Structure. Pasture hardiness. Growth. And ultimately, the quality of the pork they produce.

We don’t select an animal just because it’s black or because the genetics look good on paper.

The animal still has to perform.

Today we’ve launched a completely rebuilt Black Beauty Piglet page that gives you a better look at the program and the different ways you can work with DaleWood Farms.

Whether you’re looking to:

• raise your own pork
• add genetics to your herd
• or have DaleWood raise your pig through our Grow-Out Program

—we’ve built a pathway for each.

If you’ve been thinking about raising pigs, looking for different genetics, or simply wondering what we’re building here in Daleville, take a look.

No pressure to buy anything. Learn about the program, learn about our pigs, and if it sounds like a fit, there’s now a working inquiry form right on the page.

Pasture-Raised. Purpose-Driven.

dalewoodfarmsllc.com/black-beauty-piglets/

08/17/2026

**Well...she finally quit holding out on us. 🐷**

If you read DaleWood Farms Journal 004, you might remember we ended the week with one pregnant sow still making us wait.

Tuesday morning, Sow #46 finally decided it was time.

**11 piglets born.
9 currently surviving.**

And because apparently nothing around DaleWood Farms happens one thing at a time, she picked the beginning of one heck of a stretch of rain to do it.

But that's only where this week's story starts.

While #46 was beginning motherhood with a brand-new litter, five older litters were already moving toward their next stage.

This weekend, we separated those piglets from their mothers and started introducing nursery feed.

The piglets get to show us how they're developing independently.

The mamas finally get a much-needed break.

And toward the end of this coming week, the males move into their next stage.

Meanwhile, 62 miles away from the farm, something similar was happening to me.

Last week I was learning.

This week I was trusted with more of the cutting workload.

Turkeys.

Chickens.

Ducks.

Geese.

And I learned pretty quickly that **a bird ain't just a bird.**

Back home, we preserved purple hull peas—another food and another preservation skill that's beginning to feel less like an experiment and more like something we simply know how to do.

That's when I realized what this week's journal was actually about.

**Transition.**

About the time you figure out one stage, something—or somebody—is already ready for the next one.

**DaleWood Farms Journal 005 — Ready or Not, the Next Stage Comes — is now live.**

Come read it.

But when you get to DaleWood Farms, **don't just read the journal and leave.**

Look around.

🐖 Thinking about raising your own pork? Explore our **Black Beauties and feeder-pig program**, see what's available, and ask us about grow-out options.

🥩 Looking for something for your own table? Visit the **DaleWood Farms Shop** and see what farm products and pork cuts are currently available.

📖 New to our story? Go back through the previous **DaleWood Farms Journals** and watch this farm being built week by week.

🔥 Looking for something beyond farming? Spend some time in **DaleWood Talks**.

🌾 Interested in farm experiences, events, future services, or something else we're developing? **Contact us. Ask the question. Start the conversation.**

There's more to DaleWood Farms than what can fit into a Facebook post.

We're building a farm.

We're building a food business.

We're building experiences.

We're building relationships.

And we're inviting you to see what's here—not someday, but **right now.**

Before you head over, tell me this:

**What's something in your own life that moved into its next stage before you felt completely ready for it?**

Drop it in the comments.

Then come see what we're building.

**Pasture-raised. Purpose-driven.**

Discover the latest life updates from DaleWood Farms as piglets grow, new responsibilities emerge, and preservation becomes a habit.

08/12/2026

Our awesome crew went out in search of sand, and they are filling bags now! If you need sandbags, they will be sitting out in front of the new maintenance building on Heroes Way & Daleville Road (14126 W Daleville Road is the proper address).

Limited supplies and materials, so head over asap if you’re in need.

Thank you to Daleville Police Department and Daleville-Salem Township Fire Protection Territory for the teamwork on filling bags quickly to help our friends & neighbors!