Welcome to the Marsh!
We are located in Tony, Wisconsin and have focused our efforts on raising heritage breed livestock.
The heritage livestock breeds we've chosen to focus on are Large Black Hogs, Jacob Sheep, Narragansett turkeys, and Buff Orpington chickens.
There are any number of reasons we chose to focus on the heritage breed livestock, but, our primary reasons are:
- These breeds are at risk of dying out entirely, with the hogs and sheep listed as "Critically endangered", and we would like to do what we can to preserve a part of our American farming heritage.
- The heritage breed animals tend to be a hardier animal due to not having their bloodlines tampered with in an effort to make "More meat in less space...faster!". They seem to be less susceptible to the more common barnyard diseases, parasites, illnesses, and genetic defects that the confined, "industrial", animals are becoming more and more prone to.
- These animals take more space and a longer time to finish, but, the product from them is night and day difference in quality and nutritional value from the typical commercial meats that are found in your local grocery store.
These animals are raised the way nature intended, in a pasture and not in a barn stall. They get just enough locally milled grains in their diets to provide them with the minerals they need but cannot get from the pasture. In the winter they are fed hay that is grown on our farm; heavy in timothy and other assorted grasses, purple and white clovers, and trefoil, exactly the same forage as their pastures.