Ranch Couple Buys Captured Feral Hogs
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“Feral hogs are a big problem that’s just getting bigger, and we’re doing our part to hold down the numbers by purchasing live animals from people who trap them,” says Wade Griffin who, along with his wife Taylor, operates Circle G Farms, which was established by Wade’s grandparents. They’re the only licensed buyers in the east Texas area of Bowie County and are carrying on a family tradition.
“We’ll buy any quantity from a single hog up to a full trailer load as long as we’re not exceeding our license housing limit,” Taylor says. They weigh the animals on a certified scale and price them according to their age and weight. “Earlier this year a fellow brought in a trailer load that weighed just over 1,400 lbs, which paid him just over $300. That’s a nice income from one trap in one evening,” Taylor says.
Hogs that the Griffins buy are held in pens away from their farm site. “The pigs are very wild, so we keep them sorted by size and penned in a wild area so they don’t become stressed, or they might die,” Wade says. Their state license lets them hold animals no longer than 7 days and have 200 in possession.
The couple markets 80 to 100 feral hogs at a time to a certified wild animal processing facility that’s 6 1/2 hrs. away near San Antonio. “The facility tests every animal to make sure it’s disease-free,” Taylor says. “They process meat cuts for export and many other parts of the animal are used in the medical field for wound healing, plastic surgery, sutures and different types of medical research. Meat and body parts not fit for human use such as hides, hooves, ears, feet and bones are used for pet food and pet chewing products.”
Those efforts have produced a customer base that now extends in a 300-mile radius of their farm and continues to grow. “The feral hogs aren’t going away, we know that for sure,” says Taylor. They’re also working on plans to open a certified wild animal processing facility in Mt. Pleasant, much closer to their farm.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Circle G Farms and Hog Buying Facility, 23 Cr 4217, Simms, Texas 75574 (ph 903 293-9774; twacasey@yahoo.com).
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Ranch Couple Buys Captured Feral Hogs HOG EQUIPMENT & IDEAS “Feral hogs are a big problem that’s just getting bigger and we’re doing our part to hold down the numbers by purchasing live animals from people who trap them ” says Wade Griffin who along with his wife Taylor operates Circle G Farms which was established by Wade’s grandparents They’re the only licensed buyers in the east Texas area of Bowie County and are carrying on a family tradition “We’ll buy any quantity from a single hog up to a full trailer load as long as we’re not exceeding our license housing limit ” Taylor says They weigh the animals on a certified scale and price them according to their age and weight “Earlier this year a fellow brought in a trailer load that weighed just over 1 400 lbs which paid him just over $300 That’s a nice income from one trap in one evening ” Taylor says Hogs that the Griffins buy are held in pens away from their farm site “The pigs are very wild so we keep them sorted by size and penned in a wild area so they don’t become stressed or they might die ” Wade says Their state license lets them hold animals no longer than 7 days and have 200 in possession The couple markets 80 to 100 feral hogs at a time to a certified wild animal processing facility that’s 6 1/2 hrs away near San Antonio “The facility tests every animal to make sure it’s disease-free ” Taylor says “They process meat cuts for export and many other parts of the animal are used in the medical field for wound healing plastic surgery sutures and different types of medical research Meat and body parts not fit for human use such as hides hooves ears feet and bones are used for pet food and pet chewing products ” Those efforts have produced a customer base that now extends in a 300-mile radius of their farm and continues to grow “The feral hogs aren’t going away we know that for sure ” says Taylor They’re also working on plans to open a certified wild animal processing facility in Mt Pleasant much closer to their farm Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Circle G Farms and Hog Buying Facility 23 Cr 4217 Simms Texas 75574 ph 903 293-9774; twacasey@yahoo com
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