Dean Tofteland is a family farmer who raises pigs in southwestern Minnesota.

"I like to hold them""What do you like about new pig day?" I ask my 4-year-old son. "I like the littlest pigs; those are the pigs I like because I like to hold them," he immediately responds. It's 5:45 in the morning, and he is usually the first one up. My dad was an early riser, too. I sometimes wonder what he would have thought of all this pig business.

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As usual, this morning's new pigs arrive on a custom trailer equipped with temperature monitors and wood chips piled high. As we start unloading, the cedar fragrance intermingles with the delicate scent of the new baby piglets. As the piglets come off the trailer, we use rattles of every kind to encourage them along—shaking keys on rings or rolling pebbles in an old milk jug. We form a kind of "piglet parade" furnished with an imaginary band as we follow the line of piglets around the corner into each pen. Those that fall behind are scooped up into my arms to be personally escorted to the "light pen." We step very carefully now because the baby pigs weigh only about 10 to 12 pounds. At 14 to 18 days old, the pigs are able to survive fine on their own and still carry the natural resistance to sickness given to them from the sow's milk.

Our first task after unloading is to separate the barrows (males) from the gilts (females). This is a repetitive task that takes about two hours. By separating the males and females, we can closely tailor the nutritional needs of each gender as they grow. This also further reduces stress. We call this "sexing."

But they all look alike. How do you tell the difference?

It is really quite simple: It's either double barrel or single barrel.

If you look any where else it is very tricky, because the gilts and barrows have similar navels, and the barrows at this age have no easily distinguished male characteristics. So, you begin at the end. The single barrels go in the north pens, and the double barrels go in the south pens.

The next job is to sort each pig according to its size. This creates evenly sized groups and promotes fair competition. We put pigs in about six pens and then pick the biggest and the smallest. After a while it becomes very subjective because they are all so close. After this, we count and sort about 25 pigs into each of the other pens. Counting these continually-in-motion, same-color, same-size pigs is an exercise in persistence and concentration. With that done, it is time for the first feeding.

Three pairs of little rubber boots line the wall in the entry. The hot-pink Barbie-style boots in the center belong to my 6-year-old. The black ones are dual-purpose and also function as part of a Batman costume. For the first five to seven days, we hand-feed the piglet on mats. The first two days it is done very frequently—about five times a day because it is important that all the piglets eat together and at the same time to get a good start. The kids especially like to help feed the pigs.

"Be careful so you don't spill feed pellets," I continually remind them.

Piglet paradeAs the kids go about their new "chores," I think about this whole process of raising pigs. I think about the future. What will the family farm look like in 30 years? Will my children have the opportunity to raise their kids on the farm? When we joined together to form Pipestone Family Farms, my hopes and dreams were to keep my family on the farm and maintain the hands-on production of quality, prime, all-natural pork. Today, I believe our network of independent family farms is the future and the key to producing the most delicious pork available.

This afternoon I sit in another "pig meeting." This is a meeting of the group of family pig farmers that makes up Pipestone Family Farms. We typically talk about production practices and pig flow, etc. For example, today we discuss our "Certified Quality Assurance Certification." As I sit across the table, the question finally comes up: "Maybe we should have a Web site to sell our pork?"

"Great idea!"

"What should we call it?"

"How about PipestoneFamilyFarms.com?"

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