Once the end of January is upon us, when there are barely any acorns left under the Holm Oaks in the #LaDehesaViva, when each and every morning a mantle of frost covers the landscape, then the end of the Montanera is close on hand.
For @SierradeCodex the 2018-2019 Montanera is starting to be considered as excellent, not only because of the quality of the acorns that are at the disposal of our Ibérico Pigs, but also due to their sheer number. Likewise, as you have seen in previous posts, the acorns have been gradually maturing; and falling to the ground in due accordance to the weather conditions (windy days, days of intense rainfall,…).
Thus the foraging of the Ibérico Pigs under the Holm Oaks has been extraordinary this year, to the point of covering many many kilometers per day in search of the newly fallen acorns that they find under the boughs of the trees practically on a daily basis.
A few curious bits of information about the Montanera:
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The animals start the Montanera sometime between the 1st of October and the 15th of December, with the same finishing up between the 15th of December and the 31st of March.
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Each Ibérico Pig gains at least 46 kilograms within a minimum period of 60 days in order to be considered a true Acorn Fed Ibérico Pig.
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It has been calculated that each pig consumes a daily average of eight kilograms of acorns and another three kilograms of grass during the Montanera, covering between 8 and 14 kilometers daily in order to reach this amount.
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There are approximately 4,000,000 hectares of Dehesa (meadowlands) in Spain alone, which, for example, is equivalent to the entire area of Switzerland.
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4 December, 2020
