Livestock Pens-Sauer Beckmann Farm

One of the more important farm animals

NPS Photo / Jack Burton

Quick Facts

MANAGED BY:

Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site

Typical of early German-Texan farms, animals are kept to provide meat. A pig is butchered in the winter so the cold weather can prevent the meat from spoiling as it is processed. Bacon, ham, roast, pork chops and sausage are some of the products made from a butchered pig. For a farm family, the fat from the pig is as important as the meat. The fat is rendered into lard and then used for axle grease, cooking oil, ointment base, baking and making soap. Pigs are important farm animals since they also eat food scraps and ensure that nothing goes to waste.