allourgenes,there’ssomedesiretobeabletolookatwhat
you’vedoneattheendofthedayandtouchit andmeasure
it,”hesays—notreallya qualityofa financejob.
Mostlifestylefarmers, however, aren’tfarming for
profits,evenif theiroperationsareproducingrevenue,says
ScottMartinez,marketingmanagerforStotzEquipment,
a JohnDeeredealerbasedinPhoenix.“Itmaybepartof
it,andtheymayliketheextraincome,butthat’snotwhy
they’redoingit.”
Instead,it’showtheyunplug.There’ssomethingcalming
aboutmowingpastures,movingaroundbalesofhay,ortak-
ingcareofanimals.LeeMontgomeryspendshisdaysbuild-
ingfoundationsforshoppingmallsandhousesinSouthern
California.Butwhenhe’sdonefortheday,allhewantstodo
is farmhisvineyard.Hesayshe’sthetypethatcan’tkeepstill,
soheplanted 8 acresofgrapes—6,000plants—which trans-
lates into a lot of walking for him.
“Farming is very relaxing, like meditation and yoga.
It’s peaceful, fulfilling, and it’s a good thing to fade into,”
Montgomery says, noting that he’s hoping the hobby will turn
profitable by the time he retires. “It’s for people that don’t
want to sit around and watch TV or have too much energy. I
do my job, then go home and work in the vineyard.”
For Andersen, the pig farmer, the draw was more elemen-
tal. Formerly head of investment banking at Drexel BurnhamLambert, he’s known for creating the first high-yield bond
fund. But in 2007 he had his first taste of jamón ibérico de bel-
lota in Spain and fell in love. The cured pork comes from a
black pig that roams the oak forests of central and southwest-
ern Spain and Portugal, feeding on a diet of acorns, olives, and
chestnuts, among other things. The resulting ham is prized for
its smooth marbling and melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Andersen wanted to bring some of the hogs home, but
there were U.S. government restrictions on imports. “You
can buy everything in New York,” he says. “You can buy guns,
drugs—but not Spanish hams.” So he found another curly-
haired breed that’s a close cousin—the Hungarian Mangalitsa,
first bred in the 19th century and reserved for Habsburg roy-
alty. He calls the hogs “avocados with four legs” because their
meat is predominantly unsaturated fat.
When he raised his first pigs in 2008, he imported chestnut
flour from France to feed them. One of the farms next to his
raised goats, so he also fed them raw goat’s milk. Those didn’t
end up tasting like jamón ibérico. Since then, he’s found a
better combo—which he’s keeping a secret.
AmericanscannowimportjamónibéricofromSpain,but
thelivepigsstillcan’tbebroughthere.“Igotintoit toraise
a better-quality animal and ultimately aim toward creating
some of the better hams,” Andersen says. “It’s the most excit-
ing and interesting thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.” <BW>HOBBIES Bloomberg Pursuits November 11, 201977At Andersen’s farm, the
hogs roam comfortably
41%
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