We’ve even nicknamed their pasture “Hogtopia.” We take great pains to ensure they have proper space, shelter, nutrition, forage, and clean water at each stage of development. Our pigs are never confined in concrete, and they live their entire life on pasture. These heritage breeds excel in our outdoor production system, and have dark red, marbled meat with a complex flavor that stems from their diverse diet. We breed and farrow our hogs on pasture year round in small brood groups of 8 to 10 sows, using portable huts, bedding, and shelters. Our piglets are weaned at 8 weeks of age and kept in the same social group for their entire life cycle. We feed our pigs a high quality ration of grains and minerals specifically formulated to give them the protein and vitamins they need to be healthy and happy at each stage of growth. We mix our feed ourselves using non-GMO corn grown specifically here on the farm for our hogs. Our hand mixed ration contains no animal parts, antibiotics, or growth hormones* of any kind under any circumstances. We are extremely serious about what our pigs eat, not only for their health, but also for ours. It is also important to note that hogs are not ruminants- they only have one stomach just like us, and therefore enjoy and require feed other than grass. Despite this fact, they enjoy a diverse diet here on the Home Place: the pigs are free to romp and root around their pasture and woods, eating roots and acorns and fertilizing the soil as they go. This is what really separates their flavor and texture from confinement hogs. They spend the duration of their life rotating through pasture and wooded paddocks ranging in size from 1.5 to 2 acres, using electric and woven wire fencing. The pigs drink the same water we do, straight from our well to stainless steel nipple dispensers that they bite to drink from. This way the water is always fresh, and never stagnant or contaminated with manure or bacteria. We finish our hogs at 280 to 300 lbs, and weigh and load them with a humane handling system we designed and constructed based on the work of Dr. Temple Grandin (http://www.grandin.com) *The USDA does not allow the use of growth hormones for swine production in the USA
Our pork is Certified Humane, Global Animal Partnership Step 4, Pasture Raised, and No Antibiotics Ever.