FAQs
IS YOUR PORK ORGANIC?
No, not by the "legal" definition. But everything we do is, but we have chosen not to chase the sticker. We believe complete transparency is actually better.
HOW DO YOU FEED?
We have a hydroponic machine on farm that we grow barley fodder in five days. We use certified organic seed. This constitutes 65-75% of our animal's diet. The remainder is a certified organic, non-GMO custom grind of corn, roasted soy, a mineral pack for trace minerals, beets as a neural developer, yeast as a probiotic, and lysine (not organic) an amino acid, which we then ferment for two days.
DO YOU USE MEDICINES?
Yes, several.
Our vaccine protocol:
Farrowsure. A vaccine for healthy breeding pigs that helps prevent reproductive failure caused by certain diseases: Porcine parvovirus (PPV), Erysipelas, and Leptospirosis. Boars get vaccinated twice a year. Sows get vaccinated five and two weeks before breeding.
Litterguard® LT-C is an inactivated bacterial vaccine for the prevention of scours induced by Escherichia coli (enterotoxigenic strain) and clostridium perfringens type C. Gestating sows get this five and two weeks before farrowing.
Circumvent® PCV-M G2 is an aid in the prevention of porcine circovirus Type 2(a horribly lethal virus), and an aid in the reduction of lung lesions caused by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Piglets get this at three weeks of age.
Ivermectin and Safeguard: we worm our animals twice a year. All animals have some worm load. Worming holds it in check.
Typically this is all the medicine our pigs ever receive. However, if one gets sick or injured, we will do what is necessary for that animal to get well. That said, the meat hold on the bottle, usually 14, 21, or 28 days isn't enough in our estimation. Any animal receiving medication will not be processed for sixty days. All the residual medicine will be flushed out in that time and we can deliver a clean, medicine free pig to the butcher.
Again, we wish to be transparent.
WHY ISN'T YOUR PORK LEAN?
We grow our pigs as they were meant to be. We grow for meat and fat content. Quality animal fat is essential to human health. Plus, it's delicious. The super lean hogs that commercial CAFO houses grow are the result of the sadly incorrect "fat is bad" era of nutrition. The pork industry has ruined the hogs they grow.
HOW MUCH FREEZER SPACE WILL A WHOLE OR HALF HOG REQUIRE?
A whole hog, if you get it cut bone-in and take all of your value added items, will take up just over 9 cu. ft. A half hog will take 4.5 cu. ft.
HOW LONG WILL A WHOLE HOG FEED OUR FAMILY?
That really depends on the size of your family and appetite. But typically a 300 lb pig will yeild 150 lbs of cuts. This will be less if there are more boneless cuts. Also you can maximize your purchase with the value added things like tongue, hocks, trotters, kidneys, tail, bones, etc. There's not a part of the pig that can't be used.