The Happy Farm

The past few weeks have been busy as we have tried to get projects done on the farm.  Of course this rainy weather has slowed us down as we wait out storms and fight through the mud.  We are slowly getting our garden planted as the weather permits.  Our 90 day growing season makes it challenging to grow anything, but we keep trying.  When our finances permit we would like to build a greenhouse.  Despite the rain and cooler weather, Spring is a wonderful time of year.  It seems that there are baby animals everywhere!  There is something about the rejuvenation that Spring brings to nature that brings a smile to my face and just makes me feel good.  I love to see the green grass growing, trees budding, birds chirping, new calves playing about, and baby chicks scratching about and chasing the occasional unlucky bug.

This past month we have had a couple restaurant owners/chefs visit our farm.  We are excited to be building relationships with these talented individuals.   During one of these recent visits, we showed a restaurant owner around our farm.  We watched the pigs graze while we talked business.  I believe he was caught up in the zeal and energy of Spring when told me that our farm was a "happy farm" and that visiting our farm offered similar feelings "as going to Disneyland as a kid".  I kind of laughed as I though about what he had said.  We enjoy quiet yet beautiful surroundings.  The animals are certainly therapeutic to watch as they roam about.  They do seem happy which we attribute to lots of space, gentle handling, and a healthy diet.  We also feel a good conscience knowing that our food and the food we sell is raised sustainably, humanely, and without all of the added junk, chemicals, antibiotics, and extra processes.  The chef I was with determined that from now on he was going to call us, "The Happy Farm".  I must admit that it felt good and was somewhat flattering to realize that other people see and feel what we are blessed to call home.

Why Buy Our Pork?

So why should you buy your pork from Christiansen’s Hog Heaven? Well the most obvious reason is that our pork tastes better than any other pork available in Utah and the surrounding states for that matter. I often see farms advertise “High Quality Pork”. I ask myself, “What makes it high quality?” Aside from being local and therefore fresher, how is pork that is most likely fed bread, donuts, and antibiotic laced pig feed and confined in 6” of its own waste any different from other pork available? Rather than just tell you that our pork is the best, I will explain why our pork is the best.

First, we start with incredible breeding stock. Our pigs are purebred Berkshire pigs and they are registered with the American Berkshire Association. Berkshire pigs are known worldwide for producing the best tasting, best cooking quality, and for being more tender and moist than any other breed of pig. In fact Berkshire pork aka Kurobuta pork is often referred to as the Kobe beef of pork. For years the pork industry has tried to breed their pork to look and taste like chicken hence the term “the other white meat”. Berkshires are a heritage breed, meaning they haven’t been subjected to these breeding programs which is why they have retained their wonderful attributes. Berkshire meat is pinker and finely marbled. It isn’t mushy or dry when cooked like traditional pork. Because Berkshire pork isn’t available in stores, it hasn’t been enhanced. That is another subject, see this link about enhanced pork.

Next we treat our pigs humanely. A quick Google search will reveal absolute horror stories about the way the majority of confinement raised animals are treated. Treating animals inhumanely is sad, unethical, and in my opinion, contrary to God’s will. (Buying meat from the grocery store encourages this kind of “farming”.) But since we are talking about taste, I will try to stick to the topic. Confinement raised animals are stressed and often sick. The stress can release hormones and chemicals into the meat which make it taste funny (another reason for enhanced pork). Many animals are sick (and medicated) when they are slaughtered. While this may not affect you directly, it just doesn’t seem right and certainly isn’t appetizing.

Our pigs are raised on pasture. The organic pasture grass and alfalfa help bring out the delicious natural flavors of the pork. The fresh greens are loaded with vitamins which benefit the pigs and virtually eliminate the need for medication. In fact pasture raised pork is higher in Omega 3 fatty acids and vitamins making it healthier for our families. During the winter, we custom mix our own feed consisting of locally grown alfalfa and grain. Since there are some big apple farms around, our pigs are spoiled with delicious apples which actually sweeten the meat.

As you can see, we have chosen a very natural approach. The genetic makeup of Berkshires naturally give us superior meat. The environment we raise our pigs in give them a healthy, happy, and stress free life. The feed we give our animals is natural and the best quality we can find. Offering moldy bread and outdated, processed foods is not an option. Everything that goes into growing our pork, (animal, environment, and feed) is the best. As the old saying goes, you reap what your sow.

CAFOs and the Inhumane Treatment of Animals

We advertise that we treat our animals humanely. Some people find this odd and will ask something to the effect of, “Aren’t all animals just raised on a farm and then slaughtered?” Or, “What kind of inhumane treatment exists at other farms?” This type of response is saddening to some degree. It shows that there are people who have little, if any, idea where their food comes from. I can’t say I blame the individual for this, I think it is more of a social issue. Our culture has been blessed to be able to go to the store whenever we want and be able to instantly buy anything we need. For some products, it may not be a big deal. I can’t say I know how the sprinkles found on a donut are made. However, when it comes to food from animals like meat, dairy, and eggs, I feel that we have a certain obligation to learn about the life that went into our food.

I recognize that everybody is unique and that just because you can’t bear to watch the slaughtering process doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consume meat. Rather, we should understand that meat isn’t created in some machine but from an animal.

The acronym CAFO stands for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation. The majority of the meat in the US is raised in CAFOs. When it comes to pork, large buildings house thousands and tens of thousands of pigs under one roof. It is here that I feel a great deal of animal cruelty takes place.



A sow (mommy pig) is bred and often confined in a gestation crate. These crates are so confined that the sow cannot turn around or even take more than one step forward or backward. The reason they are kept this way is that when you cram this many animals under one roof, they get stressed. The stress causes the animals to start chewing on each others’ ears and tails etc… So sows are locked up “for their own safety and benefit”. Once they farrow (have a litter of piglets) they are allowed to nurse in farrowing crates for about 10-14 days at which point the piglets are taken away and the sow is bred again. As you can imagine this is very hard on the sow and they usually only live 2-3 years. Farrowing crates are like gestation crates except a section is added onto the side where the piglets stay. You see the focus of breeding has been for production and when mothering abilities started to deteriorate, pork producers began protecting the piglets from their mother stepping, crushing, or eating them with farrowing crates. When the piglets are born, they get their teeth clipped off, and tails docked. The runts are often killed the minute they are born and thrown in the compost pile since they are “inefficient”.


Feeder pigs are given 6-8 square feet of floor space for their entire life all of which is indoors. See this link from Pork Magazine where an agricultural economist is proposing going from 7.2 to 8.7 square feet of floor space per pig. Wow, how generous of them. (2 feet by 4 feet of floor space is all these pigs get.) Most pigs have never been exposed to sunlight until they are loaded onto the livestock truck and taken to the slaughter house.
In some CAFOs, workers are required to wear respirators since the ammonia levels from the pigs’ urine are so high that it is harmful to their health. Pigs in most CAFOs are constantly fed antibiotics and pesticides in their feed to help keep disease and sickness down.

Smaller operations are often no better. I always go out of my way to meet local pig farmers as Utah is not exactly known for pork production. It has been wonderful to meet new people, exchange ideas and contacts, and compare notes. It has also been eye opening to see how some farms treat their pigs. While there have been a few places that really care for their pigs like Utah Showpigs. There are many that keep their pigs in small pens and feed their pigs junk. Pigs have a unique attribute where they don’t break down all of their food. A pig’s metabolism takes some of the fat from the food it eats and deposits it directly into its own fat. This is how some farms can control the flavor of their pork by finishing pigs on apples, acorns, corn, or even milk. You can literally detect a hint of flavor from these foods. This also one of the reasons that our pasture raised pork is so delicious. The flip side is also observed when farmers feed their pigs donuts, breads, restaurant leftovers, and other processed foods as the pigs also deposit some of these foods directly into their fat. As some have experienced, this can lead to awful tasting pork that has an excess of fat. Farmers do this because it is cheap and in some cases free. Feed by the way, is the number one cost in raising pigs. I have even talked to some farmers who brag about how they feed their pigs Twinkies with wrappers still on them. One guy bragged that he only lost one or two pigs a year from the pigs choking on the plastic.

Many of the pigs at smaller operations I have visited stand 4-8” deep in their own waste. In fact the general attitude of the farmers of these operations is that as long as the pig isn’t dead and gaining weight, things are good. The animals, lack enough room to exercise, lack fresh vitamins, eat moldy processed foods, and suffer from high stress levels. There seems to be very little concern for the welfare of the animal.
Both large and small operations that treat their animals this way, most likely do it to keep costs down which benefit the customer. Many have grown immune or been desensitized to the inhumane treatment of the animals. I have found that treating your animals humanely, feeding them fresh and wholesome foods, letting them run around, and handling them gently has an abundance of rewards. It really doesn’t cost that much more although I admit it would more difficult on a large scale.



My pigs are happy, healthy, and stress free. They are also are free of antibiotics, pesticides, and artificial hormones. The ability to run tones the muscle and creates a better texture to the meat. The fresh feed, sunlight, dirt, and fresh air keep my pigs strong and healthy. Because Berkshire pigs have not been used for mass production, they are considered a heritage breed and offer some wonderful traits that have not been bred out of them. For example, my sows can farrow in deep straw beds and nurture their little piglets without intervention. Their meat is literally the highest quality meat available and taste is out of this world. I believe that our Creator has given mankind stewardship over animals and that it is our responsibility to raise these animals as humanely as possible. I believe we should do what we can to support humanely raised animals, dairy, and eggs and avoid inhumanely raised products. This is the strongest action we can take on an individual level to encourage change in the food industry.

An Intoduction to Christiansen's Hog Heaven

Christiansen's Hog Heaven is a small family owned farm. We are nestled close to the Sheeprock Mountains in Vernon, Utah. Vernon is a quaint little town of 220 people. Most folks in Vernon raise cattle and alfalfa.

Our family consists of Christian and Hollie and our two (soon to be three) children; Hans (age 5) and Dane (age 3). Hollie is expecting a little girl in June 2009.
As a family we are trying to become more self sufficient and less dependent on others for food. At a minimum we try to purchase locally grown foods. In addition to gardening, we have raised our own chickens, pork, and beef. However, since we only have a small amount of land to work with, we have decided to focus on raising pork.

We have primarily focused on raising registered Berkshire pigs (aka Kurobuta pork) as they are known worldwide for producing the highest quality pork. They are also very hearty and can tolerate the extreme temperature fluctuations that high altitude living demands. We believe in treating our animals humanely and with respect. We believe that this is what our Creator expects of us as stewards of our animals. We pasture raise our pigs and custom mix our own combination of locally grown grains and legumes. Our pigs are free to roam in our pasture. From the day our pigs are born they are given the freedom and comfort that animals deserve. Our pigs farrow in deep straw beds not farrowing crates. They have access to shelter or the outdoors whenever they choose. We don't medicate our pigs, clip teeth, dock tails etc... and make every effort to pamper them. We feel that keeping our pigs clean and happy is our duty. In return our family and our customers enjoy the highest quality pork.

Our goal is to offer superior pork to our local customers. We take issue with the way 99% of our meat is raised in this country. We understand the economic reasoning behind the Midwest region raising all of our pork in large buildings and shipping it all over the country. Aside from the treatment of the animals, it troubles us that a product has to be shipped such long distances. It creates vulnerabilities when communities, states, and regions cannot produce their own food. Not to mention the unnecessary consumption of fuel. We hope that our customers not only appreciate the taste and quality of our pork but all the factors that go into it (natural, humane, local, pasture raised, heritage breed, etc…) This is not the cheapest or easiest way to raise meat, but we feel it is the most responsible and ethical approach.

Our farm is truly a family farm. As a family we genuinely enjoy raising pigs. Our boys love going out to feed the pigs as is evident in the lightning speed in which they can slip on their mud boots and Carhartt jackets. Hollie and I go on “little pig dates” where we hold hands and walk out to the pigs to check on them. It is very therapeutic to lean against a fence post and just watch the pigs. We thank you for your interest in Christiansen’s Hog Heaven and are pleased offer 100% pure Berkshire pork from our farm to your table.