Apple Finished Pork this Fall

One of our favorite way to finish pigs is on fresh Utah grown apples.  This fall, all of our Berkshire pigs delivered September through December will be finished on locally grown apples!  The apples help give the pork a wonderful flavor.  Based on the last few years, we anticipate selling out of our fall pigs rather quickly as folks get ready for the holidays.  I know it seems early to be thinking of fall and winter already but it is right around the corner!

Our whole or half Berkshire pork orders and CSA Shares come nicely packaged in a boxes and make a great gift.  A freezer full of meat is a perfect way to prepare for the cold winters.  Delicious meals made from moist and tender roasts, steaks, chops, bacon, and ham are a great way to lift our spirits during the short, cold days of winter.  Also, if you are planning any large gatherings or parties, don't forget that we now offer whole roaster pigs as well.  While you are at it, impress your family and friends with exceptional baked goods and extra flaky pie crusts when using our pasture raised, non hydrogenated, preservative free lard.  Please let us know if you have any questions by contacting us.

Encouragement

Farming often has rough days that cause us to question whether all the hard work is worth it. Of course, we often think in terms of money, of which there is little, especially with feed and fuel prices through the roof.  However, there are other rewards that to us are priceless.  There is the satisfaction of viewing our happy animals out on pasture, knowing that they are living a comfortable and content life.  Hollie and I often observe our animals on our "little pig dates" after I get home from work.  One of the greatest satisfactions of farming is the encouragement, support, and feedback we get from our loyal customers.  This is what helps us get through the rough days and tells us it is worth continuing.   We often get emails from our customers complementing us on the quality of meat we raise and the standards we abide by.   We love receiving these little notes.

On our last round of deliveries, we were delivering to one of our customers Nick, who orders on a regular basis.  He thanked us for the meat, we thanked him for the business, and then he shared an interesting experience that speaks to the quality of our pork.  Nick and his wife recently had guests over that were visiting from Seattle.  His guests make a living running a catering business.  Nick's wife who is from Asia had prepared a Thai dish with our Berkshire pork.  One of the guests took a bite and immediately commented on how juicy, tender, and flavorful the pork was in spite of the strong spices that Thai food often has.  She then asked if they were eating Berkshire pork!  Nick and his wife were a little surprised by how easily their guests could identify the quality and distinguish the flavor of Berkshire pork.  Hollie and I both smiled thought, "Yep, its that good!"

Thank you to Nick for sharing this.

The Local Ripple

As a small family operated farm we have witnessed firsthand the wonderful ripple effects of buying local.  We have greatly benefited from local restaurants, businesses, and families purchasing their meat from our farm.  They enjoy the benefit of visiting our farm and seeing exactly how their food is raised.  They meet the farmer (our family) and have the opportunity to ask us questions they may have about their food.  It offers folks a chance to connect with their food in a way that only a gardener may be able to understand.

Operating an open farm keeps us on our toes.  It encourages us to keep our farm clean and looking good.  We want our animals to be in excellent health and represent the hard work and care we strive so diligently to provide for them.  This in turn, yields an ever improving product for our customers.

As our farm has grown in recent years, we have benefited from loyal customers like Heirloom Restaurant Group who has committed to buying their pork every month from our farm.  Knowing ahead of time that we can count on steady sales, helps us run our farm efficiently.  It also helps us know where to focus our business growth.  As our little hobby farm has grown into a full-fledged farm, we have realized that we simply don’t have time to keep up with every aspect of the farm.  One aspect has been piglet production and another has been animal feed.

In order to deliver pork every month to our customers, we have to start 8-10 months prior and make sure we have enough piglets on the farm.  This we found was something we struggled to keep up with.  We soon found that there were quite a few other small farms that would be happy to do this for us.  We started with two small family farms and on a handshake agreed to buy all the piglets they produced.  This turned out to be a win/win situation as both family farms were looking for sources of extra income.  Most farmers don’t have the know-how or desire to sell specialty (non-commodity) products to direct consumers.   This is an aspect of farming that we enjoy, but it is time consuming and therefore limits the time we spend farming.  The two family farms now produce piglets for us and benefit from the steady business.  We benefit by being able to consistently deliver our pork month after month as well as having more time.  Our customers benefit from readily available pork, rather than the sporadic 2-3 times a year schedule we were on.  Everybody benefits.

Acquiring pig feed was another time consuming hurdle we overcame.   As our farm has grown, the amount of pig feed consumed on the farm has increased significantly.  When we started raising pigs, we would go and buy an assortment of grains and mix them ourselves before feeding the pigs.  This worked fine when we had a dozen pigs, but as the pig herd grew, it became unmanageable.  We then started looking at the feed mills for feed.  It was more expensive and we had little control on the feed freshness, quality, and ingredients.  Additionally, it took an entire day every week to drive to the mill to get the feed and fill our pig feeders.  Out of frustration and desperation, I approached a good friend and neighbor to see if he would be interested in supplying our farm with feed as a business opportunity.   Turns out, that it was just the opportunity him and his family were looking for.  The quantity of feed our farm required was enough for him to jump right in with a commercial dump truck, grain mill, augers, etc…  My feed guy is now able to deliver the feed right into my feeders on the farm which saves me a lot of time.  We have complete control over what goes into the feed which helps us maintain the quality of pork we are expected to deliver.  I have referred other local farms to him and he has now capped the number of customers he maintains.  In other words, he has as much business as he can handle.  Because we keep everything local, he is able to offer me a lower price than the large feed mills.  I pass this savings onto my customers.

My feed guy has since dedicated himself to buying grains only grown in Utah.  He has found that he can get higher quality grain by dealing directly with the growers.  He now has a number of local farmers he contracts to buy his grain from.  He is able to pay the local farmers a better rate than what the large mills pay and saves them the cost of having to deliver it 100 miles away.  Again, everybody benefits.

Our local butcher has also benefited from our business.  Just as we enjoy steady repeat business, this benefit naturally passes onto our butcher who puts us on their monthly schedule.  The constant interaction with our butcher has built a strong working relationship.  We are able to ask for services and favors that we couldn’t have asked for a few years ago.  We now have a great deal of control over the way our pork and beef are processed.

As a kid I remember being fascinated by the ripple effect of throwing a rock into a pond.  Now as an adult, it is even more fascinating to see the ripple effect in our local economy.  It is amazing to see how the money spent at a locally owned restaurant like Communal on a pork chop dinner gets divided.  A portion of that money goes to my family as we raised the pork.  We take the money and give some to our piglet farms, some to our feed guy, some to our butcher, some to the local ranch and hardware store, and some to ourselves.  These recipients are all for the most part supporting local businesses in their industries which at some point comes back to benefit even the customer of the pork chop dinner.  Witnessing this has renewed our family’s efforts to buy local whenever possible.  As if supporting the local economy wasn’t benefit enough, we have found we generally receive better service, and overall greater value.  Supporting local businesses is one small way we can help secure a bright future for ourselves and generations to come.     

Roaster (luau) Pigs

Just in time for summer!  We are pleased to announce that we will now be offering Berkshire Roaster Pigs.  Roaster pigs are perfect for larger gatherings/events. Our pasture raised Berkshire pigs offer greater marbling than any other pig. Marbling will add flavor, moisture, and tenderness to your pork. The more marbling, the better the results. It also means that it will be much more forgiving if you tend to overcook your pig.  The more marbling, the better the results. It also means that it will be much more forgiving if you tend to overcook your pig (like most people do).

Our Berkshire roaster pig prices are based on the hanging weight of the pig. The hanging weight on a roaster pig is the weight after the pig has been killed, scalded, and eviscerated (insides removed). The price includes delivery to the butcher, kill fee, and scald/scraping (hair removal). A non-refundable deposit of $75 is due when ordering. The balance is due when picking up the pig.  We can have the pig butterflied at no extra charge, but the butcher will need to remove the head to butterfly the pig.

We can deliver the pig to either Gary's Meat in Payson, UT or Tooele Valley Meats in Grantsville, UT. Both butchers scald on most Wednesdays and your pig can be picked up the following Thursday or Friday. Both Gary's and Tooele Valley are USDA inspected facilities and the pig will be stamped as such. This makes it very easy (and legal) for restaurants, hotels, caterers, and other businesses to host events.

When ordering, please select the size range you prefer for your event. Please keep in mind that each pig will yield slightly different from pig to pig.  We will go out of our way to help ensure your event is a success. As always, please feel free to call with any questions.  Order here!

Babies Everywhere

I have mentioned in past posts that we have enjoyed this spring and all the new life that it has brought.  We have seen new piglets and calves born.  Our turkeys hatched out a couple of new chicks as well.  Two weeks ago, our cat had three cute little kittens.

This evening when I was out on the tractor doing some chores, I kept hearing a squeaky noise.  The boys and I started looking around the tractor expecting to find an injured mouse or other small rodent.  However, the squeaking sounded like it was coming from the tractor.  This seemed strange as the tractor wasn't running.  We popped the hood on the tractor and were surprised to find a good sized bird's nest built right on top of the engine.  We peeked inside the nest and found three hungry little birds next to two eggs that are yet to hatch.  It is really quite amazing that the bird would choose to build a nest here as I use the tractor frequently.  I debated relocating the nest but figured if the eggs had survived long enough to hatch that they would probably do better just leaving them alone. It is really amazing that this bird has been able to find her nest since I don't park the tractor in the same spot on our farm.  Usually I just leave the tractor wherever is convenient.  We thought this would be a cute farm video to share.  Enjoy!

Pork is Nearly Ready

This time of year presents perfect conditions for livestock, especially pigs.  The weather is warm but not too warm, with the occasional thunderstorm to help keep the dust settled.  The fresh spring grasses are loaded with nutrients that the pigs and cattle graze down as fast as they can.  During the warmest part of the day, the pigs hide out in their shelters and take a nice long nap.  They also lay in the wallow and enjoy the cool mud.  When they wake up it is cooling down and they get up to eat again.  Call me crazy but I can sense their content and happiness.  Under these optimal conditions that pigs start growing at unbelievable rates.  They will average 2 - 2.5 lbs of gain per day!  The cows can easily gain 3 lbs a day on nothing but pasture grass.  The pigs and cows finish out wonderfully with bright white fat loaded with nutrients marbled throughout their muscle.  The deeply flavored pork has a delightful slightly beefy taste, a result of grazing the grasses.  It is moist and tender and is so easy to cook as the marbling keeps the juices evenly distributed throughout.

This time of year is also a time that we start to fire up the grills and plan outdoor activities.  We have gatherings, camp outs, family reunions, class reunions, vacations, and backyard parties.  Of course most of the events are enhanced by good food shared with one another.

Bottom line, this the perfect time of year to stock your freezers with our gourmet meats.  We have meat and you have events.  Our Berkshire Pork and Grass Fed Beef will help make your summer activities a hit.  As always, we invite anybody who is interested to come visit our farm and see how your food is grown.  We welcome any questions about our farm or products.  We have a variety of ways to order including 30 lb CSA Share packages in stock ready to go, 1/2 or whole Berkshire Pork orders, 1/4, 1/2, or whole Grass Fed Beef Orders, as well as Family Packages.  Our goal is to ensure that all of our customers are comfortable and confident in giving us their business.  Jump on our website and get your order in!

We appreciate you showing your support for our family farm by sharing our website, blog, and/or facebook page with your friends, family, and coworkers.

 

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.