Another Satisfied Customer

We love to hear back from our customers! Ben and Casey recently bought a live pig from us to butcher themselves. We had a fun time trying to round up the pig and then load it into the back of a pickup that had a shell on the back. Ben didn't realize that he would be entertained when he came to pick up his pig. I am sure he is still laughing when he pictures Hollie and I running around trying to round up his pig. He is quite the chef as evident by the picture he sent us. I have copied Ben's comments below.

Hey Christiansens,

This is Ben. I picked up the live pig from you last Friday. We made it home safely with the pig still in the bed of the truck. It seemed a little dicey at first. She poked her snout out the corner of the back window a few times and looked like she might try to escape but was very docile for most of the trip after 20 minutes or so of getting used to things.

We killed and cleaned her right away upon getting back to Moab and hung her until today when we started to butcher and divvy up the meat. For dinner tonight we had a cut of loin rubbed with thyme, rosemary, sage, salt, pepper, and olive oil. It was amazing! Best pork I've ever had, and we haven't even gotten into the fattier, more flavorful cuts yet. I attached a picture of the loin pre-broiling. I thought maybe you'd like to see some of the fruits (or... meats) of your labor.

Thanks for humanely raising such great pork. The world, and Utah in particular, needs more agriculture like that.

Ben

Thanks Ben for the kind words. Raising pigs the way we do is a lot of hard work but we love it. Half the fun is hearing from customers like Ben. We also appreciate the numerous referrals we have received. This is another way that our customers let us know that they love our pork.

We are now taking orders for a December delivery. We are excited to be finishing this group of pigs on locally grown apples. (In addition to pasture, alfalfa, and grain.) To be placed on our December delivery see the instructions here.

Fall Pork Order

Hello everyone! We have been crazy busy with the farm and new baby as evident by my lack of posts lately. Here is the update that was sent out to our customers on the fall wait list.

Hello Christiansen's Hog Heaven Customers!

The wait is almost over! The pigs are looking really good. This email is to confirm your pork order with us. Tomorrow (Tuesday September 15) we are taking the pigs in for butchering and processing. We have you down on our waiting list for an order of our pork. If you ordered a half pork the deposit amount is $50, if you ordered a whole pork the deposit amount is $100. (If you can't remember what your ordered, simply reply and I will look it up.) Please send us your deposit to the following:

Christian Christiansen
47 S. Main Street
PO Box 32
Vernon, UT 84080

The balance will be due upon delivery/pickup and will be calculated based on the weights we get back from the butcher. The pork will be ready in 1-2 weeks. We will keep you posted as soon as we hear word from the butcher. We will also set up times and meeting locations for each county.

By the way, we are finally getting caught up on our orders and are hoping to only be a month or so out in the future. If you have any referrals you would like to send our way, we would really appreciate it. We are dedicated to supporting the local economy by raising All Natural, Humanely Treated, Pasture Raised Berkshire Pork using sustainable farming practices and buying local. This produces healthy, clean, and honest food. We sincerely appreciate your business! As always, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

For those of you who have been given a longer time frame, we are trying to shorten that time up and will let you know if we can get your pork to you sooner than the 3-6 months we have been quoting. We thank you all for your interest and support of our farm.

Sustainable Agriculture

If you are wondering why I haven’t updated my blog for a while, this picture will give you a clue. Between working full time and running the farm, it gets difficult to squeeze in time to write. When I do find the time, the kids will inevitably find me and make sure that they get their daily wrestling session out of me. Sometimes as in this picture, I will ask them to give me a minute so that I can finish my post. They patiently wait on my shoulders, lap, head, or any other somewhat horizontal part of me until I am done. Needless to say, I finish rather quickly. I can’t complain though. I cherish the fact that the boys want to be a part of whatever it is that I am doing.

I recently purchased the movie “Fresh”. It is a documentary type film that tactfully raises awareness about the negative aspects of our country’s current food system and industrialized agriculture including concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Unlike other “bean-spilling-movies” I have seen, Fresh clearly highlights the problems but doesn’t really linger over them. It offers solutions and provides facts that support clean, healthy, local, sustainable food. Click here for a link to a preview of the film.

A few of the points raised include the polarized problem that the grain farmers and feedlots experience. In the Midwest, farmers grow the same crop year after year. Because they are constantly taking from the ground, the soil becomes depleted of nutrients. And since the same crop is grown year after year, pests get out of control. To combat these problems, farmers use fertilizers and pesticides to boost production. Unfortunately the chemicals and fertilizers kill the pests and provide one form of nutrition but also kill the beneficial, microbial organisms, worms etc…which provide another form of nutrition. This means the next year more chemical is required to get the same result since there is less contribution from the beneficial organisms. In addition, some pests exhibit tolerance to the chemicals used. As these pests multiply they pass this trait on (natural selection). resulting in a need to apply more pesticide. This increases the cost for farmers which in turn increases their dependence on government subsidies. It chemically sterilizes the soil of beneficial organisms, and is known to pollute water sources. On top of that, we end up eating the chemical drenched food which chemicals required gas masks and hazard suits to be applied!

The grain is then harvested and shipped halfway across the country to a CAFO where it is fed to cows. Because the cows are confined, stressed, living in their manure, being fed processed leftovers from the slaughtering process (IE cow parts), chicken manure, and now chemical coated grain, they require a huge amount of antibiotics to keep them alive. These antibiotics cost the feedlot money which is paid by the consumer. The cows also build immunity to the antibiotics such that it takes more antibiotics and new types of antibiotics to keep the cows alive. Some of the antibiotics pass through their system and end up in the massive amounts of manure that is produced. This huge amount of manure produced in such a small area becomes a toxic waste that contaminates the ground water, rivers, and lakes. Plus it can stink up the place for miles. Once again it costs the feedlots money to get rid of all that manure. Since the big feedlots are located in just a few states, the beef needs to shipped all over the country. The grain farms have to buy synthetic fertilizers and the feedlots have to get rid of nature’s fertilizer. I would ask what’s wrong with this picture but instead will ask how many things are wrong with this picture? The solution is simple, we mimic nature.

This is where the movie gets really good and is actually a very uplifting and inspiring film. It proposes that farmers grow pasture to feed their cows with. It highlights the benefits of rotating the cows through small paddocks so that the soil gets fertilized naturally and eliminates the need for synthetic fertilizers. Since there are fewer input costs, farmers can be more profitable and not dependent upon government subsidies. Since the animals are not stressed and are eating fresh greens, they stay healthy and don’t need all the pharmaceuticals. If farmers can sell their food locally, they don’t have to pay for huge transportation costs. Their customers can enjoy clean, fresh, wholesome, humanely raised, and sustainable food. As a bonus, the waters stay clean and farm ground will be fertile and sustainable for generations to come.

When I started going to school to get my degree in Agricultural Science, I began to learn about the amount of nutrients it takes to grow a plant. Since I was being taught traditional, industrialized farming techniques, we learned everything in terms of how much synthetic fertilizer and pesticide it took to produce crops. I loved learning about growing food. At the time I didn’t realize how unsustainable some of these methods were.

While in school, our family took a trip to Yellowstone. I saw where the “devastating” fires had been. I laughed when I recalled how all of the news stations and “experts” were reporting that Yellowstone would never be the same again. I was amazed at how fast the forests had come back. It looked as if someone had “hydroseeded” a lawn with tree seeds. My eyes literally beheld a huge lawn of pine trees so dense that it would be difficult if not impossible to move through them. At the time I naively pondered, how the trees could grow so fast without fertilizers. Of course now I recognize that thousands of critters inhabit each acre and all contribute to the growth cycle. The large animals deposit manure, and the worms and microbial organisms help break the dead plants and trees down into rich compost. Mother nature keeps herself balanced by using multiple species of plants and animals. This helps prevent infestations of harmful pests. I have learned a wealth of knowledge from my degree. The principles of fertilizer and pest prevention are true. We just don’t need to artificially produce them. In fact, by observing nature, you will find that our Creator is the ultimate farmer. By following the principles observed in nature we too can grow nutritious, clean, sustainable, and yummy food.
We would like to see more farms in Utah raising food that is healthy to the land it is grown on and healthy to the consumer. Let your friends, family, neighbors etc. know that you buy local, healthy food. Recommend the farms that you are buying from. This will help encourage growth among local farms while boosting the local economy. It is not government or corporations who have allowed our food system to get to its current state. It is the consumer. If we don’t object to the unsustainable, irresponsible, unhealthy, unfresh way our food is grown nothing will change. Writing your congressman does very little in my experience. We live in a world controlled by money. Voting with your wallet/purse speaks volumes.

Pasture Raised Chicken and New Movie Preview

We would like to thank our customers for the strong support we have had so far. We have expanded our breeding stock (again) to help keep up with the demand for our All Natural, Humanely Treated, Pasture Raised, Berkshire Pork. This has been a little stressful as we are now feeding a lot more grower pigs and pregnant sows than in the past, raising our monthly operating costs and quickly draining cash flow. I think we will pull through and hopefully by the first of the year the pigs will be able to support themselves financially. (Maybe one day we will be able to pay ourselves! LOL) Once the pigs bring us into the positive, we are exploring the possibility of reinvesting the revenue to start raising All Natural, Humanely Treated, Pasture Raised Chicken. We haven’t decided exactly what we will be raising, but are looking at Poulet Rouge or something along those lines.

One obstacle we have come across is trying to find a facility to process the chickens. After an exhaustive search, we have concluded that no facility exists that can custom slaughter and is USDA certified. Therefore, if we pursue this, we are bravely going to set up our own little facility. We are in the process of acquiring the USDA certification as well as a license from the Utah Department of Agriculture. Once we have gone through all of the paperwork and saved enough money, we will purchase all of the processing equipment. We recently found a supplier for our chicks. They don’t use any antibiotics and don’t offer beak cutting etc… This attitude reflects our own. In order to not use antibiotics, this chick supplier must run a very clean operation. This is exactly the type of business we want to support. Their chickens are not the Cornish X’s hybrids that dominate the chicken market. Those chickens grow unnaturally fast and have serious health problems due to their skeletal system and organs not being able to keep up with their growth. This results in a very high mortality rate and a lot of suffering. The same is true for laying chickens that are now being bred with the goal of producing an egg per day or more. Their bodies just can’t keep up with that kind of production. Unless you have grown your own chickens, chances are you have never eaten chicken that wasn’t a Cornish X.

The more we learn about the chicken industry (both meat and egg production), the more convinced we are that chickens are the most abused production animal in our country. We would like for others who feel the same way to have an alternative source of chicken and eggs. Our dilemma is whether or not we are able and willing to take on chicken production. The most efficient way to raise chickens is to have a delivery of chicks delivered once a week. This means that after 11-12 weeks, we will be processing and delivering once a week as well. We may look at ways to ease into it like taking a delivery of chicks once a month or taking a delivery of chicks once a week for a few weeks rather than all year. We want to be able to have the time and resources to produce the highest quality products we can without compromise. However, where I still have a full time job and family to raise, we are left in a balancing act.

Current production methods disgust and offend us which is why we started raising our own pork and chicken. While looking into the different licenses required for chicken processing in Utah, we came across a license that blew us away. License #1601 Feed Garbage To Swine. Why anybody would want to eat pork raised on garbage is beyond me. Chances are the consumers don’t even know! The reason a license is needed is that if garbage isn’t processed properly before feeding it to pigs, it can quickly spread disease like Foot and Mouth. While I applaud resourcefulness, I do not want to consume meat associated with garbage and its potential diseases. Where Utah is not even that big of an "agricultural" state when compared to other states like those in the Midwest, I can't help but wonder what other types of licenses like this one are required. Since the vast majority of meat consumed in Utah is not raised in Utah, this is an issue that is very concerning. Rest assured that we are dedicated to providing our customers with pork raised on luscious grasses and legumes and fresh, wholesome grains. Absolutely no garbage or other shortcuts are allowed on our farm.

I recently read a post on Stoney Brook Farm’s blog. The post addressed the recent E. Coli outbreak in cookie dough. The strain of E. Coli that was in the cookie dough is found in the intestines of cows and their feces. The questions Bob the farmer raised are, “How does E. Coli 0157, which lives in the intestines of heavily grain fed cows, end up not only in a cookie factory, but inside the cookie dough? How messed up must the system be for such a thing to happen?” Very valid questions, Bob. My guess is having government agencies who issue “Feed Garbage to Swine” licenses might have something to do with it. It is time to become more aware of our food. Not to be overly dramatic, but the lives and health of our families depend on it.

There is a new movie out called “Food Inc.”. It is a documentary that shows the process that our food goes through. If you click on the link you can see a preview. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it will be playing in theaters here in Utah. But look for it on DVD in a few months. From what I have seen and heard about it, it is very eye opening. I would love to hear your comments!

Price and Ordering

An explanation of how our prices are calculated and what is included can be found below. Please contact us with any questions.

We don’t like being nickeled and dimed when we make a purchase so we don’t nickel and dime our customers. Therefore, our prices include: cut and wrap, smoking/curing of hams and bacon (if desired), and delivery to a central location. 

If you don't want to eat cured meats, please make sure you request that your ham and bacon be fresh.  Also ask for fresh ground pork instead of the sausage.

Prices are calculated by the hanging weight and are as follows:

Quarter Pork - $3.75/lb (Anywhere from 35-50 lbs hanging weight for a price range of about $130-$180)

Half Pork - $3.50/lb (Anywhere from 70-100 lbs hanging weight for a price range of about $245-$350)

Whole Pork - $3.25/lb (Anywhere from 140-200 lbs hanging weight for a price range of about $455-$650)

We normally shoot for a hanging weight of 160 lbs (whole hog).  However since we don't process every week we have to take pigs to the butcher that are close to the "ideal" size.  Pigs naturally grow at different rates.  In today's world of production uniformity this is isn't something we are accustomed to. 

Call me a poor businessman, but when we calculate our prices, we don’t try and see how much we can get away with. Rather, we look at our costs, add a little for our efforts and make sure that we can grow and sustain a viable farm. We want our pork to be affordable to as many families as possible!

I was recently contacted by a restaurant in Park City who wanted to offer our pork on their menu. They have several other restaurants in the country and have humanely treated, pasture raised Berkshire on their menu as well. As we talked price, I quoted them $3.25/lb for whole pork. They responded that my price was cheaper than what they normally pay in other states and they buy in large quantities! In the end we decided that for now I wouldn’t be able to keep up with demand and will reevaluate in the future as we grow.

Below you will find the totals that we measured from half a pork. Obviously this will vary a little from pig to pig.















Half a pork 80 lbs Hanging Weight

Ham slices 10 packs 10.5 oz = 7 lbs
Bulk Breakfast Sausage 13 packs avg. 1.15 lb = 15 lbs
Bacon 10 packs avg. 10 oz = 6.2 lbs
Ham hocks 1 pack 1.7 lbs
Hams 2 packs 4lbs and 5 lbs = 9 lbs
Spare ribs 1 pack 2.7 lbs
Roasts 3 packs 3.7 lbs 3.4 lbs. 3.4 lbs = 10.5 lbs
Chops 1” 11 packs = 22 chops 8-10 oz/pack = 13.2 lbs

If you have a traditional fridge/freezer where the freezer is on top, a half pork can fit in the freezer if there is nothing else in it. If you have a side by side, you can fit half a pork with room to spare. As far as consumption rate goes, you can get an idea of how many meals you can cook by looking at the quantity of packages above. Our family of two adults, two children and a baby can eat a whole pork in 6 months. We don’t feel that we overly consume pork as we eat chicken, fish, beef, deer, and elk as well. However, we love our pork and love to share our meals with friends and family. I hope this information is helpful for those of you who have never purchased a pork before.

To order, visit our website here or simply give us a call or send us an email. Please include your name, phone number, address, email address, and the quantity of pork you would like. We also require a $25 deposit for a quarter pork, $50 deposit for a half pork, and $100 deposit for a whole pork.  If you don’t send a deposit, we cannot hold your pork. If you mail in your deposit, we will notify you with a confirmation once we have received your deposit. If we don’t see a deposit, we will try and contact you to make sure that it wasn’t lost in the mail etc… The balance will be due upon delivery of the pork. We usually pick the pork up from the butcher and deliver it directly. We don’t have the hanging weights until we pick up the pork. All the pork is separated in bags and marked by a number. This number corresponds to the hanging weight and is how we can calculate the total price of the pork we deliver to you.  Please send your deposit to:

Christian Christiansen
PO Box 32
Vernon, UT 84080

Once again, please feel free to contact us with any questions. We will be happy to help anyway we can.

email: chhd01@gmail.com
phone: 435-839-3482
website: http://www.christiansenfarm.com/

Sausage Corn Chowder

A special thanks to Amy Roskelley for providing us with this recipe. For all of you who just cleaned me out of sausage, this will be a perfect recipe to try. She also has a great website and blog with lots of fantastic ideas. There are many more healthy, wholesome recipes on her website for you to try. Many of them will utilize produce out of your gardens!

www.superhealthykids.com
www.blog.superhealthykids.com









Sausage Corn Chowder

Brown and sautee
1 lb sausage
¾ cup chopped onions

Boil together
2 cups water
2 cups potatoes chopped

Then add:
1 can creamed corn
1 can regular corn
1 can evaporated milk
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Pepper

Add sausage and onion to soup mix.

New Pig Farmer

Hey everybody, I just wanted to announce the arrival of our newest little pig farmer. Shia Hope Christiansen was born this afternoon around 3pm. At 6 lbs 6 oz and 19" she is a bit of a runt but absolutely beautiful. Hollie did really well and should be able to come home tomorrow. She has lots of dark hair just like Hollie did when she was born. Hans and Dane were so sweet and were cute to listen to as they held her. Hans and Dane couldn't figure out how the baby came out. Hollie and I just looked at each other when they asked about it. I am not sure if we are ready to start explaining that stuff yet! LOL They have seen our sows give birth so if it comes up again I guess we can refer them to that. : ) I will post pictures tomorrow when I get home. Thank you all for your concern and well wishes!