The Many Definitions Surrounding Pork.

Wow, doesn’t it look like an awesome place to spend time on a hot Indiana summer day.  This is one of the three groupings of pasture raised hogs on our farm.  I am never more excited than the day we move them outside.  It just makes me feel good to see livestock on the grass.  Yet, it comes with a cost.  I have spent the last ten years studying agriculture by living it.  I started with an idealistic view point and now have a realistic view point.  You might say I can see both sides of the fence because I live near the fence.  While I still choose to eat pasture raised, organic meats, I never condemn the other side.  In fact, I understand conventional agriculture.  I understand why livestock is raised in confinement.  In the end it is our choice.  We make the vote for what we want to eat.  When our primary concern is a low costing food supply than we are calling for confinement raised livestock.  It is the only way.  On our farm, the labor requirement is great.  To avoid antibiotics we must raise in small batch sizes.  We must utilize the land to keep the livestock healthy by providing the greens they need in their diet.  Land use is expensive.  That same acre of land we might utilize to raise pastured hogs or lambs could grow $1400 worth of corn with very little labor.  We must constantly do fence maintenance to prevent a Sunday morning expedition to bring the pigs home.  We have to train the pigs young to respect the fence.  We have to replant pasture after a rain when the pigs have worked faster than a tiller to turn over the ground in search of roots and grubs that are natural to their diet.  There is no doubt that pastured pork is more costly due to the large labor involved.  There is no doubt that as a supporter of pastured pork you receive all of the benefits of the labor that goes into it.  Yet our primary goal here is to support all local agriculture.  Whether a farmer is choosing our model or another model that works for them, we strive to represent the product the best way we know how.  That is by telling you exactly who raised it and how they raised it.  What did they feed?  Were they inside or out? And finally how were they processed?  Here is where we can make sure that everything that comes form our facility is distinctly different whether it was raised on pasture or on a traditional farm.  It was processed humanely.  We use no msg,  binders, or other additives other than herbs when requested.  We offer choice.  Sometimes that choice is confusing so never be afraid to ask what the difference between traditional, pastured, and organic are.  We are happy to help you make the choice that best fits the need of your family or organization.  Everyone is unique.  There is no right or wrong.  We just want to make sure there is choice now and into the future.