Forest Raised Pork
What makes our pork different? A good question for us to answer. First off, our pigs live in the woods and on pasture. This is abnormal currently but historically it is very common. We want our pigs to live as natural a life as possible and part of the idea is that we put them in places they would naturally tend towards. Wild hogs and even our hogs, if left to their own devices, would head toward the food, shelter, and water that forests provide.
We raise heritage pigs. These pigs were almost left behind when our food system turned to an industrial model. They don’t work as well in confined areas like many of the industrial breeds do. They like to be outside, they thrive there. These breeds are often more flavorful as well, and this flavor is accentuated at our farm because they are able to eat a diverse diet of nuts, berries, bugs, leaves, grass, roots, and what ever goodies they can find in the woods. The feed we give them is a non medicated, non-GMO corn and soy bean mix that allows them to have proper nutrition while still allowing them to forage for treats. This diet translates into flavor beyond the pale “Other White Meat”.
Most people understand that farming is hard work and it is, but we have found that some of that “hard work” is often battling what animals want to do instead of giving them space to be the animal that they are. Our pigs are fenced with only two to three strands of electric fencing. The pigs are trained as piglets to understand that they could be shocked by the fence and thus learn to stay back from it. The other component of our fencing strategy is motivation. Our pigs are fed well, given plenty of fresh water and access to shade when it is warm and a dry area when it is cold and wet. The pigs have no motivation to leave the area where they are living because we make the areas so appealing to the pigs.
We sell whole and half hogs as well as individual retail cuts. We provide some amazing opportunities for those interested in the butchering of their own pork. If you would like to know more about how you can come to the farm and butcher your pig with us check out our butchering page for more detailed information. If you are interested in purchasing retail cuts of our forest raised pork you can go to our store page and order for pick up in Columbus, Cleveland, or at our farm. During market season we are at Newark’s Canal Market District, and the Coshocton Farmer’s Market. We also sell our pork at Local Bounty, a local food market in Coshocton.