From the very beginning, when we first decided to raise pork here at Stonecrop Farm, Greg knew we were going to have our own breeding program. Few area farmers do this but it was very important to us and here’s why:

1. Breeding here means that we can guarantee the animals we raise are treated humanely from the day they’re born, to the day they go to the butcher and are always clean, organic, and healthy.

2. Breeding here means that we don’t need to buy piglets from farms that might not share the same standards that we have when it comes to animal husbandry, rotational grazing, and organic principals.

3.  Lastly, we wanted to know (with absolute certainty) that the flavor and texture of our pork is exceptional every single time, which you might not get with pigs from different farms with varied genetics and histories.

Knowing all of this, livestock farmers like us try to select their sows carefully. We consider things like the sow’s temperament, their farrowing abilities, mothering instincts, their hardiness to weather extremes, the flavor profile, and the cute-ness factor ( I mean, those spotted piglets are just the best, right?).

We’ve lucked out so far and wound up with 5 great sows and a feisty boar that are perfect for our systems. Though they are certainly an investment in terms of our energy and resources, we’ve found that raising pigs this way brings us joy and purpose and I’ve learned that that feeling is always a good sign that we’re on the right path.

We love hearing from you! What do you think about our breeding program? What does this aspect of our farm mean to you?

Your Farmers,
Jenney & Greg

“A peasant becomes fond of his pig and is glad to salt away its pork. What is significant, and is so difficult for the urban stranger to understand is that the two statements in that sentence are connected by an and, and not by a but.”
John Berger, About Looking 1980