We’ve been enjoying evening walks lately. And while we were strolling around the neighborhood last night, Greg mentioned something I think you’ll find interesting.
“Isn’t it funny,” he pondered, “that we couldn’t confine our pig herd even if we tried?” He added, “I don’t think I ever realized it before, but the pig house literally doesn’t have any doors!”
We both had a good laugh imagining what the big name pork producers would say about our set up here where the animals are free to roam about their paddock and go in and out of their house at will.
But it’s actually quite striking when you think about it – turns out, there were over 77 million pigs raised in the US last year and 99% them were raised on factory farms where they lived a life of confinement behind closed and locked doors.
This means that only 1% of those 77 million pigs lived outdoors on pasture like ours do. And an even smaller percentage are certified organic to boot.
Despite how automatic our farming practices feel to us all these years later, our methods would qualify us as total freaks in the pork producing world.
In the end though, I’m convinced that this is exactly why you’ll hear and see (thank you so much for all the google reviews last week!) so many folks saying how the food we grow tastes so special.
Here’s how we get there…
1. Our pigs are with us from the day they’re born to the day they go to the butcher (we don’t buy in pigs from other farms) so you know they’re humanely handled by yours truly from start to finish. This among other things, lowers their cortisol levels, which affects flavor!
2. Our pigs live outdoors and are on pasture in the fresh air 365 days per year. This allows them to get special nutrients from the earth, the sun, and the pastures that pigs from confinement operations can never experience or obtain.
3. We adhere strictly to organic farming principles (and have been certified organic for 7 whole years!), which means our animals are free from antibiotics, pesticides, GMOs, and other things that are harmful to our bodies and the environment.
Once you see the all this in action – including all the pig houses without doors – you might wonder how we could ever opt to buy meat raised any other way.
Your Farmers,
Jenney & Greg
PS – Greg was invited onto WXXI Connections with Evan Dawson again this week to share more about some of these exact issues. Catch the replay HERE.
PPS – In case you’re wondering, Farm Store is open this weekend (Easter Sunday) with the usual hours from 9-noon. Order ahead HERE.
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