Red Wattle pigs at Blessing Falls Farm
Our heritage breed, pasture raised hogs were born in late 2016 and have been on the farm for about 6 weeks. We expect them to be ready for processing in late June or early July. These are the Red Wattle breed and have been raised with full time access to our pastures where they can graze, root, run, and just lay around – to be a true pig. They are kept in with electrical fencing which we move regularly to give them access to fresh grass. Pigs cannot live on grass alone so we supplement their food with conventional (non-organic) hog feed.
As with our beef, our pigs are free of antibiotics, synthetic hormones and implants. These are not vaccinated and have had no drugs of any kind. They are handled gently, never hit or abused in any way. They were born a few miles away on a local farm that practices these same humane, natural, sustainable methods.
Pigs naturally raised on pasture at Blessing Falls
We expect these to weigh around 250 pounds at processing. We’ll sell them by the half or whole. A half should give you about 60 pounds of packaged pork in your freezer. You can have it processed any way you like, including cured ham and bacon, pan and link sausage, along with pork chops, ribs, roasts, hocks, lard, etc. Our price is $4.25 per pound (plus processing costs paid to the butcher), based on hanging weight. A half hog’s estimated hanging weight should be around 75-90 pounds. When your half is ready, you’ll pick up directly from the butcher – at either their main shop in Westphalia (15 minutes east of Temple) or from their Hutto shop for an additional convenience fee. For more on processing costs and hanging weight vs. live or packaged weight, see details on our grass fed beef. The processing costs are similar to beef though hogs yield a higher percentage of packaged pork vs. hanging weight than beef does, typically about 75%. You’ll get even more usable pork from a pig if you can use the feet, lard, head, and organs.
Packaged Cuts from half hog, Spring 2017, hanging weight 87 pounds
We have a limited amount of pork this year. You can reserve a half with a deposit of $80, or a whole with a $160 deposit. Just contact us and we’ll get back with you regarding the deposit details.