Why choose the Tamworth? 

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I cannot remember a time on the farm growing up when we did not raise pigs.  When I say raising pigs I mean we would buy show pigs weighing between 80-100 lbs. from MSU...GO GREEN...and raise them for 4-H.  We had them from April through August.  Going through 4-H, becoming a 4-H leader and now transitioning our farm to pasture farming, I needed a heritage breed pig that flourishes on pasture.  

 

When I first started to buy pigs from other farms to raise for pasture meat, I started to ask questions like: what environment were they born in?  Have they been given antibiotics?  What is in the feed that they were eating?  I came to realize that if I was going to raise pigs for meat I needed to raise them from birth to market...not just the five months that one would have if I was to buy feeder pigs.  If I raised them from birth to market I would know exactly the life they had and I could honestly answer my customers' questions.  Through my research I chose to go with a Tamworth pig, a heritage breed, known for their bacon, being very lean and good mothers who loved their pastures.   

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Although, we had always had pigs on the farm we had never had pasture pigs.  We are trying very hard to create the right pastures for them and keep them moving, but we are still learning.  I had never had a boar or sows or tiny piglets...and I had no idea what to expect when our first litters were born!  We made mistakes and still do today and that is why I am so thankful for my girls and my boar and their patience.  I love them so much.  They have taught me a world of knowledge.   

 

On our farm our pigs express their pig-ness, rutting, eat a salad bar and are supplemented with non-GMO grains. Our pigs are not crammed into confinement, but outdoors in the pasture.  They get to eat grass, fruits, hard boiled eggs, vegetables and other natural treats giving them top quality health and superior flavor.  No hormones or antibiotics are given to our pigs.  Our pork is processed at Jones Farm Meats a USDA and state inspected facility. The meat is vacuumed package.