Pigs at Broadturn Farm

Pigs are a natural element to a diversified family farm where vegetables, dairy, and poultry can furnish much of the feed needed to raise up a healthy batch of porkers. Pigs also inhabit some of the marginal spaces of the farm: between field and forest, along hedgerows, and in the garden itself at the end of the season. Pigs have the run of a large pen-- almost a quarter of an acre, and rotate onto new ground several times over the course of the season. They happily clean up weeds, brambles, post-harvest debris, and fertilize as they go. Pigs get more tasty morsels from what a few local restaurants and natural food stores consider waste: Pasta, lentils, fish skins, greens... Our pigs are real omnivores. They even get some of the Farm Camp lunch left-overs.

Most of our pigs are sent to a local butcher where they are slaughtered and processed according to a form that is filled out by you and offers plenty of choices of cuts. The availability of cuts is limited only by what a half a pig offers, and in some cases, by what the butcher can do for us. Heads are not usually allowed because of USDA (over)regulation. Nevertheless, some education on butchering is helpful. Here are a few websites which we have found instructive. If you have any other sites, please share them with us!

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/blog/2006/07/what-is-half-pig-share.html 

http://www.askthemeatman.com/hog_cuts_interactive_chart.htm

http://www.ilpork.com/recipe_page/porkcuts.pdf

A Pork-Share is a half a pig. We take $100 deposit as a reservation at the beginning of the season. The remaining balance is due at the time of pick-up (late October, early November). The cost may vary depending on expenses incurred during the season. In the past we have charges $3.75 per pound of the hanging wieght. The actual butcher's fee can get complex, involving smoked meat, frozen cuts, and spices for sausage. If you request anything besides the standard set of cuts, please give us a call so we can arrange it.

Every year we slaughter two pigs for ourselves at the farm. This weekend has turned into quite a little community event, offering folks a profound experience of the moral implications of eating meat, as well as a hands on education of home butchering. The meat will go to feed the farm family and the crew of apprentice labor, and plenty of our friends over the course of the year. The slaughtering is done in the most conscientious way we know of, holding to some traditional methods and innovating some new ones.

We also slaughter lamb, beef, and poultry for ourselves, and turkeys for our customers.