Pastured Pork

Pork Shares are an exclusive benefit to our Veggie Share members.

~ Page last updated February 2025 ~

Harvest: mid/late October

Delivery: late October to mid-November

Our Practices:

We purchase our mixed Gloucestershire Old Spot/Duroc piglets from Hi-Lo Acres and the Keilen family near Portland, MI. The Keilen family also raises organic pigs and produces organic animal feed.

Justin has almost an acre of pasture for the pigs to roam on. This means that the pigs get to do what they do naturally: wallow in the mud and dig in the dirt. When conditions are too hot or uncomfortable, they have an old dairy barn to retreat to with a big bed of straw inside.

Our pigs can forage on their pasture and are also fed a non-GMO transitional feed from the Keilen family. The feed is not certified organic but is produced using organic methods.

The pigs will also receive many vegetables from Titus Farms that don't make the cut for your table or are leftover from CSA harvests. So...

Eat your vegetables, or the pigs will!

Our Philosophy:

No Hormones or Steroids

No Antibiotics

GMO­-Free

Harvested in an Animal Welfare Approved facility

AnimalWelfareApproved.jpg

Restrictions

Splitting Shares

Multiple cut sheets or deliveries are not appreciated for one hog.

When purchasing a Whole Hog Share, you are entitled to one cut sheet and one delivery location. If you decide to split a whole hog among two parties, you are responsible for dividing everything and picking it up at one location. Thus, we do not recommend splitting a Whole Hog with another party unless you know them well.

Number of Shares and Refunds

We are limited to 15 hogs each year. Deposits are not refundable once the animal is in our possession.

Cash or Check Only, No Payment Plans

Justin only accepts these two methods, nothing electronic. The final payment must be made upon delivery and cannot be broken into smaller payments.

You must be available during the delivery window.

Unfortunately, we cannot hold your meat for you for any extended time. You must be ready sometime in late October or early November. If this schedule changes, we will inform you as soon as possible. If you plan an extended vacation for late October, this share might not be for you.

What to Expect

  1. After you opt for your share online and pay the deposit, we will start raising your pig in May/June.

  2. When the pig is ready for harvest, we'll send you a link to our online cut sheet (Google Forms). We can review this form on the phone if you feel more comfortable or are new to buying an animal “off the hoof.”

    • The “cut sheet” is the order we give to the butcher, so you get exactly what you want.

  3. Once the hogs are processed, the total cost is based on the final hanging weight plus any extra processing. Often we won’t know the total costs until a few days before you receive your meat.

  4. We deliver the meat to your door, and the final payment is due then.

What you should receive:

All pork will be frozen, and most cuts will be vacuum-sealed. Assume 4-7 cubic feet of freezer space for a whole pig.

An example of what you might get from a whole pig:

  • 24 chops (approx. 1lb. each)

  • 15-20 lb. Bacon

  • 2 Hams (12-15lb. each)

  • 2 Spare Ribs (approx. 6lb total)

  • 15-20lb. Ground Pork

    • This can be made into brats, breakfast sausage, etc.

  • 4 Bone-In Boston Butts (3-5lb each)

  • 4 Ham hocks (1-2lb. each)

When you buy a pork share, you will receive a mix of cuts, including pork chops, ham, bacon, ribs, hocks, shoulder roasts, and ground pork.

Your pig can be processed to fit your needs. Pigs will vary in size, and if you prefer, you can let us know a range.

Again, our pigs will vary in size but average 200lb-240 lb. hanging weight. After cutting, you will receive about 65% of the hanging weight or about 130-160 pounds of familiar grocery-store-like cuts.

Why the lost weight?

That extra weight loss is due to a few things: A small amount is because the animal "hangs" for a while, and water is lost due to evaporation. Most weight is lost to those odd cuts: bones, skin, tail, trotters (feet), and head. Upon special request, we'll save as much of that as the butcher allows and let you know if there's any extra charge.

Costs

Half Pig: *$4.75 per pound hanging weight with a $75 deposit.

Whole Pig: *$5.00 per pound hanging weight with a $150 deposit.

*Price includes basic processing: the kill, transportation, grinding, offal, and packaging.

Costs for extras as of 2/1/25:

  • All Natural Curing: $1.40/lb

  • Conventional Curing: $1.10/lb.

  • Linking for Brats or Breakfast links: $1.30/lb.

  • Slicing (for bacon): $0.35/lb.

  • Breakfast patties: $1.30/lb.

Prices are subject to change!

  • What are these extras?

    • What is curing?

      • Bacon or other smoked items are considered cured. They are soaked in a brine and/or exposed to smoke for a specific time until the meat absorbs that smoke flavor.

      • Unlike most grocery store ham that is fully cooked, our smoked/cured items are cold-smoked and must be fully cooked before consumption.

    • What is linking?

      • This is the cost the butcher incurs when stuffing the ground meat into casings.

    • Why are there costs for slicing or breakfast patties?

      • Like linking, the butcher incurs extra costs, such as slicing large hunks of meat or forming breakfast patties. These charges are always at the butcher’s discretion and vary from facility to facility.

Range of Total Cost

  • Whole hog total price averages between around $900-$1100 with an average of about $1000

  • Half hog total price averages between $550-$650 with an average of $590