Description

Contact us if you’d like a 1/4 and we will see if we can match you up with someone, but you will both have to agree on the cuts.

BUTCHER DATE IS DECEMBER 11, or you can pick up anytime if you purchase the whole live hog and want to butcher yourself.

PLEASE READ ALL INFORMATION BEFORE PAYMENT. 

This is payment for 1/2 hog (put in quantity of 2 if you want a whole pig) to be picked up either at our farm live (20 minutes southwest of Redding) or at Bowman Meats in Cottonwood, California where the ‘cut and wrap’ (butchering into your desired cuts and wrapped for you to pick up) will be done.

These are the two sisters we will be butchering on December 11

This portion of the payment is the payment to the farmer ONLY.

You will be FUTHER responsible for the payment to the butcher which will be $1.00 per pound for the HANGING weight (the weight of the pig once it is ‘hanging’ to be butchered, which is after it has been killed, gutted, and deheaded) and $1.00 per pound for anything that you would like to be smoked (bacon, ham, etc). The arrangements for your desired cuts are to be discussed with Bowman Meats. The ‘hanging weight’ of each side could be as much as 220 pounds. These are big girls and we don’t have a scale on the farm, but estimated weight of each hog is 400-500 pounds.

TOTAL COST FOR EACH 1/2 Hog or ‘Side’ 

1. $250 for the side to be purchased from us (pay on this page)
2. $50 mobile slaughter fee (killed on site so she never has to leave the farm)
3. $1  per pound of ‘hanging weight’ (paid to Bowman Meats on pick up. Cash only.). The hanging weight is the weight of the pig upon arrival to the butcher, so it excludes the entrails and head. Budget for a hanging weight of 250 pounds, but it will probably be closer to 200 pounds per side
4. $1.00 per pound for any custom smoking you want done (discuss with Bowman Meats)

HOW THIS WORKS

1. We raise the pig
2. You pay us (the farm) for the whole or half pig (but not the butchering)
3. Bowman Meats in Cottonwood, California (no website- call (530) 347-4463)  near Redding  will come right to the farm and kill the hog
4. You call Bowman Meats and arrange for your desired cuts as well as what and if you would like to have some meat smoked. You can also request fat trimmings and bones from the butcher if you would like them.
5. You pay the butcher for the cost of processing when you pick up- Cash only, no credit cards!
6. If you’d like any of the organs, arrange that with us at the farm.
7. Pick up your meat at the butcher when it’s ready (a couple of weeks if you are getting bacon, sooner if you don’t want anything smoked or cured

HOW MUCH FREEZER SPACE WILL YOU NEED
Allow 1 cubic foot of freezer space for every 35 pounds of meat.

ABOUT THIS HOG – A SAUSAGE SOW
This is a ‘Sausage Sow’. What this means is that she is an 18 month old ‘non-productive’ sow we are culling from our farm because she didn’t produce enough piglets (only 4 each of two litters). Most pigs are sold for ‘prime’ meat at 6 months old or around 200-250 pounds. This sow is 18 months old and probably close to 500 pounds. What this means is that her meat is still going to taste great, but might not be as tender as the 6 month old meat you’d usually buy in a store.

They are also a lot bigger, so you’ll get about as much pork from a half as you would normally get from a whole 6 month pig. And while they are not overly fat, there will be a lot of extra fat to make lard if you’d like to render your own (although they do use a lot of fat for the sausage).

Most people use these pigs to get mostly sausage and bacon. We are eating a sausage sow right now and we get roasts that we put in the instant pot on pressure cook for great pulled pork. We also get tenderized cutlets from the chops.

The main difference is that you won’t get a ham or chops.

Charcuterie: Sausage sows make great charcuterie.  If you order a full side, you can get a whole uncured ham and/or the whole tenderloin and try your hand at charcuterie.

For cuts, we’d recommend mainly:
Sausage
Bacon
Roasts for pulled pork
and have the chops turned into tenderized cutlets for the pork version of chicken fried steak. (You choose your cuts from the butcher)

If you order a 1/4 hog, two people have to agree on the cuts and share everything equally.

WHAT DID SHE EAT?
Forage, grains, and fresh produce.

– FORAGE: They were raised in paddocks and allowed to forage as much as they liked, behind electric wire with plenty of room to move around and even to run. They were moved around from paddock to paddock in order to not destroy the land and turn it to mud and dirt, as well as to keep them clean. They often get out of their paddocks and we would just leave them to forage around the property. We have lots of grass and acorns on the property, so they probably ate plenty of those.

– GRAINS:  mostly the ‘screenings’  (waste that couldn’t be used for human food) from a local flour mill that was a combination of their flours which are comprised of: barley, corn, wheat, garbanzo beans, buckwheat, millet, lentils, etc. We supplemented with non-gmo soy to reach the required protein levels for hog growth for the first four months, but no soy since then and, when we had it available, dairy and eggs to decrease the amount of soy fed.

– PRODUCE: We frequently had extra produce from our garden, including fallen peaches and apples galore for a month or two, as well as extra produce the grocery store would otherwise throw out (they LOVE melon more than anything).

ANTIBIOTICS AND HORMONES

No antibiotics or hormones were given. The only medication given was a regularly scheduled dewormer.

HOW MUCH FREEZER SPACE WILL YOU NEED
Allow 1 cubic foot of freezer space for every 35 pounds of meat

FAQ
– Can I just buy the live hog? – Yep. Just contact us.

– Can I get a quarter hog? Just contact us and we’ll try to match you up with another buyer of a 1/4

– Can I get the organs? – Yes, we will have them on the farm and save them for you if you’d like. You can pick them up on the farm or we can meet you at the butcher’s. 

– How long after butchering can I pick up?- that depends upon what you order. For instance, curing bacon may take longer than if you get uncured and unsmoked cuts. Discuss this with the butcher.

.– Can I get the bones and fat trimmings?- Yes. Contact the butcher to arrange this.

– Will you deliver the meat?- no, you’ll have to pick up from the butcher?

– Can you ship the meat by mail to me?- Check with UPS or FEDEX and find out how much it would cost to send approximately 150 pounds (upper weight + organs + styrofoam containers + dry Ice) via no longer than guaranteed 3 day mail from Redding to your location. If the cost is worth it for you, we will gladly ship if you pay us for the shipping cost ahead of time.

– What breed are they? – Polish spot, Hampshire mix

Terms and Conditions
This is a non-refundable payment for 1/2 of a pig from our farm. You will pick up from Bowman Meats (unless you want to home slaughter and you’ve made different arrangements with us) where YOU will also be responsible for the butchering costs associated with your choices. We will offer a refund only if we fail to deliver the pig to Bowman Meats, or if you cancel and we find another buyer before butchering.