Buy a Whole or Half Forest Raised Hog
Here at Haven Farm, we raise hogs in the forest, where pigs were meant to live. And that is good for the pig, good for the Earth, and good for you too. The temperature is much cooler than in a pasture, and access to the bountiful forage in the woods is, in our view, far superior to pasture for these animals. Pigs are forest creatures.
A beautiful stretch of woods on our 25 acres is host to Oaks, Beech, Hickory, Maple, Sweet Gum and many other tree species where our pigs range, root, forage and feast on the bounty from nuts and fruit, along with an array of other forest goodness, an occasional dump of windfall pears from our homestead trees, and an 100% organic feed supplement. There is a significant proportion of forest floor diet in these beautiful hogs.
Rotating the hogs through the woods into new paddocks every week or so keeps the them fat and happy, keeps the pressure on our ecosystem light, and ensures that we help you maintain a commitment to sustainability while getting the cleanest, best pork that money can buy.
There is simply no legitimate comparison between the texture, taste, and highly nourishing pork raised this way- and commercial grocery store ‘pork’. It’s hard work, but to us, it’s worth it.
The below explains how we have priced the whole and half hogs. But please feel free to email havenfarmnc@gmail.com or call us to discuss! The Store page has a link for a deposit on either of the below options. *Quarter Hog* may be availed soon.
Whole Hog, Butchered to ORDER $5.75/lb
For a whole forested, organic-fed hog, USDA certified, butchered and packaged just the way you want*, frozen and vacuum sealed for freshness, we charge $5.75 per pound based on “hanging weight”. This is the weight of the pig after being harvested, cleaned and hung. This is what remains after ‘inedible’ parts are removed, such as ears, some bones, etc. Hanging weight is approximately 72% of ‘live’ weight. We anticipate our hogs to be around 300lbs ‘live’ and thus, 215lbs ‘hanging’. (Estimate only for indication, actual weights will vary, determined by USDA certified processor at time of processing.)
That means, a whole forested organic fed hog with a 215lb hanging weight butchered and packaged into retail cuts per customizable choice would cost $1242 (before sales tax). Cost of processing is included**.
- Customize your butchery! Cost of processing fully included, and you can customize cuts, sausage options, chops, within the reasonable confines of our local USDA inspected, Animal Welfare approved, full service processing facility’s options. We will walk and talk you through a ‘cut sheet’ and all the sausage flavor options until you are satisfied!
- Or...Leave it to us: Let us make the decisions and get you a whole hog broken down into the classic cuts, with a variety of sausages.
Please note, the cost is based on per lb hanging weight, the above 215lb is a near approximation only. We cannot predict 100% what each forested pig will weigh. Some may be a bit larger or smaller. We will try to accommodate your interests in larger or smaller hogs.
*Limitations on butchering customization are only those imposed by the processing facility – but we can talk you through everything!
**Smoking parts of your hog – which is yummy - will incur additional charges of up to $2 per lb of meat smoked, calculated in final invoice. Eg. A smoked ham, smoked bacon, etc.
HALF HOG, Standard butchering $6.75/LB
Forest-raised, organic fed, half-hog butchered into a standard breakdown is $6.75 per pound based on hanging weight. This is the weight of the half pig after being harvested, cleaned. It is approximately 72% of ‘live’ weight. Our approximately 300lb live weight forested hogs will likely average around 215lbs “hanging”. Cost of processing and packaging fully included into familiar retail cuts, sausage and bacon. Some optionality is possible (e.g, sausage flavor), but customization (as per whole hog) is not available.
As a specific example: the total cost of half of a forest raised, organic-fed hog of approximately 108lbs hanging weight = $729 (before sales tax).
Please note, the cost is based on per lb hanging weight, the above 215lb total hanging weight of a whole hog is an approximation only. We cannot predict 100% what each forested pig will weigh. Some may be a bit larger or smaller.
Important additional information
Everything ‘hanging’ can be eaten. However, ‘Hanging Weight’ is not the weight of packaged take home retail cuts. Retail packaging does not include much of the lard, the head, skin, tongue, large bones, etc. Whilst these can be availed to you, it is important to know that the packaged take home retail prime cuts amount to approximately 67% of ‘hanging weight’.
In our examples above that means: 215lbs hanging weight will yield 145lbs of packaged take home retail prime cuts. And a half hog will amount to 72.5lbs of packaged retail style prime cuts.
So – take home packaged retail prime cuts from a whole hog costs = approx. $8.50 per lbs, with the addition of taking other parts of the animal. A half hog, butchered into a standard breakdown = approx. $10 per lb. – both with the addition of taking other parts of the animal.
A whole hog will need about 5 cubic ft of freezer space. (A small square chest freezer). Half, needs half that.
If you think investing in a whole forested hog is maybe right for you, please feel free to call us to discuss and ask any questions! 919-236-3561