Highgrove Farm – Year One
Part One – The first Six Month There’s a lot to report, so we’ve broken it into two posts: the first six months with a bit of an intro about
Who wants some bacon?
Tags: Pigs
Our Pigs
Our pigs are of mixed-breed Durock, Hampshire, Landrace and Yorkshire. Our goal throughout has been to raise the happiest, healthiest pigs possible.
Apart from basking in the sun and taking mud baths in their wallows, our pigs have been eating a combination of high-quality Vancouver Island-sourced feed, apple pomace, fallen fruit from our trees, and all the natural offerings from the pasture. Rounded out with plenty of back scratching, these have been some pretty contented pigs.
How’s does the process work?
We know many people have never bought meat directly from the farmer, so we want to walk you through the process. We know you all only want the bacon, but farmers traditionally sell meat by the whole animal, the side (half) or the quarter. Buying a side is the most common way to do it and it represents enough pork for a small family for a year (unless you are big meat eaters).
What’s in a side?
Each side has a mix of pork chops, roasts, sausages, ribs, ham and bacon.
When you order a side, you get to select the size of roasts, thickness of chops, bone-in or boneless, which cuts you’d like cured or smoked, and what sort of sausage you prefer (if any). We guestimate that you’ll get 55-70 pounds of finished pork – with variation coming from the size of the pig, and the selection of bone-in vs. boneless cuts.
Quarters are generally the same mix of cuts, but, obviously, about half as much.
What will it cost?
We’re offering our pork at $5/pound (based on the hanging weight1) plus the butchering costs. The price of butchering varies slightly based on your custom cutting requests, but run $0.90 per pound for regular cuts, and more for smoked meat (like hams and bacon) or sausages. Butchering will be done by Edwin Crabbe in Duncan, in association with Braun Meats. We guestimate your invoice to be in the neighborhood of $610-$665 (incl. pork, butchering and taxes) for a side (and about half that for a quarter).
Again, variation in price is a result of pig size and butchering choices.
Pick-up Process
Your pork will come frozen from the butcher. It is critical that you’re able to pick it up the day it’s ready at 5441 Highgrove Rd (see map), as we don’t have freezer space for 14 sides! We’re expecting the orders to be ready the second week of October (Oct 11-17); but it depends on the butcher. We’ll give you as much advance notice as possible. Plan on having about 3 cubic feet of freezer space ready.
Pre-Order Now
Preference will be given to folks who would like to order a side (that’s half a pig). We’ll likely be able to fill smaller orders as well, and will address those on a first-come, first-served basis. Please fill out the attached form by September 19th to reserve your pork.
We will follow up with phone calls/emails to confirm your order, and to collect your custom butchering requests. We anticipate having your pork available for pick-up in the second week of October (Oct 11-17).
1 Live weight refers to the weight of the animal when it goes to market. The hanging weight is the weight after slaughter which removes much of the internal organs – about 70% of the live weight. The actual weight of final meat products is reduced again by about 30% of the hanging weight as most bones and excess fat is removed. Again, the final weight of meat will depend on the custom cutting instructions you choose.
A Practical Food Security Plan
Now that the dust is starting to settle from the emergency response to the pandemic, many of us are starting to think about what lies ahead. In our little island