Our Berkshire pigs are fed a diverse diet of vegetable scraps, bulk milk from our dairy, and 100% non-GMO grain, in addition to lots of fall apples and pumpkins (with the occasional batch of stale doughnuts)!
They live on pasture, with plenty of space to root around and wallow in the mud. We do not dock their tails, file their teeth or use restrictive farrowing crates, unlike conventional pork production. We don’t vaccinate or use prophylactic antibiotics, hormones or the like on our pigs (or any of our animals).
We offer pork by the half & whole. Buying bulk saves around 15-20% off the retail price of meat and it is custom processed to your family’s specifications. We are also able to have the pigs killed on the farm, reducing the stress of transport and holding at a slaughter facility and possibly tainting the meat.
Hate ham but love sausage? That can be done! Did you know there are 4 places you can find bacon on a pig? Yes, please! Want to load up on chops, steaks and brats for grilling season? Done. Or maybe you love breakfast sausage and hocks for making pulled pork sandwiches. You’ll be amazed at how versatile pork can be.
Purchase Pork by Half/Whole: Pigs are available by the half for $3.89/lb or the whole for $3.75/lb (hanging weight) plus custom processing costs at Byron Center Meats.
A half pig will yield approximately 75-90 lbs of meat and average processing costs are $75 per half. A half pig will require approximately 3-4 cubic feet of freezer space, depending on your processing specifications.
We are taking reservations for our December 2020 group of pigs but availability is limited – please reserve soon!
Below are some great resources to get you started about how you’d like your pig processed. If you have strong feelings about liking or disliking cuts, voice this when you speak with Byron Center Meats. You can grind pretty much the entire animal into sausage if you don’t like certain cuts – think breakfast sausage, Italian sausage, brats, kielbasa, bulk plain pork, etc.
- Pork does not have to dry age or hang, like beef or venison, but smoking & curing some of the meat (like the bacon, ham or hocks) will take additional time so please be patient with this.
- Custom processed pigs are killed on the farm or at Caledonia Packing LLC, which is a USDA-inspected facility and is Animal Welfare Approved for animal handling and slaughter practices.
- The meat is then transferred to Byron Center Meats for butchering and packaging. They offer a variety of spice mixes for your sausage options, which are all delicious and MSG-free. Many are non-GMO, as well. They also offer nitrite-free smokes/cures, though there is an additional cost of around $1/lb for those cuts.
- We suggest asking for your fat (back & leaf) for rendering into lard. Super easy & delicious!
You will also need to specify if you would like your bones for making broth. It makes an incredible base for your soups.
- There are 4 places you can get bacon from on the pig: the belly (traditional, uncured this is sidepork), the shoulder (called Cottage Bacon, alternative is a shoulder/butt roast for pulled or shredded pork), the jowl (cheek, a little fattier but awesome flavor) and the loin (Canadian bacon, alternative is chops or loin roast)
- You will be invoiced for the meat by us and you can pay with cash, check or online payment through our website. Your deposit will be applied to your meat total on the invoice.