Pastured/Forest Raised Pork
We have a desire to raise our livestock the way god intended.
We believe in giving our animals a life of respect. We believe the animals that set foot on our 115 acre plot of land deserve the highest quality of care, 365 days a year.
At Dalkena Highlands we are proud to offer free range pork right from our farm. The piglets are Idaho Pasture Pigs (IPP’s) that we acquire from local family farms in the PNW region. These farms, much like us, are trying to raise happy and healthy animals.
The Idaho Pasture Pig are a new breed of pig specifically designed to grow and mature while eating less grain and more grass. These pigs mature to market weight within 7-10 months while eating primarily grass and some grain. Butcher weight is about 230-250 pounds. They are also smaller in size at maturity comparatively than the average meat hog. These pigs are a cross between Berkshire, Kunekune, and Duroc pigs. The founder of the IPP’s spent years perfecting the combination to get a fast growing, friendly, and most importantly, grazing, feeder pig. They also have inherited the short, upturned snouts that the Kunekune pigs have, which allows them to be pasture based. They love grass and will graze just like the other animals we have on our farm. Here at Dalkena Highlands we know how important what goes into your pigs is, but we also feel it is equally important how the pigs are raised. We have all of our pigs out on pasture or in the forest from the time they arrive to the day they leave for butcher.
IPP’s also produce a top quality pork. The cuts of meat are usually a very pretty pink to red color with great fat marbling. Pastured pork has higher levels of vitamin E and healthier omega-3 fatty acids than traditionally raised pork. Omega-3s are considered the good fats and play an important role in every cell and system in the body. The IPP’s have a flavor that modern pork cannot match.
How we raise our pigs:
Our pigs will start near our barn living off a large fenced in grass area till they are at a size where it is safe to let them out into true pasture. Once the pigs are ready, they will be moved out onto our pastures and will be moved on a regular basis with the help of electric fencing. This allows them to have new scenery and more importantly they will always have fresh pasture to graze. The pigs get moved about every 3 weeks or when the grass has been grazed to a healthy point. All pigs are raised outdoors with continuous and unrestricted daytime access to paddocks that are suitable for grazing and are provided with natural shade. Besides grass, pigs also need some grain in addition. The grain that we supply to our pigs is from a local farm, Woods Hay and Grain in Sandpoint, ID that is non-gmo, and also corn and soy free.
Where do we take our pigs for butcher?
Since moving to the area, and having worked with other butchers in the past, we have to say that Woods Meat Processing in Sandpoint, ID is one of the best. This is a fantastic family owned operation that is USDA inspected. Wood’s Meat Processing maintains the highest standards of cleanliness and sanitation at all times. Each animal is inspected by a full-time USDA Inspector to insure a safe wholesome product. As a returning customer ourselves, we have found that they provide some of the most quality processing out there.
If you have more questions about a half or whole hog for the fall of 2021 - please don’t hesitate to email us here. Our newsletter subscribers will get first grabs at reserving their pig. Sign up below!
