Cabot Homestead Natural Products
Are your products organic?
Yes and No - yes we follow the guidelines for organic products, No we are not certfied organic. We have explored the option of becoming certified organic, however, the process has become very expensive and time consuming. This is why we say Naturally Raised. We do not use GMO, chemicals, hormones, antiboitics, etc on our homestead. We raise to a higher standard in most cases than what organic requires. For a really great explanation please check out the following article: http://sugarmtnfarm.com/organic/
Q1
Q2
What is "hanging weight" for pork?
Hanging weight is the weight of the carcass after scalding, scraping, gutting, and head removed. This will equal between 72 - 78% of the live weight of a pig. We aim for approximately 220 lbs hanging weight, in our experience this is the ideal ratio between meat, fat and bone giving you the best bang for your buck.
Q3
What can I expect from a "whole hog"?
That is not an easy question to answer. The common saying is the only thing not useable on a pig is the "oink". So, that being said the answer is it is up to you. The traditional grocery store "commercial" cuts will equal about 65 - 70% of hanging weight, then you add the oddments, things such as fat for rendering, skin to make crackling, feet for pickling / broth, bones for broth or dog treats, jowls, head, ears, tail, etc can all be used for a variety of different things if you are adventurous enough to experiment with them you can expect up to 95% of the hanging weight.
Q4
What do you feed your pigs?
We feed a variety of different things to our pigs and what that variety is will depend on the season. They get free access to pasture and woodlands during the snow free months, along with fresh produce from the garden and fruit that people bring us in exchange for pork. In the winter months they get free choice alfalfa mix hay, apples, root veggies and anything else we can get to feed them. We do feed some high quality non-medicated hog feed to ensure they are getting all the minerals they need to stay healthy. We are working on implementing a fodder system for all our animals and are hoping to have that operational by next winter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Regularly when posting meat and other products for sale we get asked a variety of questions. We will try to put the most common ones here, so check back frequently as they will change regularly. You will also see links to a site called Sugar Mountain Farms. This is because they have tons of experience and have posted tons of great information over the years. We have gotten permission from them to link to their website.