How much does a custom side cost?

 

In 2022, we offered our pork at $5/pound (measured from the hanging weight), and then butchering costs are tallied based on your custom cutting requests. Bills last year totaled $550-$750 per side, including pork, butchering costs, and taxes.  Variation in price is a result of pig size and butchering choices. 

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How much pork will that be?

The live weight of our market hogs ranges from 225–275 pounds.  This means hanging weight for a whole pig will be 180–220 pounds, or 90-110 pounds per side.  The final packaged weight is dependent on your cutting choices, but typically ranges from 60-90 pounds of pork.  Plan on having 1.5-2.5 cubic feet of freezer space ready.

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What’s in a side?

Each side can have a mix of chops, roasts, sausages, ribs, hams, bacon and more.   When you order a side, you 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). 

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How does the purchasing process work?

When you email us to reserve a side, we’ll follow up to confirm your spot, and request a $100 deposit.  Closer to butchering time, we’ll schedule a Zoom chat to collect your custom-cutting selections.  Many people find this process a bit challenging, so we walk you through each decision. 

 

On the date identified above, your pork will be ready, frozen, from the butcher.  It is critical that you’re able to pick it up the day its ready, as we don’t have freezer space for all that pork!    We’ll give you as much advance notice as possible. 

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Pick up will be from our farm on John Road in North Saanich. (Remember, this is our new location!)  We’ll schedule pick-ups in half-hour increments.

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What if I don’t live in Victoria?

Our preference is to minimize the transportation footprint of our pork, so we give preference to local customers.

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Tell me about your pigs.

Our pigs came to us this year from a family farm near Chemainus.  They are a Berkshire cross, with some Duroc, Landrace and Tamworth in the mix.  At our farm, they live on pasture, and have access to plenty of sunshine and mud. Their diet includes a combination of high-quality Island-sourced feed, fallen fruit from our trees, and all the natural offerings from the pasture.  Rounded out with plenty of back scratching and belly rubs, our goal is to raise the happiest, healthiest pigs possible. 

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How are your pigs processed?  What about animal welfare and bio-security?

We follow recommended practices as published by the National Farm Animal Care Council.  At abattoir time, we transport our pigs ourselves to ensure we can take as much time as they need to be comfortable.  We’re working with Lester's Butchery (previously known as Braun's) again this year - a farmer-owned and government certified abattoir.   They will also be fulfilling our butchering needs. 

 

Our farm is a registered participant in the federal PigTrace program, which helps to ensure timely communications in the event of a food safety issue.

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Why are you raising pigs?

Pigs root by nature.  They are incredibly efficient tractors, and have been instrumental in helping us break sod on our property.  We’re slowly developing a rotational grazing system, where the pigs break ground and fertilize, then we plant in behind them the following season.  They are making it possible for us to grow a wide assortment of flowers and vegetables without a need for synthetic fertilizers.  

 

Our pig’s farm task this year is to help us eradicate invasive species such as blackberry from our Garry Oak grove.  With their cleverly designed snouts and rooting nature, we’re hoping to take our first steps in restoring a Garry Oak Ecosystem.

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Still have questions?  Please send us an email. 

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