Pastured Heritage Breed Pork from Hollin Farms $3.05 per pound. Pastured, free-range Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs. Selling sides or whole pigs only. Great for pig roasts! No shipping. You pick up at the slaughter house in Northern Virginia. Fall 2007 Slaughter Date December 5.

Pork cutting questionnaire

Pork FAQ

What is Hollin Farms "Pastured Heritage Breed Pork?

Is Hollin Farms Heritage Pork organic?

What does Hollin Pastured Pork taste like?

How much will the pork cost me?

How much pork do I get and what kind of cuts?

Scalded or skinned? How should I process my pork?

How do I cure hams and bacon at home?

How much or how little pork can I order?

How much pork in a whole or a side (half) ?

Do I need a freezer?

Where do I pick up the pork?

How do I pay?

Can I visit the farm and see the animals?

How do I order? Who do I contact if I have more questions?

When can I expect my pork to be ready?

What is Hollin Farms "Pastured Heritage Breed Pork"?
Hollin Farms is a three generational family farm near Delaplane, Virginia in northern Fauquier County. The pigs are Gloucesteshire Old Spots, a heritage breed known for its hardiness and foraging ability.
The animals are farm born and raised on pastures and not in the confined industrial systems that provide most American pork. Besides the foraging for grass and roots, the pigs get leftover fruit and vegetables from our pick-your-own orchard and gardens. We also feed them grain (oats, rye, and corn) that we raise on the farm.
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Is Hollin Farms Heritage Pork organic?
No. We are not a certified organic farm. However, we do all we can to minimize the use of chemicals on the farm.
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What does Hollin Pastured Pork taste like?
The pork from heritage breed Old Spots has more fat than modern industrial hybrid breeds which are bred to be very lean. Pork from our pigs can be cooked longer and to a greater degree of doneness and still be moist and flavorful, owing to the natural fat content of the meat.  Fat in foraging animals is higher in healthy Omega-3 fatty acids than in pigs that are confined and fed grain. .
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How much will the pork cost me?
We estimate a price of the pork you will take home at about $3.05 per pound. This price is for all "cuts" -- loin, ribs, hams, sausage, etc. -- and includes all slaughter and processing costs. This price will vary depending on how you process (scald or skin) your hog. (To understand how we calculated this estimate, see "How do I pay?")
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How much pork do I get and what kind of cuts?
see Hog Carcass Breakdown
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Scalded or skinned? How should I process my pork?
"Scalded" is when the pig carcass is put into hog water or steam and the hair is scraped off leaving the skin and head attached to the carcass. Scalding is what you want to do if you are going to have a pig roast or want to cut up the pig yourself and home cure bacon, hams or shoulders. You will need to pick up the fresh pork within two days after slaughter. Gore Custom Meats charges $0.35 a pound based on the live weight of the hog. For example, a 275 pound hog would cost $96.25 for scalding. (in addition to the $50 slaughter charge). The total bill from Gore's would be $50 + $96.25 or $146.25. If you want to have Gore Meats cut up part of your scalded hog, there will be additional charges.

"Skinned" is what you want if you are going to freeze all the meat, making the hams into fresh ham slices and/or roasts and the shoulders into roasts. Because the pork is frozen you have flexibility about when you pick up. We encourage you to pick up within three weeks of slaughter. Gore Meats charges $0.35 per pound based on the live weight for processing a skinned hog. For example, a 275 pound hog would cost $96.25 for skinning, cutting and freezing (in addition to the $50 slaughter charge). The total bill from Gore's would be $50 + $96.25 or $146.25
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How do I cure hams and bacon at home?
The Virginia Tech Extension service has two excellent websites: Drying Curing Virginia Style Ham, and Some Solutions To Difficulties Of Home-Curing Pork. The Morton Salt Company sells a mixture for home sugar curing ham.
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How much or how little pork can I order?
Customers may order a whole or a half (side). On their own, some customers have divided their pork with friends and neighbors. We leave that up to you.
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How much pork in a whole, a side (half) ?
Individual animals vary but our estimate is 50% of the pig's live weight. On a recently slaughtered 226 pound hog, after skinning and cutting, the pork yield was about 113 pounds in a whole and 56 pounds in a side. Remember that this is an average. It will vary according to your processing directions. Animals also vary in size and yield.
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Do I need a freezer?
Yes, or at least a large refrigerator freezer section. The meat is wrapped in one to three pound frozen packages. A half pig takes up about 3 cubic feet. A 5 cubic foot freezer costs about $200 at Cosco.com and a little more at Sears.com. You will need to bring your own boxes to Gore's when you pick up. Vacuum packed pork will last a year in a freezer.
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Where do I pick up the pork?
We slaughter and process at Gore Custom Meats in Stephens City, Virginia. They cut, package, and freeze the meat, and you can pick up there. Gore Custom Meats provides vacuum packaging as a standard service. You need to bring your own boxes when you pick up the cut and packaged beef.
Directions to Gore Custom Meats.
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How do I pay?
To keep expenses down, we use a program where you buy the live animal from Hollin Farms and pay Gore Custom Meats to slaughter and package it in your name.
We require a $50 deposit per side. We accept MC or Visa. This reserves your ownership of the live pig.

Here is how is works:
You will receive two bills. One from us at Hollin Farms for our on-the-hoof or "live" weight price less your deposit. The other bill is from Gore Custom Meats for slaughter, dressing, cutting and packaging. You pay the processing bill separately to Gore Meats when you pick up.

Here is an example of a skinned whole hog, weighing 275 pounds on the hoof.
The customer pays Hollin Farms $294.11 (our price is based on a per pound price plus our handling markup of 15%). He or she pays Gore Meats $146.25 -- $50 for killing the hog and $96.25 for cutting and freezing ($0.35 times 275 live weight pounds). Total cost would be $440.36.

The yield on this whole pig should be about 53% of live weight or 146 pounds of pork. Therefore the price per pound of all the pork you take home is $3.02 ($440.36 divided by 145.75 pounds).

For side or half orders divide by two.

A scalded hog would cost the same. However, if the customer wants Gore Meats to cut and freeze parts of the scaled hog, there will be additional charges.
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Can I visit the farm and see the animals?
We welcome visitors. The best time to come is in the summer when we have pick-your-own peaches. We have 800 trees high on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains next to Sky Meadows State Park. Another good time is October when we have a pumpkin patch. Please call or e-mail. We will put you on the peach/pumpkin list and let you know when they are ready.
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How do I order? Who do I contact if I have more questions?
To order please e-mail or call Tom Davenport at 540-592-3701with the following information:
Name and address and telephone
Amount wanted:Whole or half
We require a $50 deposit per side. You can call this in (540-592-3701) for fax you card info to 540-592-3717,
We will contact you and ask you to fill out our Cutting Questionnaire.
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When can I expect my pork to be ready?
We will be slaughtering this fall in November, and December. The pork is usually ready for pick up three days after slaughter. Scalded (not frozen) hogs for pig roasts or fresh hams, bacon, or shoulders for curing, need to be picked up quickly. We will advise via phone or e-mail.
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Hollin Farms natural heritage pastured pork is humanely raised and humanely slaughtered. Buyers pick up at the slaughter house, inspect the plant, and get to meet the people who kill and cut their pig. The pork is much cheaper than the heritage pork in high end supermarkets like Whole Foods and Wegmans.

Content Copyright © 2007, Hollin Farms