Pastured and Organic Pork
Please note that the Lifeline organic pork is offered in the spring/early summer. Our pasture raised heritage pork From Ethan and Abby, is processed in the late fall. We will announce when the pork is ready to order in our weekly newsletters.
As many of you may know, our daughter Abby and son-in-law Ethan only raise one batch of their pastured porkers here at Alderspring Ranch each year. It means there is limited availability on pork...even though many of you have high demand for it!
Enter our friends at Lifeline Farms, just across the border from us in Montana. You might recognize the name "Lifeline" as the source of the delicious organic pastured butter and cheese we offer here on our website! We've trusted Lifeline for years now as farmers who share our standards in producing regenerative, organic, humane, and high-quality protein. We're excited to now source pork from them as well!
So, the specific details on this certified organic pork raised by the Harvey family at Lifeline:
1. Certified organic...which means no GMOs, no hormones, no antibiotics, and no insecticides, pesticides, or herbicides used in raising this pork.
2. Along with the above details, the Harveys feed no soy or corn to their pigs.
3. So what do these pigs eat? In the summer, the Harveys graze their pigs on green grass with a grain component of barley and flax meal. Because this pork is winter-raised and there is no grass in Montana at this time of year, these pigs were fed grass/alfalfa hay (alfalfa is a legume very common in both pastures and hay), along with that same barley and flax meal.
4. It's winter, so what about pasture? These pigs had free-range access to pasture and were not confined in small pens, crates, or a barn. They were provided free access to shelter at all times to escape winter weather if they needed to, but were always given plenty of space to roam.
5. Lastly, these pigs were grown in a small herd (no factory-scale hog confinement here). That does mean we have limited availability!
This is traditionally-raised pork, produced the way it was for many years prior to industrial ag. As a result, it's pork we comfortably put on our own table, without any of that questionable "ick" of the mystery pork you'll find on many grocery store shelves.
We also sell pork raised right here on Alderspring Ranch.
- Free choice pasture. These pastured pigs are raised on grass pastures from weanling stage to finish and moved to a new paddock every week (yes, these are pigs that don’t live in mud)!
- Fed corn and soy-free feed. Along with Alderspring diverse grasses, Abby and Ethan’s pigs enjoy a diet of local wheat and peas. The pork is raised without any soy or corn.
- Processed in a small USDA facility. These pigs are humanely butchered at the same small-scale artisanal facility that processes Alderspring beef.
- Heritage pork. These are heritage pork genetics that produce better flavor and have more desire to graze.
- Leave no trace portability. The entire pig operation is moved frequently, so it’s completely portable and leaves no trace except for increased soil fertility and slightly pig-tilled earth.
- Completely traceable. You can rest assured that your pastured pork was raised right here on Alderspring Ranch by Abby and Ethan Kelly. Each package of pork is traceable to a single animal.
- Respectfully Raised.In everything in their protocol, Abby & Ethan try to mimic the optimal natural life of a wild pig as much as they can.
- Want to learn more? Here's a 1-minute video on how Abby and Ethan raise their pork.
Photo below: Abby and Ethan's daughter in front of the portable water tank they use for the pigs. Note the broken-up soil in the background of the left photo? This is what pigs do (they root up the dirt), but we've found it actually results in healthy pasture regrowth after the pigs move on (as you see in the video above). At right, pigs forage on a fresh pasture they've just been moved to.
