07/23/2026
A few weeks ago we processed two “fat hogs”. Same farm, same feed, same environment…with a very different outcome. As you can see, one produced a very lean and muscular shoulder, while the other was a bit more on the fatty side. This is evidence of the characteristics of different breeds being expressed.
The two main breeds that we raise at Tea Hills are Berkshire and Chester White. While Berkshires may not be the biggest, longest, or most muscular breed, they are renowned for their ability to produce slightly fattier and more flavorful pork. Chester Whites are known for their longer and leaner bodies, larger litters, and good mothering ability. Most of our pork exhibits a nice mixture of these traits, but every once in a while you get an outlier from each breed, as seen here. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing…some customers like their pork on the leaner side while others enjoy the richer, fattier cuts.
You also might notice some variance in size from week to week with our pork. While we do our best to try to have a steady supply of pork, sometimes there are weeks where there just aren’t any pigs of proper size (Such is the life of a small producer). The difference between a properly “finished” pig and one that is too small can be as little as 10-20 pounds. We like to have finished hogs in the 160-180 pound range after processing (referred to as hanging weight), but they all cut differently. Sometimes a pig with a hanging weight of 150 is amazing, while the next one at that weight would have finished nicer a little heavier. Every pig is different, and sometimes it’s hard to tell until they are on our cutting table.
Regardless of the breed, our pigs enjoy a life with access to the outdoors, continuously running spring water, and shelter in the bank barn when needed. It can be a bit more work sometimes, but we think that the quality of our pork speaks for itself.
Fresh pork will again be available at our farmers markets this weekend!
