Pre-Order a Whole Hog
2021
How to Pre-Order a Whole Hog
Fill out the form below to prepare us for your Whole Hog order. Once submitted, we assign your name to a pig, and raise it among others on pasture, living a happy, healthy, pig life. You will put down a $200 deposit to seal the deal, and we’ll contact you after receiving your pre-order form to arrange deposit payment.
Slaughter
When the season comes to a close, our professional Itinerant Slaughterer of choice arrives for slaughter right here on the farm. This is the preferred method for slaughter since there is no compounded stress of loading onto trailers and traveling far away to a big scary slaughterhouse. After slaughter, your pig is transported to the butcher for processing.
At the Butcher
Our pork is sold as wholes, and you will pay a butcher separately to carve your hog to order (following meat law in the State of Vermont.) You will receive the meat from an entire pig from the butcher. If you’re sharing with another party, you will need to split the order amongst yourselves. If you don’t already have a butcher lined up, we can suggest a custom butcher to make the cuts you prefer. That butcher can usually also make your sausage and smoke your hams, bacon, hocks, etc. The pork will be cut and packaged as you would like it, according to the butcher’s cut sheet that you will fill out prior to delivery of your pig to the butcher. We can help you with your cut sheets and arrange for payment with the butcher. If you intend to butcher your own pig (make your own cuts, not slaughter), please indicate that on the order form.
Availability
Your pig should be ready for slaughter in mid to late October, and will be available for pick up or delivery in late October or early November. We’ll contact you closer to the big day with pick up or delivery details, cut sheets, etc. You’ll need to arrange for payment for the butchering with the butcher at that time.
Why Not Organic?
As a small, diversified farm, our pork is not certified organic because we value the ability to feed them clean food scraps, our market garden trims, and dairy surplus from local sources rather than strictly grain from elsewhere. We do feed our pigs non-GMO or organic grain from Green Mountain Feeds, and supplement their varied diet with the aforementioned pig-approved delicacies and all the bugs, roots, and greens they can find on pasture. Better for the pasture, the pigs, the pork, and you.
Vermont State Law
According to Vermont State meat laws, we can only sell whole and half pigs to pre-arranged buyers. Meaning, we raise the pig for you. We cannot sell specific or individual cuts. We can raise you a happy, healthy pig, have it slaughtered by a professional Itinerant Slaughterer on farm, and transport it to a custom butcher, where you will arrange for payment with the butcher for the cuts you want on the butcher’s cut sheet. We can deliver the final order to you, or you can pick it up personally.
Find useful and legal information about purchasing a whole hog here.
USEFUL LINKS ABOUT PURCHASING A WHOLE HOG FROM US
Vermont Certificate of Ownership Form
Per Vermont State Law, all Whole Hog owners (individuals pre-ordered a hog for us to raise and slaughter for them) must submit a Certificate of Ownership form before slaughter is performed. The online submission form gets submitted to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture. Make a copy of the filled form for Next Chapter Farm as well, and send it to us prior to slaughter time. This form is not optional, and is required in order for us to stay in business.
Custom Exempt and On-Farm Slaughter Information
More information about on-farm slaughter in Vermont, and how it works.
Things to think about when considering a Whole Hog purchase
Step by step pointers to make the search, purchase, and storage of a side of pork simple and worth the effort.