Pleasant Home Premium Beef & Pork

1.     How is your pork different than what I buy in the store?

We are a small family farm that raises premium pork for people who want to enjoy healthy, safe, and tasty pork. We choose meat quality genetics and raise our pigs using the best practices for high quality meat. We are convinced that you’ll love our pork with your friends and family. That’s why we are Pleasant Home Premium Pork.

2.     How much does a pig cost?

The price is calculated on the carcass weight, and it includes the processing and packaging. A whole carcass weighs 180 – 200 pounds and would cost $425 – 450. A half hog weighs 90 – 100 pounds would usually cost around $225 – 250.

3.     When do you have some pigs ready?

Premium pork pigs are usually available during the following months:

February

March

April

July

August

September

4.     How many pigs are available?

We usually have 10 pigs available each month (February, March, April, July, August, September). Pigs are reserved on a first-come, first-serve basis. Orders can be placed up to 6 months in advance, and should be placed at least 2-months in advance to make sure your order can be fulfilled because of limited availability.

5.     What kind of pigs do you raise?

We raise purebred Berkshires, Durocs and Chester Whites that have been selected with special genetics for high meat quality traits. Our premium pork pigs have been bred for enhanced eating experiences, including excellent flavor, juiciness, and tenderness. We raise pork that has high marbling (for flavor), pink-red in color (for juiciness), and high ultimate PH (for tenderness).

6.     How are the pigs raised?

We raise our pigs using natural farrowing, animal welfare, pork quality assurance, and sustainable agriculture practices. Animals can move around freely in large pens. They live stress-free because they have free-choice to get exercise and move around, which increases tenderness of meat. They can go outside as they wish to enjoy the sunshine and get fresh air. Animals receive grass-clover hay and wheat straw to nest in deep bedding. Manure is removed daily from the pens to keep the animals clean and increase food safety.

7.     What do you feed your animals?

Animals are fed fresh feed of vegetarian diets, consisting of corn and soybeans. We do not feed animal by-products. Pigs are not fed growth hormones, garbage, or waste.

8.     Do you use antibiotics?

We only use antibiotics when needed for the pigs’ health. Just like people, pigs get sick. We do everything we possibly can to avoid giving them antibiotics. However, if it appears a pig is not able to recover from a pathogen, we will use a short-acting antibiotic. For example, antibiotics may be used when baby pigs are susceptible to getting sick due to cold weather or when they cannot overcome cough and diarrhea when young. We insure meat safety by not treating animals with antibiotics during the last 90 days before harvest. This insures plenty of time for the animals to metabolize the antibiotics.

9.     How do I know the food is safe?

We track detailed information about our pigs using Pork Quality Assurance standards. Every pig has a unique identification number and detailed health records can be provided to customers to document our production standards. Animal identity is preserved through the processing phase until the vacuumed-seal package is uniquely labeled with a customer identity.

10.  Is the meat organic?

No. Our pigs are raised in a stress-free environment using sustainable agriculture practices. Our goal is raise healthy, safe, delicious meat that can be enjoyed with family and friends knowing the premium pork was raised in a nature-friendly way.

11.  Is your operation good for the environment?

Yes. Our production practices are sustainable and environmentally-friendly because we do not use any natural gas or propane to raise our pigs. We raise our own hay for bedding, which is returned to the land as a natural fertilizer to work with the cycles of nature. We hand carry the manure with a garden cart and spread it on the garden to avoid using synthetic fertilizers.

12.  Do you have an order form?

Yes, an order form, or commonly known as a cut sheet, has been created to conveniently decide how you want your pig processed. Grant and Nelson will call and make sure each customer is confident in their order. First-time customers will be guided through the process. Established customers can choose their specific preferences (as long as the requests can be filled by the processor).

13.  I have not ordered a half a hog before. Will you give me some recommendations on how to place my order?

Of course, we want you to be satisfied as possible. We will help guide you through the different cuts and provide you with recommendations so it is easy for you. It takes about 10 minutes to complete the cutting sheet.

14.  About how many pounds would a half be?

A half pig carcass weighs approximately 90 – 100 pounds. Then, the carcass is cut into retail cuts and bones are removed from the carcass cuts for ground sausage products and boneless cuts. A carcass yields approximately 65 – 75 lbs of actual take-home packaged product.

15.  How many packages would I get in a half of pig?

The following number of packages are based on a 100 pound half carcass from a 275 pound pig.

·         8 packages of pork chops (4 chops, ¾” thick, 2.5 lbs. per package)

·         13 packages of ham steaks (1 ham slice/steak, ¾” thick, 1.15 lb. per package)

·         1 package of spare ribs (whole rack cut in thirds, approx. 2.5 lbs)

·         8-9 packages of bacon (approx. 1 lb. per package)

·         20 – 22 packages of sausage product (see product list; approx. 1 lb. per package)

·         Specialty cuts, such as pork hocks, neck bones, tongue, heart and liver are available upon request. Otherwise, specialty cuts are donated to charity.

·         The number of packages can be doubled for a whole pig.

16.  Where will the pigs be processed?

We take the pigs to two different facilities, depending on availability and customer needs: (1) a state inspected processing facility, Monon Meat Packing, processes the meat in Indiana; and, (2) a USDA inspected processing facility, Whitefeather Meats of Creston, processes the pigs in Ohio.

17.  When will the meat be ready?

The meat will be ready a week to 10 days after the pigs are delivered to the processor. We will call you when the meat is ready for delivery.

18.  Why is the meat in vacuum-sealed packages?

The meat is packaged in vacuum-sealed bags to insure the product has the highest standard of consumer protection to keep the food safe. Air is removed and the plastic bag wraps around the meat to keep the meat from changing flavors. The meat should be handled carefully so the plastic package does not get any holes in it. Frozen meat in vacuum-sealed bags can be stored up to 12 months.

19.  How do I thaw the pork?

Meat can be thawed by placing the meat in the refrigerator 18-24 hours. A quick method is using hot water, which is another advantage to vacuum-sealed packaged meat. Simply take the package out of the freezer and place it in hot water and let it set for 10-15 minutes. Then remove the package and place on the grill. We prefer the hot-water bath over defrosting in a microwave to keep it from being pre-cooked during the thawing process.

20.  What is your customer service?

We have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you are not satisfied with the quality of your meat, let us know within 30 days and we’ll do what we can to make sure you are 100% satisfied. We call our customers back after two months to make sure that are enjoying their pork.

21.  Who owns Pleasant Home Premium Pork?

Grant and Nelson Knobloch are owners and partners of Pleasant Home Premium Pork. Grant is a 6^th grader and Nelson is a 5^th grader. Their parents, Neil & June, purchased the first bred sow to get them started and provide the facilities in exchange for one pig per year. Grant and Nelson received a loan pay for breeding animals and feed, which they paid back within 18 months after they started their business.

22.  Why do you raise pigs?

We raise pigs because it is a fun and educational way to gain life skills, such as responsibility, decision-making, entrepreneurship, and communication skills. We want people to enjoy the eating experience with good, healthy and tasty pork, so we try to let people know that we care about the quality of meat that they buy and eat. 

23.  Do you raise these pigs for 4-H?

Yes, we do show some of the spring litter pigs at the fair. Our first priority is to raise meat quality litters to sell to people who want to buy premium pork. We do not sell show pigs for meat because show pig genetics can be pale, tough, and dry meat that is not desirable for our customers who expect high quality, premium pork.

24.  Can we tour your facilities?

Maybe. We would love to show your our pigs and facilities, but we have high standards of biosecurity to prevent diseases and contamination. Please do not visit if you have been around other pigs within 48 hours. Also, please call to make an appointment so we can be ready for your visit. We want to prevent disease contamination, so please help us maintain the strictest level of biosecurity by wearing clean clothes and shoes/boots. We will provide you with a vinyl shoe/boot cover to protect you and the pigs. You will also be able to see our facilities on our website (videos are currently in development).

25.  What do you do with the money you make?

It’s not an easy task to make money in farming, as we experienced with our first litter of pigs. Thanks to our parent’s help, we watched our expenses carefully and hope to make a few dollars per pig on our second litter. From our profits, we donate about 10-15% to charity, revinvest 10-15% to improve our genetics, and save the remaining 70-80% for college.  Grant loves to design, build and solve problems. He plans to attend college to become an electrical engineer. Nelson loves nature, history, building things, and people. He plans to attend college to become a park ranger and auctioneer.