FULL CIRCLE’S CERTIFIED ORGANIC PORK PROGRAM
 Piglets |
Our Organic Pig Farming Standards
Full Circle Bison Ranch, is committed to raising Heritage Breed Certified Organic Pork in a humane and environmentally responsible manner. Under Organic Certification, our pork must come from pigs that have never had antibiotics or hormones. The grain, pasture and acorns that our Heritage Breed Pigs receive is all certified organic and raised without the use of herbicides, pesticides, or GMO's.
From birth to harvest, our organic pigs must be raised in a humane and ethical way. For example, our sows give birth to their piglets in large, comfortable stalls with sufficient straw so that the sow can build her "nest" and naturally care for her piglets. We do not dock piglets tails or cut teeth. At two weeks of age our sows and piglets are put into a deep straw nursery, which is open on three sides. Multiple sows and their litters live together with room to run, deep straw to root, and a pasture to graze.
When our piglets are weaned at 8 weeks, both the organic sows and piglets are moved to open pastures and oak forest, where the young organic pigs live out the remainder of their lives. These are the organic standards that we believe in and farm by. Our adherence to these standards is third-party verified by Stellar Organic Certification Services, who perform routine inspections of our ranch and our pigs.
Click here to purchase large black pigs.
 Organic Pastured Pork |
Organic Pastured Pork
Our heritage breed pigs love to graze the lush grass and clover pastures at Full Circle Bison Ranch. Just after weaning, the young pigs are turned out to pasture where they spend the rest of their lives foraging and receiving supplemental organic grain. Whereas our spring-born pigs finish on acorns each fall, pigs that are born in the fall are finished on organic pasture during the spring. The larger the young pig becomes, the better it can digest and utilize grass and clover. As the pig grows, we reduce the amount of supplemental grain it receives, thus increasing the amount of grass it will forage. This is important for the health and flavor of our organic pork.
Pork from pigs that consume a substantial amount of green grass is higher in CLA (conjugated Linoleic Acid). CLA is a "good" fatty acid that helps lower cholesterol and triglycerides. Grass-fed meats are also higher in omega 3 fatty acids, beta carotene, and vitamin E.
Organic pastured pork is noticeably more flavorful than purely grain fed pork. The varieties of grasses, clovers, and various plants give the pork flavor complexity and depth. The constant exercise that foraging requires contributes to the quality of the meat as well, producing a gourmet quality pork that is tender and juicy with rich flavor.
Click here to purchase organic pastured pork.
The Health and Flavor of Acorn Finished Pork
Our certified organic pastured pigs are born in the spring so that for 2- 3 months each fall they can finish on a diet that is predominantly acorns.
 Acorn Finished Pork |
They spend the entire summer grazing lush irrigated pastures of clover and grass where they are supplemented with certified organic grains. Tamworth and the Large Black pigs love green grass. By fall, when the pigs are around 200 lbs, we turn them into the back half of the ranch, which is a forest of white and black oak, madrone, cedar, and fir trees. These Heritage pigs instinctively begin foraging for acorns immediately, as their kind have done for millennia.We cut back the amount of grain available to the pigs so that acorns become their main source of feed.
Acorns are not only a sustainable source of organic pig feed, they impart a rich flavor to pork that is delicious as it is healthy. Many people have heard of the acorn finished Iberico pig of Spain(Pata Negra ). These acorn- fed black-footed pigs produce the famous jamon iberico de bellota (Iberian acorn finished ham), that are the most sought after hams in the world, for their rich nutty flavor, due to their diet of acorns. What is surprising is that pork from acorn finished pigs is actually healthier than other pork. Pigs fed a predominantly acorn diet have fat that is mostly unsaturated with very high levels of omega 3 fatty acids and oleic acids.Oleic acid is a monosaturated fat that lowers LDL(bad cholesterol) and raises HDL(good cholesterol). If this sounds familiar it is because olive oil has very similar health benefits.
In Spain the acorn finished is pig often referred to as the "olive tree on four hooves."
Fortunately, not only is deeply marbled acorn finished pork healthy , it also has fantastic flavor.
The formula for fantastic acorn finished pork
More than any other meat Pork takes on the flavor of what the pigs eat. At our ranch we have an abundance of three things , Lush clover pastures , organic winter squash, and acorns.
For that flavor to manifest itself into the pork, the pig must be a breed with extensive intramuscular marbling, namely a "lard type pig" such as the Large Black.(the opposite of modern lean pork breeds)
Finally for that flavor to penetrate the meat, the pig must exercise it's muscles to create a protein called Myoglobin.(its what makes wild boar meat darker than the white meat from confined pigs)
When the right breed (Large Black), receives the right forage (acorns) ,and plenty of exercise (foraging in our forest ), the results are equivalent to the best pork anywhere in the world.
Click here to purchase acorn finished pork.