How we raise our hogs

We are a farrow-to-finish operation, maintaining approximately twenty sows and two terminal sire boars for breeding. Our breeding program allows us to improve the quality of our herd according to the traits we value: hardiness, docility and foraging instincts, These traits in conjunction with our proprietary organic, soy-free feed regimen produce hogs that thrive in the woods and on pasture all year round. We use intensive grazing and agro-forestry methods, regularly rotating our herd onto fresh ground, to build soil, regenerate forage, and put our woods to productive use.  This soil-based approach gives our livestock access to plants and nutrients that are unique to our location on the Pemaquid Peninsula. 

The result is happier, healthier animals, enhanced fertility and water absorption in the soil, and more nutrient dense, taste-memorablel pork.  Our livestock helps us improve their natural habitat.

Breeds

Our breeding stock consists of approximately fifteen sows of either Large Black x Gloucestershire Old Spot or Hereford x Duroc origin. We call these sows our Heritage Herd. They are bred with our 1,000lb Large Black terminal sire, Boris. We recently acquired two intact boar piglets of pure-bred Gloucestershire Old Spot lineage. We named them Duke & Earl. They will assume terminal sire duties for the Heritage Herd in about a year. We also manage five pure-bred Mangalitsa sows that we breed with a pure-bred Mangalitsa boar. This breeding program has been very successful, and as a result, we raise more Mangalitsa pigs than any farm in Maine. The Mangalitsa is a heritage breed of Hungarian origin with genetics very close to the original wild boars of Central Europe. The breed is known at the “charcuterie pig” because their medium-sized body puts on fat early in life, with a composition and texture that makes it prized for rendering to lard for baking and dry-curing whole-muscle charcuterie.  

Our Pigs' Diet

Our hogs have constant access to pasture, where they are able to forage and root throughout the day.  We supplement the forage with organic, soy-free grain, local hay and baleage. We also support the Maine food system by using local, nutrient dense by-products as part of our feeding regimen. 

BROAD ARROW FARM PLEDGES:

NO GMO inputs;

NO growth hormones or appetite stimulants;

NO  preventative antibiotics

NO chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides or fungicides.