Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful moms who are often the ones doing the daily work of sourcing healthy food for your families. We are truly honored to be the farm you trust to help nourish your loved ones. We hope you have a beautiful day filled with much-deserved rest and celebration.
10 Differences Between Grocery Store Pork and Watson Farms Pastured Pork! 🐖
Welcome to this week’s edition of Pasture Posts!
Tomorrow will be the weekly “moving day” for the two groups of pigs we have in the paddocks right behind the Farm Store. It’s a busy morning for our team. We head out with two tractors: one equipped with a loader to move the heavy self-feeder and the drinker, and another pulling the Grain-o-vator. If you’ve never seen one, it’s basically a tractor-powered feed truck that we use to refill the feeders with our non-GMO feed once they’re settled in the new paddock.
Here I am filling a feeder back in July 2019.
The pigs are always excited when they see the crew; they know fresh pasture is coming! Once we do a final check on the perimeter fence to make sure everything is just right, we open the gates. They run through into the new grass.
That paddock has had about 4 weeks rest since the last time pigs were on it, which is the “secret sauce” to our operation. That rest time allows the grass to recover and the soil life to thrive—it’s the core of how we regenerate this ground that was once starved for fertility.
The Great Pork Comparison
We believe all pigs should be raised like that. Unfortunately, that is not how 98-99% of U.S. pigs live today. While we work with a small network of trusted partner producers for the farrowing (birthing) side of things, they adhere to the exact same regenerative standards we do.
Here is the stark contrast between how we do things and the industrial “norm”:
1. Farrowing & Confinement
- Ours: Mother pigs live and birth naturally on pasture and are never confined to farrowing crates.
- Theirs: Mother pigs are often confined to crates for the entirety of their adult lives.
2. Living Environment
- Ours: Raised in a dynamic, outdoor, immune-building environment.
- Theirs: Raised in sterile, indoor environments that promote weak immune systems.
3. Medications & Antibiotics
- Ours: Strong immune systems built from fresh forage and sunshine negate the need for continuous medications.
- Theirs: Weak immune systems often require routine drugs and antibiotics just for survival.
4. Growth Promoters
- Ours: Allowed to grow naturally at their own pace to develop healthy body fat and flavor.
- Theirs: Often fed artificial growth promoters to unnaturally accelerate lean muscle growth.
5. Fresh Air & Sunshine
- Ours: Pigs enjoy sunshine, fresh air, and rooting in the South Carolina dirt every single day.
- Theirs: Subjected to artificial lighting and poor air quality inside massive warehouses.
6. Group Sizes
- Ours: Raised in smaller, manageable groups outdoors.
- Theirs: Raised in confinement buildings housing thousands of pigs at a time.
7. Breeding
- Ours: Natural breeding when the sows are ready.
- Theirs: Planned artificial insemination, often while sows are confined in crates.
8. Genetics
- Ours: We utilize hardy Heritage genetics that are built for the outdoors.
- Theirs: Fragile, hybridized genetics bred solely for rapid growth on concrete.
9. The Overall Mindset
- Ours: A Regenerative mindset: Happier animals, better health, and healed land.
- Theirs: An Industrial mindset: Fatter, faster, and cheaper at the expense of the animal.
10. Space to Roam
- Ours: Over 300 square feet of frequently rotated pasture space per pig.
- Theirs: An average of just 7.5 square feet of concrete floor space per pig.
🛒 Product Spotlight: Pastured Pork Blowout Event!
The best way to support this regenerative system is to put it on your dinner table! Our Pastured Pork Blowout is the perfect time to stock up.
We are putting a major focus on our Quarter Pig Bundle. We’ve dropped the price to just $225—that is $50 off the normal bundle price. When you factor in the savings already built into our bundles, you are saving approximately 25% off retail prices!
It’s a great way to fill your freezer with pork you can feel good about eating.
Thank you for choosing to shop with our family and support a better way of farming!
– Your Farmer Matt
Check out this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review from Laura:
“So pleased with Watson Farms! They are friendly, deliver timely and the meats taste devine! [sic] I’m happy to support local farmers that raise their meats ethically and grass feed [sic] so it’s way healthier than what you get in the mass produced grocery stores. Everything that I was looking for! Thank you Watson Farms. I’ve been telling everyone!”
We would greatly appreciate it if you would be kind enough to leave us a review. It helps first-time customers purchase with confidence.
Shipping Timeline and Store Hours
UPS Orders (all orders ship with insulation and dry ice):
UPS orders normally ship out on Mondays – Wednesdays.
Tracking: As usual, you will receive an automated email with a tracking link as soon as your order leaves the farm.
Farm Pickup (Always Free!):
If you are local, Farm Pickup is often the fastest way to get your products. Please wait until you receive an email stating that your order is Ready for Pickup (typically 1 business day after your order is placed) before heading over.
Farm Store & Pickup Hours:
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 10:00am – 6:00pm
- Saturday: 10:00am – 2:00pm
- Wednesday & Sunday: Closed
Farm Store Address: 713 Colony Road, Chester, SC 29706