2026 Half Hog Deposit
$300.00
Reserve a pasture-raised hog from our kids’ 2026 summer pig project.
Buying pork in bulk gives your family a freezer stocked with locally raised pork, custom processed according to your preferences.
Is a 1/2 Hog Right for You?
✅ Couples and smaller families
✅ Families trying bulk pork for the first time
✅ Customers with limited freezer space
✅ Families wanting a variety of pork without purchasing a whole hog
Looking for a larger quantity? Choose a whole hog for even more pork, or share it with family or friends.
A typical 1/2 hog averages approximately 100 pounds hanging weight and around $950 total, including both the pork and estimated processing costs. The final total will depend on the hog’s exact hanging weight and the processing options you select.
Freezer space required: Approximately 2–3 cubic feet.
You choose your pork-chop thickness, roast sizes, package quantities, bacon thickness, ham preparation, and sausage options.
Reserve your 1/2 hog with a $300 deposit. As your butcher date approaches, I’ll send clear instructions explaining when to call the butcher and how to select your custom cuts.
A Special Fall Harvest
This summer, our children took on the hands-on project of raising their own pigs.
Every morning and late afternoon, they have been feeding the pigs, checking on them, and helping move them through our woods and pastures. It has been a real-life lesson in hard work, responsibility, stewardship, and respect for animals.
We raised 18 pigs this year.
Once those hogs are spoken for, that will be all the pork available from our farm until next season.
Raised Right: The Way a Pig Ought to Live
These pigs have had the kind of life every pig should have: fresh air, sunshine, green plants, and freedom to roam.
We regularly rotate them through our pastures and woods, where they use their snouts to root through the soil and forage for plants, roots, bugs, worms, acorns, walnuts, and whatever else they discover.
They also receive a locally sourced, non-GMO feed ration to support healthy growth and proper finishing.
Many pigs raised for conventional pork spend their entire lives indoors on concrete. Our pigs have lived the opposite of that experience, with room to explore, root, forage, and express their natural behavior.
They have lived a good life, and we believe that care carries through to the pork we provide your family.
2026 Availability and Butcher Dates
Our hogs are currently scheduled for:
- Friday, October 16, 2026
- Friday, November 6, 2026
These are the dates we deliver the hogs to the butcher, not ordering deadlines. Orders must be reserved in advance so we can assign each customer to a hog and provide the butcher with the necessary information before delivery.
Reservations for each date will close as soon as the available hogs are spoken for, which may happen well before the butcher date.
An order placed on or immediately before a butcher date cannot be added because pork processing begins promptly without the 10–14 day aging period required for beef.
We will confirm your assigned butcher date after receiving your reservation. As the date approaches, we will send instructions explaining when to call the butcher and how to select your cuts.
What Happens After You Place a Deposit
If this is your first time buying pork in bulk, don’t worry. We will walk you through the process step by step.
Once your order comes through, we will email you:
- An overview of how the process works
- Instructions for choosing your cuts
- The dates to call the butcher
- What to expect at pickup
Here is how the process works:
- We assign your order to one of our scheduled hogs.
- Before the butcher date, you call the butcher with your custom cutting instructions.
- We deliver the hog to the butcher.
- The butcher cuts, packages, and freezes your pork according to your selections.
- Once the hanging weight is available, we email you the final invoice for your pork.
- Your $300 deposit is subtracted from the amount owed to Brass Family Farm.
- You pick up your finished pork directly from the butcher and pay the processing charges separately.
Pork does not require the aging period used for beef. However, bacon, ham, cottage bacon, and other cured or smoked products may require additional processing time.
The butcher will let you know when your complete order is ready for pickup.
Understanding Hanging Weight
A typical 1/2 hog averages approximately 100 lb hanging weight.
What is hanging weight? It is the weight after the skin, head, feet, blood, and internal organs have been removed, but before the pork is cut and packaged.
Both your pork cost and the butcher’s basic processing charges are based on this weight.
Your finished take-home pork will weigh less because bones, excess fat, and trim are removed during processing. The exact amount will depend on your cutting instructions and how much pork is made into fresh cuts, sausage, bacon, or ham.
Hanging weight can feel unfamiliar if you have never purchased pork this way, but it provides a consistent starting point for calculating the meat and processing costs.
Bulk Pork Pricing
Custom 1/2 Hog (approximately 100 lb)
$7.95 per pound hanging weight
($300 deposit)
Your deposit is applied toward your final pork cost.
The butcher’s processing charges are separate and are paid directly to the butcher when you pick up your pork.
Example Cost Breakdown: 1/2 Hog
A typical 1/2 hog averages approximately 100 lb hanging weight.
100 lb × $7.95/lb (pork cost) = $795
Estimated butcher processing: $150
Estimated total for an average 1/2 hog: approximately $950
Your exact total will depend on the hog’s final hanging weight and the processing options you select.
Understanding Natural Size Variation
Pigs naturally vary in size. A 1/2 hog will typically range from approximately 80–125 lb hanging weight, with most landing closer to the 100 lb average shown above.
Estimated totals within that range:
80 lb 1/2 hog → approximately $775
125 lb 1/2 hog → approximately $1,200
Your final pork cost is based on the exact hanging weight of your 1/2 hog, while the butcher’s charges depend on your processing choices.
Customize Your Pork
You will work directly with the butcher to choose how your pork is processed.
Available choices may include:
- Shoulder: Pork roasts, pork steaks, or cottage bacon
- Loin: Pork chops, loin roasts, whole tenderloins, and baby back ribs
- Ham: Fresh ham, smoked ham, or ham steaks
- Bacon: Traditionally cured and smoked bacon
- Sausage: Ground pork, breakfast sausage, patties, links, bratwurst, mild Italian sausage, or hot Italian sausage
- Other cuts: Spare ribs, ham hocks, and neckbones
Cottage bacon is made by curing and slicing part of the pork shoulder rather than the belly. It is leaner and meatier than traditional bacon, with a flavor and texture somewhere between bacon and ham.
You can also choose your pork-chop thickness, roast sizes, bacon thickness, package quantities, and sausage options.
Anything you do not want kept as an individual cut can generally be added to your sausage.
Bacon, Ham, and Other Cured Products
Our current butcher uses a traditional cure for bacon, ham, cottage bacon, and other cured products.
Natural, organic, and nitrate-free curing options are not currently available.
We have investigated local processors that offer alternative curing methods, but we have not been able to secure the necessary butcher dates. We want you to understand this before reserving if the type of cure is important to your family.
Curing, smoking, sausage, patties, links, and other specialty processing will increase the butcher’s final processing charge.
Understanding Your Pork Yield
You can expect a typical packaged yield of approximately 65–75% of the hanging weight.
A typical 100 lb hanging-weight 1/2 hog should provide approximately 65–75 lb of packaged pork.
The exact amount will vary based on your cutting and processing choices.
A 1/2 hog generally requires approximately 2–3 cubic feet of freezer space.
Supporting the Next Generation of Farmers
Here is the part we are most proud of: any profits from these pigs go directly to our children.
A portion will also serve as seed money for next year’s pig project, so they will not have to borrow everything from the Bank of Dad.
By reserving a hog, you are not just purchasing locally raised pork. You are investing in young farmers who are learning the value of hard work, stewardship, responsibility, and saving for their future.
Our Commitment to You
Buying pork in bulk for the first time can feel like a big decision.
If you are not completely satisfied with your pork, we will make it right.
That’s our farmer’s handshake.
From Our Family to Yours
These pigs have been part of our family throughout the growing season, and it has been a joy watching our children raise and care for them.
We are proud to share this pork with families who value clean, honest food raised the right way.
If you have questions at any point, we would be happy to walk you through everything personally. Please reach out through the Contact tab above.
The prices quoted on each product page and in your cart are estimates only. Because most of our products are sold by the pound, we will not know your exact order total until it is packed and ready for pickup.
If the item you’re looking for is currently marked for pre-orders only, contact us and we’ll put you on a waiting list to be notified as soon as it’s available.
