Premium Pastured Pork

Written by: Deborah Wechsler (2004)

Emile deFelice

Caw Caw Creek Farm

Columbia, South Carolina

www.cawcawcreek.com

803-917-0794

South Carolinian Emile DeFelice first approached farming from an academic perspective as he studied traditional Haitian agriculture, then South Carolina 's traditional farming.

When he tried his hand at selling basil and other garden produce, he soon discovered he preferred hands-on farming to studying it. His produce operation quickly grew to encompass several dozen acres spread over five rented or family-owned farms, and he began to experiment with hogs, pastured poultry, and ducks.

However, says Emile, “My produce business became overwhelming. I had 100 different crops, too many employees, too many locations.” After seven years, he closed the produce business and took a six-month break to refocus. He decided he still wanted to farm—but in a simpler way . “I decided I wanted one farm, one product, one man, one truck, one trailer,” says Emile. He decided to focus on pork because, of all his animals, he felt he both raised and understood hogs best, because the meat tasted the best, and because he felt the market was open for a high quality product. “I wanted to product to market itself,” he says.

To learn more about how to raise high quality pork, Emile started researching how old fashioned Southern hog farmers, traditional European farmers, and the best of current producers raised their animals. Since before he had only finished pigs rather than raising them farrow-to-finish, he also sought training through North Carolina A&T University 's program for small-scale hog producers, learning about artificial insemination, castrating pigs, and farrowing management, and more. “I was a surrogate graduate student,” says Emile, “and they tolerated me because they could see I genuinely was interested.”

He set up his hog farm on his parents' farm, about 30 minutes from his own home in Columbia , SC. The farm is a part-time operation for him—he's recently become a full-time South Carolina coordinator for the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association. So that he doesn't have to make the trip out daily, he decided to hire a local helper to feed his sows and boars each day—a ten-minute chore. Automatic feeders are set up for the other pigs. The simple, low-maintenance setup, with good fencing, means he only needs to make the trip out two or three days a week.

In many ways, Emile tries to do the opposite of today's confinement hog farmers, going back to the way pork was produced before the meat industry became so industrialized. “I'm just copying a system that has been in existence forever. Raising a good piece of meat is not a great trick, it's just no one does it, because you need to use inefficient animals in an inefficient way.” The Large Black and the Ossabaw Island hogs he raises are both listed as critically rare by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. He also raises Farmers Hybrid hogs, another old-fashioned, hard-to-find breed. All of these are slower growing breeds that are especially well-suited to pasture-based production. Their dark coats protect them from sunburn, they are hardy and forage well, and they put on more fat in a way that makes their meat especially flavorful.

Pigs roam freely in 8-10 acre woodland paddocks . The paddocks are separated by a single strand of electric wire. Pigs are rotated about every 3-5 weeks to new areas when Emile sees signs that it is time, such as rubbing on trees or absence of any natural mast for the pigs to munch. A few days before the pigs are moved out, Emile broadcasts grain seeds throughout the paddock and lets the pigs tromp or root the seed into the soil for a cover crop that will grow up as the paddock rests. His goal is a shading overstory of hardwood trees, grass beneath, and little brushy understory. In a 28-acre certified organic field that adjoins the woodland, he plants crops of turnips, rape, and rye as feed crops, turning the pigs out into this area for another temporary paddock.

Feeder hogs have small metal hog shelters scattered through the paddocks, but the shelters are not much used by the hogs, which seem to enjoy living wild. Sows, kept separate from the pigs being raised for market, have individual shelters, but often prefer to make their own nests in the woods. Pigs are separated from their mothers when they are weaned by the sow. Weaning averages are 5-6 pigs per litter, much lower than in confinement operations using farrowing crates, but in line with expectations for naturally raised hogs. With lower production costs and a high rate of return on the pork, Caw Caw Creek hogs are profitable at these lower weaning averages.

Pigs being finished have free choice of grain feed, while breeding hogs are fed daily rations. About half the feed is free waste products from Anson Mills, a local grain mill that produces certified organic grits. The rest is a locally produced feed blend with no hormones or antibiotics. All pigs being finished for processing receive the blended feed for about six weeks before slaughter so that Emile can count on a consistent product. Emile occasionally worms the animals by adding diatomaceous earth to their feed. It takes about a year to raise the pigs to slaughter weight. Breeding and finishing take place year-round, with sows farrowing about twice a year, and Emile takes the hogs to processing in batches of 6-25.

Emile is fortunate to have access to a “forward-thinking, cooperative processor” for his hogs, about 90 miles away, who will cut, wrap, freeze and box the meat and make sausage to Emile's specifications. Because his processor is USDA-inspected, Emile can sell retail or wholesale nationwide. After processing, meat is then taken to a USDA-inspected cold storage facility, then shipped out via express package service.

Emile markets his pork as “world-class meat at Piggly Wiggly prices,” selling direct to consumers and restaurants via word-of-mouth and the internet. His many market connections from his previous produce operation continue to be useful. and a recent series of gourmet in New York that featured his Ossabaw Island pork, along with articles in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal , have also given him some excellent exposure to potential customers. Exhibiting at the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association conference has also brought him a receptive audience and customers. “I love being at the table with my little George Foreman grill,” he says. He recognizes that customer contact is important and is always willing to explain what he is doing and the advantages of Caw Caw Creek's pork. Most of his customers are in the Southeast, but he now has a few in California and New York.

All meat is sold by the quarter-hog, about 50 pounds, with each quarter containing half a ham, half a shoulder, and a fair assortment of other cuts. “It's an agreeable size,” says Emile. “Many customers think they've bought a lifetime supply, but then they surprise themselves by ordering again in 3-4 months.” Customers currently pay $250/quarter (which includes the express shipping), about $5.00/lb.

Though Emile prefers not to quote numbers, he feels that profit margins per hog are very good. He plans to keep the same scale of production but is planning in the next few months to develop a full line of value-added products—hot dogs, chorizo, hot Italian sausage, and more—that he will also market through restaurants and natural foods supermarkets. He already has several very interested potential customers. “It all comes down to one thing,” he says, “marketing your own product. That is where I get the gain. I'm a one-man, vertically integrated company.”

Location: About 30 miles east of Columbia , South Carolina

Years in commercial production: Farming produce and raising livestock and poultry on small scale for about 8 years; concentrating on pigs as Caw Caw Creek for 1½ years

Acreage: Pigs raised on portion of Emile's parents' land; 60-70 wooded acres in paddocks for pigs, 28-acre certified organic field for forage crops

Livestock: 3 boars, 15 sows of Ossabaw Island , Farmers' Hybrid, and Large Black breeds

Crops/products: Processes about 100 mixed breed market hogs annually

Value-added products: Frozen cuts, specialty sausage

Weeks in production: Year-round

Markets: Direct to consumers and restaurants via word-of-mouth and internet

Labor: Emile DeFelice part-time, plus one local helper who feeds breeding animals daily