What is "Forest Pork"?



​The term "Forest Pork" came about after we raised our first hogs at Red Gate Farm, and they were living in a forest setting that whole time. After a tremendous amount of research into modern and popular ways of raising hogs, we found ourselves drawn to the old-fashioned paradigm of turning hogs out to forage, root, plow, and otherwise do what comes naturally in a woodland setting. You won't find painful rings in our hogs' noses! Previously we farrowed our own sows in the woods, but we have temporarily suspended our breeding program while building our new farm and facilities. In the meantime, we purchase weaner pigs from a supplier who farrows as naturally as we can find.


​Our "spring pigs," which are processed in the fall, are started in our winter paddocks for electric fence training, then move into our back woods. We have 50 acres of woodland forest, so thick in many areas that a human can't even walk through it. We section off segments of this woodland, using temporary electric fencing. One of our Livestock Guardian Dogs are assigned to watch over the young pigs when necessary. Throughout their growth period, the pigs make use of their God-given instincts to massage and enrich our land with their work. To ensure the land is not damaged by their work, we regularly move them to a new section of the forest and allow them to start all over. We supplement their natural, forage diet with lots of raw, wholesome milk and whey from our goats, cooked meat and bones from our kitchen, produce from our gardens and orchards, organic and natural grains, and lots of other wholesome treats. We use a custom-made, organic, non-gmo feed, that uses peas and legumes and home-grown protein sources, rather than soy as a base. This means the meat has more Omega-3 acids (the good kind!), rather than the Omega-6's (the bad kind) caused by common soy-based feeds.


​This type of system not only improves the land and creates AMAZING pork in the end, but it also ensures the pigs are happy and content, physically exercised, mentally challenged, and emotionally satisfied. Just listen to their happy grunts, watch their tails wag, and you can be sure!


We are proud that our pork is NOT "the other white meat." In fact, Forest Pork from Red Gate Farm is a dark, rich pink color, because of all the rich nutrition, fresh air, and sunlight the pigs receive. They work in a beautiful symbiotic relationship with our goats and manual woodland management methods to improve the area for wildlife and prevent erosion!


For more information on how bulk pork purchases work, visit this page.