Anyone purchased half a pig before?? If so what'd you think? Would you do it again? Did it save you alot of money?

My grandmother purchases half a pig once a year and it's her meat for the majority of the year. And that's for a family of 3.

DH and I are HIGHLY considering purchasing half a pig and wanted some tips if any were out there. We will be visiting the butcher's shop in the next few weeks to check it out and what not and see if there are any tips on best time to buy ect...

We don't own a deep freeze and will be purchasing one come this February. Once we get that we'd like to get half a pig and have it custom sliced for our family and packaged.

I did some research online about it and found great resources.. Vermont Pastured Pigs

This is what half a pig looks like cut and packaged. Pricing in at $1.84/lb. This picture is 75lbs of freezer meat. I was just amazed and would be in AWE if we could get half a pig for $225. Including butcher fee's ect..total comes to $271. STILL for 75lbs of meat!!



Our biggest spending in our grocery bill is in the meat. I was also reading on the ebook about feeding a family of 4 for $200 or less a month and this was one of her suggestions. Purchasing half of a pig/cow..ect.

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Happily married to my geek
Proud homeschooling, cloth diaperin, attached parenting, slinging, simplier, breastfeedin, sewing mama mades, christian and funky mama

We purchase 1/2 hog and 1/2 beef every year..

Your butcher will have a standard list for cutting.. Including all the parts and pieces.. pig hocks (great for bean soup) ox tail, and tounge... You can take it or leave it..

You have a choice in how much gets packaged.. 2 steaks to a package for instance. We currrently have it packaged in 3's... It's your choice. I use to have my hamburger put into 1 1/2 lb bags.. I wouldn't use them all. I hate making burgers.. Now I pay the extra $3 and have it all made into burgers.. They come in a tube (like Sam's) with paper between them. You throw them on the grill frozen and they are wonderful..

They will ask if you want your hams whole, sliced, both.. The will ask if you want it smoked. Same with your bacon. They will asked how thick you want it cut.

We are a family of 4, but my girls are 3 & 5.. I only buy chicken from the store. We eat meat 6 meals a week on average. It last us 14 months.. Once you have good meat, it will be hard to eat grocery meat again. Bacon and hamburger especially.

Innitially you will feel like your spending A LOT! but when you figure out what it is a pound and the quality you won't regret it.

1/2 a beef takes up 3 shelves and the door on my upright freezer. 1/2 a hog a little less than that.

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Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

When I grew up, and up until about two years ago, my family would buy a whole pig from the County Fair kids - generally the price was quite a bit higher, as they would auction the pigs, and businesses (we had a farm) - would bid the price up higher so that kids would get money for raising the animals.

The quality of the pig from a local source, fresh cut in a small scale butchershop/slaughterhouse is IMMENSELY better than the stuff you get at a grocery store. The bacon alone is worth it (get it smoked and thick cut). There is not a store brand of bacon out there that comes close to "real" bacon - same with hams (again, get it smoked). Absolutely phenomenal quality difference - and generally a much better price.

I hope this year to purchase at least half a pig from the local shop that opened up last year. I hear good things about them, they are small scale and get their animals from local farmers. They also have excellent priced meat packages. Down the road again, I hope to be able to support the county fair kids, but right now don't have the need for a whole pig at well above market price.

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Thanks so much!!

The reason we've considered a half hog is because we don't eat beef. I was hoping to get meat that will feed us for 12 months. I'm wondering if I could get chicken or turkey at better prices too?? I guess I'll need to drop in at our butcher shop and find out. Chicken is so cheap so I'm not sure if this would be a good idea or not. Turkey would be nice to have grounded since we eat ground turkey instead of beef.

I've done a search online this morning and found that we have 2 livestock farmers 13 miles away. So I'm gonna give the butcher shop a call and find out prices and if they suggest a farmer that we can contact.

Also I have a question about eggs and other things. I know I can only find out by asking around my town but I love getting tips from you mamas!! You usually answer questions I would've had and didn't ask I want to support a local farmer and the closest farmers market here is 45 min away. We were hoping to purchase some eggs from a farmer and possibly other things...I know of some little booths on the roads that sell tomatoes and other veggies for GREAT prices!! I just never stop cuz I either already purchased or don't have cash at the moment.

Any advice would be appreciated!

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Happily married to my geek
Proud homeschooling, cloth diaperin, attached parenting, slinging, simplier, breastfeedin, sewing mama mades, christian and funky mama

If you have a feed mill in the area, they could probably point you in the direction of small farmers that offer various things for sale - milk, eggs, cheese, chickens etc. Also find out if there is a FFA chapter around or possibly 4H. I did both when I was a kid, and where I live, both groups are very active (very rural area). My folks used to buy about 40 chickens a year from the FFA kids (including me when I was in it) - the FFA kids would raise about 200 chickens and sell them to support the chapter - our local processor would process them for free, we just had to go around and pander them to the folks (mine were easy :D ) I personally like both groups because they 1) Grow healthy animals that are raised humanely and with great care, 2) it supports the community and gives kids something to do and a way of learning responsibility and 3)the quality is just amazing.

I know our feed mill in town has a bulletin board where the local folks post stuff for sale - veggies, beef, chickens, eggs, etc. All the critters have to eat and have care, and that main meeting point is the mill.

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WOW what a huge help you are!! :D

I'm sure I'll have more questions but before I dig into that I'm gonna wait to speak to the butcher shop and see where they can direct me.

I'd LOVE it if we could purchase from a local farmer.

I'm gonna search into FFA and see what the results are.

Thanks so much again and again!!

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Happily married to my geek
Proud homeschooling, cloth diaperin, attached parenting, slinging, simplier, breastfeedin, sewing mama mades, christian and funky mama

No problem! I grew up in a very rural community, and live in one about 15 miles from where I grew up. To give one example - our FFA chapter was based in our school. We raised our chickens and pigs ON school property - we hatched the chicks IN the school in the "Ag Shop" across from the gym, and raised them in the coop behind the school. The school also had a barn and pasture for the pigs (the pigs were different - a local farmer would donate a sow to the chapter, we would farrow it (have the piglets born) at the school barn, and would raise and care for the piglets. At the end of the semester the pigs would go to the farmer, and we'd get a new sow. The school tied the pigs with an Ag class that was optional and included one year in FFA. From then on it was student's choice to continue being in FFA.

Feel free to ask! We didn't have pigs and cows on our farm, but I grew up eating our own ducks and chickens, and the eggs from them. Our neighbor down the road had cows and processed them at his farm, and we'd go down to help and have a roast party, and the other neighbor the other way would do the same with pigs. Yet another one on a different road taught me how to milk cows and we'd get milk from him sometimes.

I like farm life :D

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we used to buy a 1/2 a cow and pig and have not for a few years. we were talking we are gonna buy some this febuary it saves us so much in meat costs dh is a meat eater.

we used to buy a 1/2 a cow and pig and have not for a few years. we were talking we are gonna buy some this febuary it saves us so much in meat costs dh is a meat eater.

I called all the local butcher shops and hog isn't one they do regulary anymore as there is no profit really in doing so. That's what I was told. I did find a butcher that's an hour away though.. HOWEVER he was soooo helpful. He did quote me for a pig and it was WAY more than I was pleased to hear. $4/lb and that included all his cutting and packaging fee's but OH GOSH still...SOOO he suggested that since that seemed high for us that we come into his shop and look at what he already has butchered and purchase a packaged deal from him. I find this odd but then again he mentioned some of the prices and I was kinda floored. He suggested his pork loins and butt roast would run approx. $2 somthing a pound. But pork chops would be around $4.99. I know butchers are more expensive from what I've heard through the grape vine but he said all his animals are not even injected and are natural. Raised kindly. He said he has certs for the proof of that...ect. He was sooo generous and not ONCE did I feel as though he was pushing me off the phone.

I told dh about it and was kinda bummed about our pricing..well dh thinks it's worth a trip as the butcher took 35min out of his day to talk to me on the phone answering all my questions.

The butcher also said he'd be willing to give us a deal if we purchased a large amount. He also has seafood, turkey, chicken, pork and beef. I told him we don't eat beef but would happily get some ground turkey and possibly some chicken.

I just don't want to walk in the butcher's shop and getting totally owned and hosed on prices because I know some people are just out to make a dollar... So what should I know going in?

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Happily married to my geek
Proud homeschooling, cloth diaperin, attached parenting, slinging, simplier, breastfeedin, sewing mama mades, christian and funky mama