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Our pigs don't stay in one place. We rotate them frequently between pastures. This practice is literally saving the earth. Here's why: All grassland ecology is built around roving herds, because roving is what herds do! Our North American ecology depended on bison, who roamed constantly.  When Barbed Wire was invented, grasslands were fenced in. Herds didn't rotate. This was bad for the land as we saw overgrazing destroy land, leading to erosion, weeds, compaction, and more.    It also removed annual fires, which would remove weeds, reset the land, and provide nutrients for the soil.    For these reasons and...

These are Andouille Sausages, from pork raised by hand on our farm, Acorn Bluff Farms, in Southeast Iowa. Andouille is a pork sausage, often supplemented with onions, garlic, and seasoning.What you may not know, is that Andouille has followed an evolutionary trail. Andouille (pronounced An-Doo-ee), was first created in the French areas of Brittany and Normandy. Butchers were looking to use the whole animal, and found that tripe and chittlings (often considered an unwanted cut) imparted a tremendous flavor to meat. These butchers began experimenting with flavorings, and settled on their own, secret recipes. These recipes often involved onion, garlic,...

California passed a law in 2018 that added new requirements for pigs to be raised humanely, leading to breathtaking headlines with titles like "Is bacon really banned in California?" and "California's New Animal Welfare Law Could Mean the End of Bacon" as the law roles out in 2021. The law potentially reduces the percentage of pork that can be sold in California by 85% or more, and will raise the price of bacon, hams, and sausage by 50% or more. More expensive pork will affect everyone from restaurants to trips to the grocery store.    Side note: You can buy bacon...

Mangalitsa Bacon differs from classic bacon in many ways, including its fat content, how it is cured, and how it tastes! Mangalitsa Bacon comes from Mangalitsa pigs, a breed of pigs often called "wooly pigs" or "Mangalica" that produce a distinctive and tasty pork. Mangalitsa pork is known for being the best tasting pork breed, and its bacon is no different. Genetics add flavor, fat contributes to taste , and Mangalitsa Bacon has more fat,  and genetically good taste, in a different ratio to lean cuts, than more traditional bacon that you might buy in stores. Breakfast is different (in...

  We started raising Mangalitsa pork on our farm in Southeast Iowa 5 years ago. Since, we have continued to expand our operations and now are shipping our pork all over the country. Mangalitsa is known as arguably the best tasting pork in the world. The breed was originally imported from Hungary (or more properly, the Austro-Hungarian empire) and has continued to grow across the United States as people realize that there is an entirely new flavor of pork for them to taste.  We are offering Mangalitsa feeder pigs for sale, and now are offering lineaged, Mangalitsa adult sows and boars for...

Heritage and traditional pork tastes better than what you buy in the grocery store, and it really isn't close. The average pork chop from a heritage pork breed has more marbling, fatty flavor, tenderness, and a redder color due to superior genetics and a longer time to market than contemporary pork. There are a variety of heritage breeds that produce this high quality pork-including Berkshires (or Kurobota), Mangalitsa (which we sell), Spots, Tamworth, Yorkshire, Durocs, and Spots.  Buy Locally One great way to buy pork locally is to identify a farmer in your area. You can always Google "local pork...

Everyone from the Wall Street Journal to the NY Times  knows that Mangalitsa is the best tasting pork in the world. What the world may not know, however, is the breadth and variety of Mangalitsa (sometimes called Mangalica) pork available. We raise Mangalitsa, sustainably, on a farm in Southeast Iowa. With every pig we butcher, we strive to ensure that we use every piece of the pig, from the bacon to the lard. On our store, most every cut is available. Below, we highlight a few of our most popular options. We ship nationwide.      Mangalitsa Pork Chops- Order Today Our...

      We first started raising Mangalitsa Pork in Iowa over 5 years ago. Since then, our farm has grown dramatically. We now are  -Shipping nationwide -Have our own line of Merch, including these awesome retro farmer hats.  -Grilling, barbecuing, and sous videing our way to even better tasting Mangalitsa. The fat is also leading to us making our own lard.  -We continue to uphold the highest bar for production. We now are also selling feeder Mangalitsa stock for those who are interested.  With the continued expansion, we soon plan to launch Acorn Bluff Home. This will take our...