I do not do this kind of thing on any blog very often, but that means if I am plugging someone, especially for free you should take a note or two. Hillside Heritage Farm is a small farm over in Garrard County Kentucky, not far from the river the same name located out on some rolling hills with an appropriate enough name. It is owned by John and Dorothy Contini and I am proud to claim them, along with the three kids as friends.
The farm is much as I would like to envision myself with someday and indeed was where I was headed before some setbacks a few years ago. Matter of fact, I am PROUD to say that I sold John and Clay their first four gilts that got that whole huge operation they have going over there off the ground. I will also note it was me and Clay that made a trip to upstate New York to retrieve the main boar in their herd of Tamworths. And later when I had to get out, the ended up with the remaining stock there as well.
So the farm is multifaceted, but the primary focus is raising pork. The pork is raised largely on pasture, with out antibiotics, steroids and especially not any hormones. It takes just a little bit longer for the pork to get up to a good size for eating, but the extra wait is well the worth the full flavor you will get and without any adverse contaminates or such as that. Currently the predominate breed is the Tamworth, a bacon type of hog that is considered a heritage breed as well as fairly rare. Last I was over there I believe there were Big Blacks and Berkshires as well.
John and the family have set up and done fairly well with farmers markets over the summer in various locations and have plans to resume that in the spring at the earliest point they can. In the meantime check out the website at Hillside Heritage Farm. Give them a call or shoot an email over to John. I know they have some stuff available almost all the time and would probably bring it to Danville of a decent sized order and I am pretty sure he still has a few hogs that go whole or half on the hoof available at current time.
** – I STOLE that picture right off the website, its Hannah out playing with the pigs in the pasture.