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by Barb Baylor Anderson
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Pennsylvania hog producer Barbara
Wiand, who received a SARE grant to explore new ways to market pork,
graced the cover of Successful Farming magazine as one of 10 “positive
thinkers.”
Photo courtesy of Successful Farming |
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Barbara Wiand, of Mifflinburg, Penn.,
retails her farm’s pork product from her back door, offering her an
outlet for value-added pork and the opportunity to work from home with
her young children close by. After their slaughter plant closed, she
organized area pork producers to begin shipping hogs together to another
plant, this one 175 miles away. That way, they could meet quota numbers
and defray trucking costs.
She
and her husband, Glenn, who were both raised on farms, live in a historic
house they call the Olde Stonehouse Farm on 240 acres in central Pennsylvania.
They raise 300 sows in a confinement crate system; each sow produces
2 1/2 litters per year. In groups of 20 to 25, their piglets remain
in pens through finishing.
Previously, they sold pork under a
contract, but fearing low hog prices and the changing structure of the
hog industry would negatively affect their operation, Wiand began looking
for ways to cover the risk. Beyond producing 7,000 market hogs per year,
Wiand wanted a more rewarding outlet for pork. She began to research
a marketing plan for value-added pork products, then used a SARE grant
to put the plan into place.
“I felt value-added pork would increase
farm income, allow us to maintain the same number of animals, improve
the quality of life and continue to be active in production agriculture,”
she said.
Wiand did research into all angles
of the plan and set the basic framework for the business. “It took nearly
two years to develop the products, labels and retail site,” she says.
“It takes a lot of work to determine where to slaughter and package
the meat and label and market it.”
She obtained a Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture certificate to sell meat as a retailer from her home
and also participates in area farmers markets. A local USDA-certified
packer processes the meat, which Wiand stamps with her own “Olde Stonehouse
Farm” label featuring a picture of the 1811 house. She has labels for
12 different products – smoked country bacon, Canadian bacon, boneless
ham and specialty sausages among them – along with a generic label that
can be used on fresh pork and even ultimately beef or lamb, if her business
expands.
Wiand’s retail shop, which is open
Thursday-Saturday, is registered with the state department of agriculture.
She currently slaughters one or two hogs per week for her local customers.
“Inventory management is challenging,”
she said. “It can be difficult to sell all of the cuts from every hog
every week.” Wiand works with federal prison procurement officials to
move pork at cost and is exploring opportunities to donate excess product
to community shelters and nursing homes.
Reaching into the community and being
able to help her family is the greatest reward of the business, Wiand
said. “I get to be with my kids and it feels good to be able to offer
top-quality pork products to people. I am leaving my options open to
grow the retail business or even explore ways to supply one or more
major grocery chains in our area. Every step requires finding the right
people to work with and convincing people your business is legitimate.”
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