fpr2006 - 3/30/2024 08:40 I must have quit farrowing around the same time you did. I always remember the home raised chops as being almost as good as a beef steak. When we went to custom feeding we would either be given a pig or butcher a downer. It just seemed like those pigs weren't as good. It seemed to me they were too lean. Over the last 10 years I have bought Berkshire pork from different neighbors. There is a difference in the quality of the fat and marbling but the Berks are always fatter and better tasting. The premium you pay varies even more. My current source charges a flat $50/head plus the market price. I would say that is well worth it.
40-30 years ago the Pork industry was on a HUGE push towards being Lean. Packers paid big premiums for lean hogs.
Fast forward to about 2010 or so and they started to realize they went too far. In the past decade most packers have either severely reduced or even entirely eliminated their lean premiums.
The push for the past 5 or so years has been towards meat quality with lots of packers pushing for Duroc boars. I'm not crazy about feeding the hogs sired by the Durocs but from the meat in my freezer I would say its better than the boar lines we've used prior. Its good eating with a fair amount of marbling in the pork chops.
| 
Berkshire Pork
