Red Wattle Pigs – Preserving our Heritage
One of the programs we are so excited about at Rosy Tomorrows Heritage Farm is our effort to preserve Heritage breeds, those rare and endangered breeds not used by large factory-like meat suppliers. We maintain a group, or sounder, of Red Wattle Pigs and these are the only breed of pigs we raise. These remarkable animals were discovered and bred in the early 1970’s in remote East Texas. A small population has been maintained at just a handful of breeders around the US since then. The last formal count found only 42 breeding pairs, and we’re proud to have brought these unique animals to Southwest Florida.
But why does Heritage matter? These rare breeds aren’t just another source of pork, they’re an important part of our American roots, and help preserve the biodiversity that keeps our agriculture strong and viable. When big factory farms around the world only raise one breed of animal, it maximizes consistency and production, but also makes the animals much more susceptible to rampant disease, minimizes flavor, and is economically and environmentally irresponsible. Biodiversity makes sense and best of all, it tastes great! Try our organically-raised and pastured Red Wattle pork and we know you’ll agree. Red Wattles are also excellent Floridian farm animals, flourishing in our hot, dry winters, and tropical wet summers. They are friendly, intelligent and lack the aggression of other pig breeds. It’s hard not to fall in love with the cute piglets as they snort and root. Kids love to watch their antics! The meat also provides many health benefits as compared to mass produced pork. The richly colored meat is particularly lean, yet marbled, wonderfully full flavored, deep and savory. It’s color and flavor are more like beef rather than the other white meat. Red wattle pork has even won awards from organizations including Slow Food USA, and is a favorite of renowned Chef Mario Batali.
At Rosy Tomorrows Heritage Farm our pigs are open pastured and in addition to their foraged feed they only receive certified organic feed that contains no soy, and is GMO-free. They are the healthiest and happiest pigs you will ever meet. We hope you’ll come and visit our local Southwest Florida farm and our heritage animals so that we can continue to develop America’s history of agricultural stewardship and enrichment. See, hear, and taste what it’s like when it’s done right. We hope you’ll enjoy a trip to our family farm to learn more about these amazing animals.
