Overview

Natural pork products contain no artificial ingredients and are no more than minimally processed. Producers involved in raising natural pork have several marketing options. Some opt for direct marketing to consumers using the Internet or local advertising. Others market pork directly to local foodservice outlets, supermarkets or natural food stores.  July 2012 . . . Natural Pork

Marketing

•  Global Agricultural Trade System, Foreign Ag Service, USDA.
• Hogs, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA.
• Factors Affecting Pork Consumption, ERS, USDA, 2005 - Pork ranks third in annual U.S. meat consumption. This report analyzes existing and potential pork consumption trends using demographic data.
• Pork: Marketing Alternatives, Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), NCAT, 2004 - This publication offers producers alternative marketing approaches, such as direct or niche marketing, for their pork.
• USDA Establishes Naturally Raised Marketing Claim Standard, Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA, 2009.

Processing/Manufacturing

• American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP) - Representing more than 1,300 small- and medium-sized meat, poultry and food businesses.
• Food Labeling Procedures, U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
• North American Meat Processors Association - NAMP is a nonprofit trade association that provides information and technical services to the meat processing industry.

Production

• Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, Beltsville, Maryland -  AFSIC provides information on organic food production, sustainable agriculture and community-supported agriculture. AFSIC is supported, in part, by USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program.   
• Mark Honeyman, Professor, Iowa State Research Farms, Iowa State University, Ames, Phone: 515-294-4621, Email: honeyman@iastate.edu.
• John McGlone, Director, Animal Care Services, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Phone: 806-742-2805, Ext. 246, Email: john.mcglone@ttu.edu.
• Managing for Herd Health in Alternative Swine Systems: A Guide, Practical Farmers of Iowa, 2007 - This guide was funded with a grant from the North Central Region of SARE, NIFA, USDA.
• Production Research on Economics and Profitability; Hoop Systems, Environment and Welfare Issues; Food and Meat Quality; Growth Performance.
• Profitable Pork: Strategies for Hog Producers, 2001 - The Sustainable Agriculture Network provides examples of producers using alternative production methods.

Businesses/Case Studies

• Niman Ranch markets pork from Midwest family farmers. Pigs are raised on open pasture, given deeply bedded pens and fed natural ingredients. Pigs are not given any antibiotics or other artificial growth promotants.
• Prairie Grove Farms, DeKalb, Illinois - These farms provide USDA-certified, 100 percent antibiotic-free pork. The animals are bred for quality and fed for health.
• Swedish-Style Hog Production in Minnesota, Profitable Pork: Strategies for Hog Producers, SARE, NIFA, USDA.

Links checked July 2012.