Hog Breeders Association Seeks Regional Membership
by March 16, 2015 12:00 am 107 views
In the making for years, the Boston Mountain Hog Breeder’s Association is now up and running and accepting members. The organization has created bylaws, a constitution, and breed standards, and has applied for 501(c)(5) status with the Internal Revenue Service.
Association founder Rose Konold, also owner of Mason Creek Farm just south of Fayetteville, said there were a lot of twists and turns in establishing the association.
“It’s been a huge learning experience,” she said.
The goal is to create a network that can supply the immediate market with pork.
“We can be national, but what we’re really shooting for is regional,” Konold said.
Konold said the association already has seven members: three from Northwest Arkansas, two from Kansas City, and one each from Little Rock and Oklahoma City. There are two kinds of members: growers, who fatten hogs, and producers, who breed hogs.
A Tamworth-Berkshire mix, the Boston Mountain Hog is a long-bodied pig with a broad loin and a big shoulder. It produces marbling, ribboned bacon, and medium-dark meat. The Boston Mountain Hog has been bred for maximum potential in an outdoor setting.
Boston Mountain looks to maintain not only quality standards, but humane standards high enough to be designated Animal Welfare Approved.
Konold said the association has contracts with gourmet grocer D’Artagnan, cured meats producer La Quercia, and fat producer Fatworks.