Carving out a niche
KERKHOVEN, Minn. — The young hogs oinking away are a source of pride for Ruth and Jeff Goldenstein.
The white faces, feet and tails on the otherwise black pigs mark them as Berkshires, a breed that nearly disappeared but is undergoing a renaissance. At a time when pork is promoted as “The Other White Meat” and lean reigns supreme, Berkshires are a step back in time. Their meat is redder and marbled like a beef steak.
That makes it juicier, more flavorful and more tender, according to chefs, consumers and the family farmers who are part of a small but growing movement toward tastier pork.
As small-scale pork producers look for ways to compete against a few big packers, they’re carving out niches, developing markets abroad and finding customers at home willing to pay extra for a premium product. Some specialize in heirloom breeds such as the Berkshire. Others offer natural or organic pork and more humane treatment of their animals. Some hog farmers sell directly to the public.
The overall niche pork market is small enough that that U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn’t keep statistics on it, said Mildred Haley, a pork analyst with the agency. But she and other industry observers agreed it is expanding.
About 1,500 to 2,000 Berkshire hogs go to market weekly across the country, according to Pete Hoffman, an animal science professor at Iowa State University and president of the American Berkshire Association.
Most of the pork goes to Japan, where it is known as Kurobuta pork. Customers there prize the higher fat content of the meat, which parallels Kobe beef. It was Japanese demand that sparked the breed’s comeback, Hoffman said.
The Goldensteins are part of Six Point Berkshire, a marketing group made up of 35 small-scale producers in southwestern Minnesota, named for the distinctive white extremities on the breed. The group sends 95 percent of its production to Japan.
Six Point Berkshire markets about 30,000 to 35,000 head annually, but its goal is to reach 40,000 to 45,000 in the next two years, said Gene Goldenstein, a cousin of Jeff Goldenstein who runs the group.
“We could be selling three times as much Berkshire as what we’re selling right now — no problem,” he said. “The demand is just phenomenal.”
But ramping up production takes time, Gene Goldenstein said. Berkshires produce smaller litters and grow slower than more common breeds, and Six Point uses only its own in-house breeding stock.
Because most Berkshire pork is exported, it’s rare to find it in stores, but several companies sell it over the Internet, where an 8-ounce chop can fetch $5 to $15.
And it’s turning up across the country in acclaimed restaurants, which often sell it under the flashier Japanese name Kurobuta.
“It’s a great, versatile product,” said Tom Boyce, chef de cuisine at Spago Beverly Hills in California. “… It’s definitely one of our favorite things to cook out here. It’s God’s favorite animal as far as I’m concerned.”
Another player in the niche pork business is Niman Ranch, which markets free-range natural pork produced by about 500 farm families in 12 states, concentrated in the Midwest.
“I like to say our animals are raised, they’re not manufactured,” said Paul Willis, who runs Niman Ranch’s pork operations from his farm in Thornton, Iowa.
Niman now ships about 3,000 hogs per week, he said. They end up at retail markets and restaurants across the country, including Whole Foods Markets in some eastern states and Chipotle Mexican Grills nationwide. The hogs are generally crossbreeds, instead of purebreds, and they can’t be too lean, he said.
Farmers who are part of Niman Ranch agree to follow strict protocols that prohibit antibiotics, growth-promoting hormones and feed containing meat or meat byproducts.
“I get a chance to travel around the country and talk to chefs,” Willis said. “I don’t know how many times people told me, ‘I don’t know what you do, but this is the best pork I’ve ever tasted in my life.”’