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Agri News
"We're in the unique situation where the market is demanding more Niman
Ranch pigs than we can provide right now,'' said Willis, manager of Niman
Ranch Pork Company. "We could sell 40 percent more pigs if the pigs were
available.''
Niman Ranch pays a $7 to $15 premium over the market for producers who are
certified to sell to them, said Willis, who raises pigs at Willis Free
Range Pig Farm near Thornton.
"The Iowa Pork Industry Center did a study that showed we paid the best
price, but we expect certain things for that premium,'' he said. "The
traditional market penalizes producers for raising what we feel are good
tasting hogs. The type of pig Niman Ranch wants grows well, is resistant to
diseases and has a good appetite. Our personal goal is to provide the best
tasting pork in the world and provide a robust market for family farmers
who want to raise pigs the 'all natural' way."
Willis said Niman Ranch producers raise pigs because they like raising
pigs. Some farmers who quit pork production because they didn't want to go
the confinement route started raising pigs again when they found out about
Niman Ranch. For others, it has given them an opportunity to start raising
pigs without a huge investment.
Farmers who sell to Niman Ranch must be company certified. They must adhere
to the guidelines established by the Animal Welfare Institute, which
include farrowing sows in huts or pens, weaning at five weeks of age,
providing bedding for all animals and giving them access to the outdoors.
No antibiotics or growth-promoting hormones can be used, and no meat or
meat byproducts can be fed.
Niman Ranch pork is processed at Sioux Preme Packing Co. in Sioux Center.
It is shipped fresh to the East and West coasts. Farmers are responsible
for transporting hogs to the plant, but Niman Ranch has several country
collection points and often helps arrange truck loads.
The company prefers that all pigs be brought to market between 240 and 280
pounds. Sioux Preme has developed a pricing grid especially for the type of
pig Niman Ranch wants so farmers can receive an additional premium based on
the quality of carcasses.
Bill Niman, owner of Niman Ranch, met Willis in 1994. He soon started
buying all the pork for his meat company from Willis. When demand grew and
Willis couldn't supply all the pigs himself, he got neighboring farmers
involved. Today Niman Ranch pork is raised by nearly 150 certified farm
families throughout the Midwest.
Niman Ranch pork is featured on menus of restaurants on the East and West
coasts. The company also offers a line of processed products sold to
several national natural foods grocery chains.
Dennis and Eve Abbas of Hampton farrow to finish about 600 pigs annually
and sell most of them to Niman Ranch.
Abbas has sold to Niman Ranch for three years, and said it's helped his
operation.It wasn't difficult to meet Niman specifications because they
were doing most of them already.
"I have a real feeling of satisfaction knowing that I'm raising a premium
product for a sector of the population that wants a quality product,''
Abbas said.
Willis sees Niman Ranch as an opportunity to reinvent agriculture.
"I had a visitor from Greece and he told me Cerro Gordo County probably has
more good soil than the entire country of Greece, but they export food,''
Willis said. "Greek farmers raise 500 kinds of grapes, 125 kinds of olives
and every valley has unique varieties of corn and tomatoes. He said if they
had land like ours they'd feed the world. The world does not need more corn
and soybeans, especially GMO corn and soybeans. You have to grow something
that the consumer wants. If you don't, you're wasting time and resources.''
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