Three Steps to Buying Your Pigs
Place a Deposit
Return Signed Contract
Plan for Pick Up or Shipping
The first thing you need to do is to get on our reserve list. These pigs are rare and are usually sold out long before they are born, so don't wait too long to reserve yours! Our reserve list has people who have signed a purchase contract and given us a deposit for a pig. We provide pigs first come, first served, based on customer's preferences.
Place a Deposit
For weaned piglets we require a 50% deposit to hold your place on our reserve list.
The easiest way to get on our reserve list is to mail the signed contract along with a check or money order to us. You can pay with a check by making it out to "Homegrown Acres" and mailing it to the address on our Contact page. Or if you wish you can use PayPal to provide your deposit. Click here for our PayPal page.
NOTE: Due to significant increases in feed and fuel this year we had to increase our prices. This is not something that makes us feel good but the fact is that costs are already up more than 40% over last fall and the USDA expects them to reach record prices this year. As of January, 2011, corn, soybeans and wheat hit 2 1/2 year highs with corn alone rising in price 85% since summer of 2011. Forecasts for winter feeds will continue this trend.
All hog breeders are going to be hit by higher costs and many may choose to cut corners to make it this year. The first place they will cut is on the quality of feed; several are talking about feeding restaurant and grocery scraps, outdated bread and other cheap feeds, but the quality of their hogs will reflect the lack of proper nutrition. That is not our plan.
We can absorb some of this cost as we are planting clover to improve our pastures but, since our pregnant sows' and piglets' nutritional needs can't be compromised, we do have to purchase balanced feed for them. We've decided to increase our prices an average of 15% to help cover some of the increased cost of breeding these wonderful hogs.
We hope you understand the need for this. We simply won't let our hogs become unhealthy because of higher feed costs as their health directly determines the health of their offspring. We only sell piglets that meet all of the qualities of good breeding hogs that will improve the U.S. herds. Low inbreeding and good conformance to standards are the hallmarks of our farm. Feel free to call other breeders and compare us to them. We know that our herds represent the best available.
Summer litters are sold out. We are now taking reservations for fall farrowed litters.
Prices for weaned piglets are:
$500 for Large Blacks
$450 for Gloucestershire Old Spots
$150 for cross piglets
We occasionally have bottle baby piglets due to various reasons. Because they generally become very attached to human contact, we only sell weaned bottle babies as breeders or pets (not feeders). We may donate them to well managed ecological parks or educational institutions; contact us if interested.
Return a signed contract. You can view and print it by clicking here.
When you provide a deposit to reserve your pig you will need to return a signed contract to us. This means that you are committing to the purchase of a pig; at that time your deposit will be treated according to the contract. Please print, fill in, sign and return the contract to us. Once we receive the contract and the deposit, we will place your name on our reserve list.
Plan for pick up or shipping.
We can generally give you an idea of when your pig will be available. Initially we can tell you when we anticipate to have litters. Once the sow is showing we can narrow that down to a better date; when the sow has the litter we can provide pick up dates. Please understand that we have no control over the number of gilts and boars born in each litter; you may have to wait for a later litter if the litters do not have enough gilts or boars for your order.
Obtain any necessary permits. If our pigs have to cross State or National borders to get from us to you, you will probably need a permit to import the pigs. Contact your State Department of Agriculture (or similar) to learn what you need; requirements vary. If you require a veterinary health certificate we will need appropriate notice to schedule that with our Veterinarian.
Get your pig! We ask that you pick up or have us ship your pig within seven days of the date that it is available (click here for directions to our farm). Please understand that we will not release a piglet until it is weaned. If we are to ship the pig to your farm we will work out the details with you.
Transporting your pig. 
If you are going to pick up your pig you will need appropriate transportation. All this really means is something that will keep the pig healthy until you get it back to your farm. Most people use large dog crates. You can easily transport up to three piglets this way as long as they have room to move around. You must also keep the pigs hydrated and warm. You can provide them with a bowl of water (heavy dog bowls work well), offer them water every few hours or just throw in some apple slices (hydration, great treat and fun all in one...). You will also want to line the crate with something to absorb their waste and odor; cedar chips that are available at Walmart do well. To keep them from becoming too hot or cold most people place the dog crate in the back of their SUV or wagon. We do not recommend transporting them in a trailer unless you are sure that the temperature within the trailer will not become less than 40 degrees or more than 80 degrees fahrenheit. Remember that they need clean airflow and the airflow and sunlight can significantly alter the temperature within the trailer from that outside. If you must stop overnight the pigs should be fine as long as the temperature remains within the parameters above (or you could try to sneak them into your hotel...)
Shipping. We can ship piglets via American Airlines from Northwest Arkansas airport (XNA). They connect through Dallas to just about everywhere in the world. You can get estimates of their rates at their website. Ground shipping may also be available. The cost is usually more than shipping by air but may be appropriate in the summer when the airline won't ship livestock (they won't allow livestock if the ground temperature at any stop is over 85 degrees).
Additional Fees: We don't intend to make money on vet and shipping but need to cover our costs. If you need a veterinary health certificate we bill the vet's fee and a transportation cost for each visit to the vet (if blood tests are required we have to make two trips). If we are shipping your piglets via air, we charge a fee for transportation to the airport, the airline shipping cost and for the cost of an airline approved kennel. The shipping cost and number of kennels is partly based on the number and weight of piglets shipped (if each piglet weighs less than 30 lbs at shipping we can ship two in one kennel). You will need to pay us for the cost before we can release the piglet(s) to American Airlines.
