Boe Farms Specializes in Raising Hogs for Roasting in Moselle, Mississippi

In partnership with: Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce

Boe Farms has been in business for over 29 years in Moselle, Mississippi, and has developed a well-deserved reputation for producing and perfecting roasting hogs.

“All the hogs that make the pork we’re using are born here in Mississippi and raised on our farm,” says Sean Boe, owner of Boe Farms. “It’s all Mississippi product, and we’ll put the quality of the taste up against anyone.”

See more: Mississippi’s Home Place Pastures Sells Fresh Meat Direct to Consumers

Just Warming Up

Boe’s father moved to Mississippi from Wisconsin when Boe was 12 years old, and the family remained dairy farmers during his childhood. But his dad had always dabbled in raising pigs, even selling a few to local stores. While Boe was employed with the U.S. Navy, his father, uncle and grandfather officially entered the hog business and began renting a processing plant in Houston, Texas.

When the 13-hour round-trip drive was no longer sustainable, the family members found a plant nearby to purchase and the business grew from there. Boe joined in shortly after his return from the Navy.

Boe Farms purchases baby pigs at around 30 pounds and feeds them until they reach the desired weight. They aim for hogs with a hanging weight between 25 and 110 pounds, which is the ideal weight range for roasting pigs.

Having their own hog farm as well as their own U.S. Department of Agriculture certified processing facility is what allows the Boe family to enter this niche market. “There’s nobody else that sells a roasting pig like that,” Boe says. “Restaurants will ask for hogs at certain weights, but if you don’t have a farm you can pull from and grow them, it’s about impossible to hit those marks.”

In the early years of the operation, Boe estimates they were processing approximately 50 head each week. These days, they average 700 head per week, with 500 of those being roasting pigs and the remainder for halves and retail cuts.

Nature & Nurture

The pigs are raised on the farm 2 ½ hours away from the processing facility and transported as needed.

“We’re very strict on the way the hogs are taken care of,” Boe says. “We’re responsible for them, and we’ve got to treat them right.”

Boe Farms follows the standards set by the National Pork Board, and their employees receive training on the proper methods of handling hogs to decrease their stress and enable them to thrive in a comfortable environment.

Thanks to a hybrid breed with specific traits selected from a variety of breeds, Boe says the feed conversion rates are phenomenal and the quality of meat is constantly improving. The feed is specially formulated to result in maximum efficiency, and computers in each barn open vents and turn on fans based on the humidity levels to keep the pigs comfortable.

See more: The Wild Hog Youth Trapping Corps Wrangles Mississippi Wild Hogs

This Little Piggy Went to Market

It was initially word of mouth that created Boe Farms’ market.

“Our primary customers are Chinese and Vietnamese stores in cities,” Boe says. “But once the word got around, we never had to advertise.”

They currently run routes servicing Mississippi, Alabama and Florida Gulf Coasts as well as major cities like Dallas, Atlanta, New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

“One thing we always hear is that our pork’s taste is really good compared to a lot of them,” Boe says. “We should always support our local agriculture, and Mississippi is right there with the rest of them with the quality of pork.”

Learn more about the farm at boefarms.com.