LONE TREE

(This story was published in The News on Thursday, March 23, 2023.)

It does not get more local than this. Lone Tree has a gem in Yoder Family Farms, a neighborly supplier of Duroc pork. The farm is run by Chad and Tiffany Yoder and their three sons, Luke, Owen, and Adam. It’s inspired by Chad’s father, uncle, and grandfather, with deep ties to the community and an even bigger theme of family.

“A lot of people don’t know where their food comes from. And so, for us, it’s about making that connection as well, to say you can call me directly and I can walk you out to the barn and show you, this is how we’re raising your pork,” Chad Yoder said. “I think we have that connection and that’s important.”

Yoder’s grandfather moved to this area during the Great Depression, working as a farmer and pastor. Yoder’s father continued working on the farm, raising Yoder in the farming lifestyle. When Yoder went to college, his father stopped working on the farm to pursue other things. Yoder yearned to return to the lifestyle.

“The reason we’re doing it is for my sons. If one of them says, ‘Hey, I want to be a farmer,’ we can say, ‘If you want to do that, here’s your options,’” Yoder said. “I didn’t feel like that was an option for me.”

Yoder earned a doctorate degree in Swine Genetics at Iowa State University. It was in college that he first learned of the Duroc pig. Yoder then came back to the area and fulfilled a lifelong dream of raising his own pigs.

The main difference between Yoder’s farm and his father’s is the use of the Duroc pig, which grow quicker and are a dark red color. The Durocs raised at Yoder’s farm are more hardy than other pigs because they’re raised outside.

“Our pork is going to be a little darker, and have that marbling for better flavor,” Yoder said. “You go to a grocery store, you look at a porkchop, there’s probably not a lot of that in there. It’s maybe a little more pink, not a lot of white fat in there.”

The Durocs raised at Yoder Family Farms are 100% purebred. Some other farms raise Duroc mixes, but not many raise purebreds, according to Yoder. This is because purebred Durocs have smaller litters, slowing production.

Yoder had a passion for Durocs because of their increase in quality, compared to other breeds. It is a point of pride and a distinguishing feature between Yoder’s farm and others. Taking their time to have this better product is worth it for the Yoders.

“We started raising pigs again [about four years ago]. My dad raised pigs and then sold them to the main packing plants, and we decided to do something a little bit differently,” Yoder said. “We raise and focus on the meat quality side of it. We’re much smaller scale than even what my dad did 20 to 30 years ago.”

Although the scale is smaller than his father’s, there are still many pigs on the farm. When The News visited, there were 16 fully grown pigs and 60 more between seven and eight weeks old.

Because of the small size of the farm, not every pig can live there. That’s why there are 30 additional pigs where Yoder’s father resides. When pigs are ready to be sent to meat lockers, this is their final destination. It’s about a ten-month process from when Yoder plans on breeding pigs to when they’re ready to go.

Yoder would love to physically expand his farm so that he doesn’t have to make daily trips to do chores.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, taking pigs to the lockers has become tougher. They used to frequently bring around ten pigs at a time. Now, they try to take 35-40 less often to fight the tighter scheduling.

“Getting into your preferred locker at the times that you want used to be, you’d call a couple weeks ahead of time,” Yoder said. “[Now], it’s ten months. I breed a sow and say, those pigs should be ready ten months from now, and I call the locker and try to get dates in, and even then, it’s a challenge.”

The Yoder Family Farms product is sold locally and not shipped. It is delivered by Chop Local or picked up at the farm on Tuesdays and Saturdays. The product from Yoder Family Farms cannot be bought in stores or local markets either.

“Honestly, we would love to get into some stores with some of our product, and it’s really hard though,” Yoder said. “Chop Local has been really good as far as reaching more people, new people. And so that’s probably [our] biggest opportunity to keep building.”

Yoder Family Farms works to expand in other ways, especially by working with Diamond P Ranch, a bee farm in Blue Grass. The ranch picks up pigs every few months, selling them in a Quad City marketplace. 

“[Diamond P Ranch is] very helpful, and we’re always looking for these opportunities to work with others that are doing something differently than what we’re doing,” Yoder said.

Both Chad and Tiffany Yoder have jobs off the farm. Yoder does not think of his farm as a hobby, but as a passion and something he hopes will continue to grow. His other job helps him pursue this dream.

Off the farm, Yoder works as a consultant for an animal health company, which he can do from the comfort of home. This gives him a great deal of flexibility, especially since his farm is right outside.

“[Having two jobs is] time consuming and so, it’s a balance of making sure that you do your job to the best of your abilities and you’re meeting those standards so that your employer is still happy to employ you,” Yoder said.

At the farm, the Yoders decide which pigs will breed, what they eat, where they sleep, and more. They provide the pigs with their vaccines to keep them healthy. All of this is aided by Yoder’s animal health experience.

Currently on Chop Local, you can find a few different shirts for sale along with pork shoulder and options for a half and whole hog. If you want anything like bacon or sausage, you can contact the farm directly for special orders.

Yoder hopes the farm will be a mainstay in the Lone Tree community for a long time and will continue to pursue growth in every possible avenue.