Both Sides of the Fork

Welcome back (we’ve made some changes)!

First off, we (my father and I) would like to apologize for not writing a single blog post for the past 15 months. In our defense, the family has been going through some significant changes. In those 15 months the three boys – myself, Ryan, and Trent – graduated from college, high school, and grade school, respectively. Kate married Adam, became a Howerzyl, and moved to Orange City, Iowa. Ryan and Trent changed schools with Ryan attending Trinity Christian College and Trent starting at Pella Christian. Meanwhile, I graduated from Dordt, moved to Des Moines, and started my professional career as an intern at the National Pork Board in their domestic marketing department. So needless to say, change is in the air!

Now I should probably explain how this blog is changing. We stopped turning out the blog due to Dad’s busyness with the farm and me no longer working there. I am now living in in downtown Des Moines; working as the marketing coordinator for the National Pork Board. Instead of working for my father directly, I am now working for all of America’s pork producers. And that leads to some fun stories about what is happening on this side of the fork (hence the blog’s name change).

So that’s what has inspired this shift. I want to utilize this blog to bring pork production full circle. Moving forward, all of my blogs will have a focus on what is happening in the food service and retail industries relating to pork. For example, last week I had the opportunity to attend the National BBQ Association Conference and sample some excellent pork! Personally, I was already planning on exploring and experiencing all aspects of these industries. After some further thought, my father and I determined that it makes sense to showcase them here.

But wait! Does this mean we will no longer be getting stories from the farm? Absolutely not! Over dinner this past weekend Dad and I agreed to do a bi-weekly writing schedule. So every other week one of us will be writing a post. Dad will capture the happenings of the farm while I will be doing my thing. Sound cool? I hope so!

Why are we doing this? In short, because we think that is important to see the bigger picture of pork. If you’re a producer, then it is good to see where your product is going. If you’re a consumer, then it is important to understand what the producer is doing to ensure a quality product. It is my hope that you agree and are eager to see where this goes. So take a seat and dig on in as we show you both sides of the fork!

Cory VG

Comments

Backing Away from Basics

How many times have you said to yourself or to others that there is a need to get back to basics? A return to the basics can help us realign with the fundamental principles of the task at hand. It’s generally very helpful. When I was struggling in a sport, I often backtracked to the fundamentals to discovered my point of error. Other’s use it in work, family life, and in cooking. Unfortunately, I believe that we have remained a bit too basic in our approach to pork. Go to a retail store and you will see the same cuts that have been available for the past 30 years. You will see chops, shoulder and loin roasts, tenderloins, ham steaks, etc. Now there is nothing wrong with those cuts as they present a myriad of cooking opportunities. But the wonderful pig produces so much more! Take for example some of the dishes we served this week at a pork education event. We made street tacos out of pork steaks (it’s the Spinalis muscle if you want to get technical). We made Chulet

Can you power wash?

Can you power wash? It may seem odd, but this is often one of the first questions I ask someone interviewing for a job with us. There are generally two reasons for asking this question. The first is practical in nature. Pigs can kind of be like your kids sometimes, leaving a mess where ever they go. This makes power washing a frequent event especially in the farrowing house. Grant does a good job of making sure the next mom has a clean place to have her babies. The second reason is it may give you an idea of the persons work ethic. If they hesitate or try to appear that they are “over qualified” to power wash that may be a red flag. All jobs here are important, whether you are in charge of the books or cleaning farrowing pens, what you are doing is vital to the success of the farm. Last week I talked about getting projects done. We took advantage of the Labor day weekend to get one of those projects done. The white stripes went

Merry Christmas!

Christmas has finally arrived here at VG Farms. It is finally white and actually looks like Christmas. Before I go on, let me issue an apology for the lack of blog posts these past few weeks. Between my end-of-semester finals and my father’s busy work-load, it has been difficult to find the time to write. So consider this special Christmas edition a gift from us to you. As any family does, the Van Gilst’s hold several Christmas traditions. Some are small and informal – like watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation at least a half dozen times. Others are a bit more significant – such as gathering with each side of the family (Van Gilst and Branderhorst) to celebrate the holidays alongside grandparents, aunts and uncles, and an endless supply of cousins. We watch the Iowa Hawkeyes play in their bowl game (fingers crossed for a victory in a few days) and occasionally us boys will head off to Iowa City to catch some hoops. Whatever it may be, there is never a dull moment ov

Both Sides of the Fork

Search This Blog