We don’t do anything unless we are proud of it… and we are really proud of the pastured pork we are raising at Five Marys. This week, we officially became one of only two ranches in the state who are “Prop 12 Compliant” which means we meet the new animal welfare standards for all pork sold in California. This means our sows have plenty of space to farrow in our maternity barn we built specifically for birthing piglets as comfortably and safely as possible year round. Prop 12 is a proposition that was passed in 2018 by the voters in California that required any pork products sold in the state (even if they are raised elsewhere) have been raised with at least 24 square feet of space to farrow and nurse. Our program of course has always exceeded these standards as most pastured operations do but it took a lot of time, legwork and paperwork to officially attain certification – maybe more than it should of because we were one of the first. The second ranch to be certified is our neighbor, Richie and his family, in the pasture next to us who raises and farrows pigs for us too. If you order from us, you’ll now see a note on your order confirmation that Five Marys pork is prop 12 certified! *we had to go through this process despite the fact we are far more than compliant to continue to sell pork in California, but it’s very possible prop 12 may get overturned by the US Supreme Court.