Brothers Keith and Lindsey Johnson are third-generation farmers outside of Gibbon. In 2006, Lindsey married his wife, Naomi. Keith and Naomi’s sister, Anna, were married in 2013.
Naomi and Lindsey operate Piggery Run Farm. They raise farrow to finish pigs and sell Berkshire pork. Anna and Keith own Blissful Bee Pastures. Their cows and sheep are raised and finished on pasture.
Anna said their farm’s fourth generation factored into her interest in raising grass-fed animals.
The two families have a total of 13 children, and Anna recalled being able to open up a new paddock for her sheep just one day before giving birth to her twins. She noted the sheep are gentle, especially the ewes.
Along with doing well on pasture, her British white cattle are also gentle animals and don’t spook easily.
While their first sheep were purchased with an intent to be finished on corn, Anna wondered about grass finishing.
They gave it a try, and both Anna and Naomi agree the grass-finished lamb had a less “sheepy” flavor.
“We were sold,” Anna said.
Anna has a doctorate in plant pathology, and through projects funded through the Sustainable Agriculture Demonstration Grant Project, she has completed research determining differences in meat quality and nutritional value between pasture-finished and feedlot ration-finished lambs, as well as benefits from different pasture types.
“There’s always something to learn on the farm,” she said.
Their cows play an important part in the sheep’s health, Anna said. Parasites can kill sheep; however, cows eat sheep parasites and are not affected. Likewise, sheep can eat cow parasites. The two animals also help to maintain a balanced mix of diverse plant species in the pasture.
With that unique symbiosis in mind, Anna said her business is about a lot more than sheep and cows.
“If our pastures can be a working ecosystem with a diversity of birds and insects and butterflies and blissful bees, then that’s where we want to be.”
Naomi’s introduction into raising pigs was slightly happenstance. In 2014, she took on a runt from a neighbor and discovered she really enjoyed the experience.
“We ended up getting four or five feeders from them, as well,” she said.
After taking some time off to raise her children, she brought pigs back to the farm in 2019 and officially started the Piggery Run Farm.
Like her sister, Naomi prefers to allow her animals to enjoy the outdoors. Noting that pigs don’t handle the sun the same way sheep and cattle do, she said they require more indoor access. She also ensures they have mud puddles to wallow in to cool down in warmer months. “It makes me happy to see them happy.”
Barley is the base grain in the growers’ diets, and they are also fed field peas. Having consulted with a nutritionist, Naomi also feeds soy to the sows as she stated the amino acids are beneficial to them.
It’s important to Naomi that the pork she sells has a consistent meat quality and taste, and so she maintains the genetics accordingly.
Both businesses allow the option for customers to purchase their products directly from their farms.
Naomi said: “There’s a lot of trust built with face-to-face connection when you’re selling locally produced anything.”
In addition, Anna sells meat cuts at the New Ulm Community Market and Cooperative. Naomi provides some delivery and shipping options, as well.
Piggery Run Farm customers have whole or half hog purchase options, and they can also purchase individual cuts and “choose your own adventure” quarter, half and whole pork bundles.
Customers can choose a product from each of the following categories: chops, shoulder, ham, belly, and trim.
“I like to guide them through the process of ordering half or whole or a quarter because I feel like it’s more comfortable. And then they have the choice of what they want to do with it,” Naomi said.
She also includes on her website a variety of pork recipes that she describes as simple and delicious.
Biscuits and gravy casserole, slow cooker sweet ribs, and split pea and ham soup are a few of the meal ideas that she offers.
Naomi said cooking methods can make a difference in taste and overall satisfaction.
One of her favorite cuts is a pork chop and when the weather is right, she prefers to grill.
She includes step-by-step instructions on her website and noted her top tip is to pay attention to temperature.
She recommends not cooking them much higher than 145 degrees.
Anna noted lamb is not as popular of a protein in this particular region but emphasized leg of lamb is delicious.
She said years ago she was initially worried about wrecking a cut of lamb by incorrectly cooking it but has since mastered the process.
To eliminate some of the uncertainty that can come with preparing a new type of meat, she provides customers with a multi-page handout.
There is a variety of information including general similarities between lamb cuts and a beef equivalent. (Leg of lamb is noted as a rough equivalent to a beef rump roast.)
The handout also provides cooking temperature information and tips on cooking methods related to each particular cut of meat.
She emphasizes placement of the meat thermometer is important and not to rely solely on cooking time guidelines.
Some of the recipes she shares include basic braised lamb shoulder roast, Moroccan-spiced lamb chops, and roasted leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary.
Ordering and contact information can be found on their business websites.
Piggery Run Farm’s website is piggeryrunfarm.com/. Blissful Bee Pastures website is blissfulbeepasturesmn.com/.