Acorns = Better Pork

By feeding your hogs acorns, you can reduce your feeding costs and get better pork. Pigs can safely consume acorns as part of their diet, unlike other livestock. Pigs were historically pastured in woodlands in the fall to consume the falling nuts, chestnuts and acorns. This provided much benefit to the forest and was great for the hogs.

- Samuel Feldman

In fact, jamón ibérico, a type of cured leg of pork produced in Spain and Portugal and considered by many to be the world’s best ham, is produced from hogs that are fed nothing but grass and acorns. The resulting meat has a rich red color and excellent marbling and is very nutritious. Pigs raised on a diet high in acorns have high levels of omega 3s in their fat, making it similar to olive oil.

Acorn season runs from late August to October. Red and white oak trees are the two main varieties. White oaks are a better choice for hog feed since their acorns are less bitter. The rounded lobes on the leaves of white oaks are a telltale sign. Every year, they start sooner, but they lose their acorns very rapidly.

Conversely, red oaks are distinguished by the pointed lobes on their leaves and have a greater bitterness in their acorns. Every two years, red oak trees yield acorns; these acorns fall several weeks later and stay down for a longer amount of time. Both kinds of acorns could be utilized as fodder for hogs.