Preferred Meats Farmer Network:

 

Kelly Biensen- Eden Farm's

interview by John Paul Khoury,CCC

Corporate Chef, PREFERRED MEATS, Inc.

 

Kelly Biensen has been called the “Will Rogers of Niche Pork” and the “Godfather of Berkshire”. He is the founder and general manager of Eden Farms Certified Berkshire Pork and on any given day he can be found evaluating genetics traits in Berkshire sires for breeding, on the line at the plant supervising the processing of his hogs, or even hand delivering Berkshire pork to local Des Moines chefs. His pork is featured on the menus of some of the finest restaurants in the country and has also made its way into the Iron Chef America competition. Kelly was gracious enough to tell us his story. 

 

When did you start in the industry?

I grew up on a farm. There is no better place to grow up than on a farm, I loved it!

There is always something to do on the farm. You learn how to work and you have a lot of play too!  When you grow up learning how to work in that environment you develop a certain ethic and it has the tendency to make you a solid adult with values, work ethic, and integrity. When you say the word neighbor on a farm it’s different than in the city perhaps- neighbors pitched in and worked together to survive. To have a good neighbor you need to be a good neighbor. I think there are less neighbor squabbles in farming communities because we have to count on each other a lot, at least now that the Hatfield and McCoy thing is over!

 

 

What drew you to the industry, and why become a farmer?

I grew up raising animals and even now it’s still hard to harvest them because you spend so much time helping them be healthy and survive. When I was 14 I started raising Berkshire pigs. I took the market litter to the county fair there were 10 pigs, and 8 turned out to be gilts and then we started breeding them- we’d cross breed for the market at first- conventional market hogs really. Then when I was about 17 my dad and I started raising pure Berkshire hogs. 

 

Even through the rocky agricultural times I always loved the ideals of farming. Out of the catastrophe of being jilted by a bad commodity market was born our own project of raising certified Berkshires for market under our own label- Eden Farms. We knew the Japanese had being savoring Kurobuta (Japanese name for Berkshire, it means ‘black pig’) for years. We banked on the small family farms aspect of our business and we moved forward. The rest is history. 

 

 

Why Berkshire?

The Berkshires are like dual purpose dairy cows. For example, if you want the most milk you raise Holstein; highest butter fat, Jerseys; both quality meat carcass and milk- Milking Short Horn. So with pigs the Berks are kind of dual purpose in that the sows are docile and have good maternal instincts, the litters although small have low mortality rates- they grow well and the meat quality is good; actually we really didn’t know how good it was at the time until you compare it to other pork, lets say at a friends house or such, then you realize this is stuff is more than good, its pretty great! Some other hogs like Landrace can have larger litters, but they tend to grow slower and in general the meat isn’t all that good.

 

Our sows and sires are all pedigree certified Berkshire from the NABA (North American Berkshire Assoc.) Berkshires are larger framed without additional back fat, they have more mobility, and our meat quality is more consistent across the board. It’s a combo of genetics and environment. You need the right breeding stock and they need to have the environment to naturally act like pigs and get the right feed.

 

I’m looking for large graceful hogs to breed that have good weight to them. Even with that weight the gracefulness of movement indicates that the hog is not having excessive muscle strain, these are qualities that you want to pass on genetically- it makes your pork better and more consistent. Excessively strained muscles do not make for good eating.

 

 

Did you have formal AG education?

Iowa State University– it has a really long tradition of agriculture. I graduated with a BS in animal science- it was the 2nd best animal science university in the US behind Cornell when I graduated. It really was top notch.

 

 

 

What makes a great piece of pork?

Simply put: Genetics. Berkshire traits include smaller finer constricted meat fibers that results in better mouth feel and moisture retention- the more constricted the fiber the harder it is to cook moisture out and it will be more tender. Berkshire also has it own great flavor. Moisture retention, tenderness, and flavor- If you know how to raise them Berkshire has it all.

 

 

Why should I put your product on my menu?

Again our genetics are controlled through our system. Each hog is very similar and consistent so really our Berkshire is simply better- we consistently come on top in tests such as the ones conducted by The National Barrow Show as far as meat quality and eat ability. Also our producers ARE the owners and I work for them- its farmer owned! I am the Founder and GM- but the farmers own it and that should matter to the Chefs also, you are truly supporting the small family farm.

 

 

What influenced you the most in your career?

My parents. They taught me everything I needed to know as a foundation to succeed in this career. Also my time at ISU was a tremendous help as I combined that with the know how my folks gave me.

 

 

Most memorable dining experience:

I have a lot of them but most are bad memories! The best? Hmm…sitting down together as a family when I was a kid -always memorable it went beyond the cooking, it was the ambience and people, although my mom was a tremendous cook.

 

 

Food indulgence:

Bacon. If I could grab one thing and one thing only it would be bacon.

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