Not your average pig: This Centre County farm is raising one of America’s rarest pigs

Situated on a few acres between Boalsburg and Centre Hall, across from Rhoneymeade, Rimmey Rd. Farm isn’t your average farming operation. The small farm focuses exclusively on Mulefoot pigs, a heritage breed that declined in popularity in the first half of the 20th century. Even with just approximately 20 pigs, Rimmey Rd. Farm boasts one of the largest groups of Mulefoots east of the Mississippi.

“They’re considered a large pig. They grow a very large fat back. Once they get to about four or five months, about all they do is put on a big coat of lard, or fat,” Rimmey Rd. Farm co-owner Keith Brainard said. When national demand for lard declined, so did the Mulefoot, as other breeds emerged as more profitable.

However, while the Mulefoot may be costlier to raise, the breed’s higher fat content makes for a fattier — and, to some, tastier — product.

“It’s delicious,” Brainard said. “We really have made a lot of fans who, once they try it, say this is nothing like they’ve ever had.”

Brainard and his Rimmey Rd. Farm co-owners, Andrew Hughes and James Lesher, are passionate about bringing the breed back into the spotlight and introducing it to discerning foodies around Happy Valley and beyond — which is all the more apparent when taking into consideration the extra work that goes into sourcing and raising the rare breed. In order to maintain separate bloodlines, the three work with other farms near and far, using a national database to locate other registered farmers raising Mulefoots. The pigs — which require no antibiotics or similar injections thanks to the breed’s exclusive claim to the farm — live on two acres, growing to approximately 350-400 pounds over a year, a lifespan that Brainard noted is rare for a pig intended for the butcher.

“We always tell people, they just really have one bad day of their lives,” he said.

Over the last few years, factors like the near-tripling cost of feed have been challenging, but, with community support and a recent grant from the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, the business has proven an experience that Brainard called “humbling and fun.”

That said, for as much love as the three co-owners hold for the farm and the Mulefoot breed in general, Brainard actually never had plans to get into farming prior to Rimmey Rd. Farm’s founding. After two decades of experience bartending, Brainard currently works at Penn State. When coworker Hughes originally asked him for help transporting three piglets from central Michigan to central Pennsylvania, he jumped on board and said one thing just led to another.

“Once you have the pigs, you kind of fall in love with what you’re doing,” Brainard said. “I have two smaller children. They started to enjoy going out to the farm to see the pigs. ... Initially, we were doing our own butchering, too. I’m completely out of my element, which is fun.”

Rimmey Rd. Farm produces a wide range of products, including sausages, ribs, pork chops, tenderloin, ham steaks, bacon and the pig’s notable lard, using every part of the animal. Products are available for purchase online and via Centre Markets, but local bakeries also use the farm’s lard and, occasionally, the farm’s products can be spotted on the menu at Pine Grove Hall. A farm shop is likewise open on occasion and for pop-up events — and for those who want to, like Brainard, get out of their element a bit and try on the farm lifestyle for themselves, butchering classes by appointment taught by Hughes.

“(Hughes) was the one who taught me and (Lesher) butchering. He’s excellent at it,” Brainard said. “Basically, a small group can come together and buy half a pig. They end up butchering what they take home. They can come out, learn how to do it, wrap it up and eat it that day if they want.”

Find more information about Rimmey Rd. Farm at rimmeyrdfarm.com and at www.facebook.com/RimmeyRdFarm.

This story was originally published July 13, 2023 at 8:00 AM.