Tony’s time-honored tradition and steadfast commitment to personal relationships with farmers and ranchers continued in May of 2017. Our meat buyer, Stefan, as well as two of our meat managers, traveled to Dennison, Iowa to visit the family farms and processing facility where our brand new Duroc line of pork comes from.
All of the pork loin chops at Tony’s are now from a 100% Duroc sired program which undergoes rigorous testing to ensure the PH, color, and marbling meets our strict specifications. The PH of the meat is the main contributing factor to the rich red color of the meat and resulting overall tenderness. It must fall in a specific range to qualify for our pork program.
It was compelling for Tony’s team to learn about this premium pork program and see how much the community, land, and farmers benefited from raising this top-grade Iowa pork.
The farms are wonderfully sustainable. They use the waste matter produced by the pigs to fertilize over 1,000 acres of corn and soy bean which is grown to feed the pigs. Their state of the art passive ventilation system cuts their power consumption in half.
All of the animals are traceable from sow to plant harvest and packaging. All of the animals are verified, meaning there are no added hormones, beta agonist, or other growth proponents. The harvest facility is state of the art with no details spared. All of the animal welfare around humane intake and processes were designed by Colorado’s very own CSU Professor of Animal Science, Temple Grandin. This was truly a remarkable operation where care of and attention to raising their animals is paramount.
Tony’s is now carrying Duroc as our standard pork chop, setting us a cut above the regular commodity pork commonly found at larger grocery chains. Tony’s continues its commitment to quality, family farm raised pork. Our relationships with farms and ranches are a vital part of selecting the highest quality products to bring to our markets and to offer you, our valued customers.
Come in to your favorite Tony’s location and taste the difference in our new line of Duroc pork!