Small-scale, locally rooted and environmentally conscious: Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market is proud to welcome Foggy Hog Farm to Clallam County.
The pasture-based, regenerative agriculture ranch from Port Townsend is primarily a pork operation, but also raises cattle, poultry and lamb. At its core, Foggy Hog Farm centers its focus on reverence for the land, its animals and its community.
A family farm in spirit, the operation is anchored by brothers-in-law Alex Lemay and Anderson Mackenzie, along with farm manager Kyle Beckhorn.
Celebrating its first year of operation, the trio attributes its vibrant momentum to the contributions of surrounding friends, family, and their rapidly expanding team of employees.
In contrast to more conventional methods, the animals at Foggy Hog Farm move freely about the farm’s acreage, consuming diverse forage offerings in an open pasture and enjoying nourishing, high-quality feed.
Keeping animals on pasture lends itself to more natural ways of preventing diseases, leading to healthier lives of the animals and eventually, healthier meat for folks to eat, they say.
“There are fewer chemicals and less toxic risk. The nutrient content ends up being so much denser,” Lemay says. “Health-wise, this pork is healthier than what’d you get from a conventional outlet.”
Foggy Hog Farm prioritizes future generations in their management practices, working with the land to maintain its health and viability for generations to come.
Foggy Hog Farm is a pasture-based, regenerative agriculture ranch from Port Townsend, that primarily focuses on pork and also raises cattle, poultry and lamb.
“What we’re doing is an old school model of farming, but in some ways, it has a lot of radical potentials” Mackenzie says.
“We’ve witnessed these agricultural practices through the 20th century, where corporate conglomerates buy up thousands of acres, plow them all down, and mono-crop them,” he says.
“Unfortunately, as lucrative as that business may be, it’s incredibly degrading to the soils and ecosystems that we all rely on for survival as a species.”
The farmers at Foggy Hog Farm work to observe the natural sequences of nature and model their practices off what has shown to be successful in the natural world.
Livestock that is moved regularly through fresh pasture is beneficial to the land, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and naturally adding fresh nutrients back into the soil through the livestock’s manure.
“Supporting a farm that’s practicing regenerative agriculture and land restoration has value,” Mackenzie says. “If we want future generations to grow up in a fertile environment so they can live their lives to the fullest, we need to be making choices now to protect and restore the land.”
It all converges at the farmers market, where Lemay, Mackenzie, Beckhorn and their team are excited to connect with food lovers of every walk of life.
“I have moments every week where I’m having a conversation with a fellow farmer or with our friends at the farmers market where we’re able to create community tangibly within those encounters,” Mackenzie says.
“We’re talking about our land together, we’re talking about our food together, we’re talking about our families together. That’s community brought to life, not as an idea, but a practice, something we do together.”
From left, Foggy Hog Farm owner Alex Lemay and crew members Sage Vann and Cole Dotson display some of the farm’s products at the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market Saturday. Photos by Emma Jane Garcia
He adds, “We’ve got customers coming up who’ve never seen a pig in real life before, or have been ranching longer than I’ve been alive. It’s so exciting to have all of those conversations.”
Each Saturday, Foggy Hog Farm brings a selection of farm-fresh meats. Focusing on a variety of bacon (natural, pepper cured and jowl) as well as a range of sausage varieties (chorizo, bratwurst, andouille, breakfast link and sweet Italian).
Market guests can look forward to a featured cut each Saturday.
“One week you’ll show up and we’ll be doing pork chops, the next we’ll be doing pork sirloin steaks, tenderloin, or roast!” Mackenzie says.
Foggy Hog also offers a 10-session Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscription to provide pasture-raised meat for 20 weeks, with market pickups every two weeks. With three size levels available, this provides food-lovers the opportunity to sample a range of Foggy Hog’s selections while investing upfront in the continuance of the farm’s good work.
Foggy Hog Farm is excited to introduce its offerings to the Sequim community.
“We believe it’s important to feed the community we’re a part of here on the Olympic Peninsula,” Mackenzie says. “These are our neighbors and friends, they’re the people we rely on, and we want them to rely on us.”
For Foggy Hog Farm, the market booth functions as an invitation to join their mission, welcoming market guests who enjoy their product to partner with them in creating a more nourishing world, one plate at a time.
Foggy Hog Farm is at the Sequim Farmers and Artisans Market every Saturday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. through October.
Visit your community market at Sequim Civic Center Plaza at North Sequim Avenue and West Cedar Street.
Want more market updates? Be sure to tune in every Friday at 4 p.m. to KSQM 91.5 FM for the live radio “Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market Hour.”
Emma Jane Garcia is the Market Manager for the Sequim Farmers & Artisans Market.
