For the third year in a row, Rural Vermont and Merck Forest and Farmland Center in Rupert are proudly partnering to bring an educational pig slaughter and processing workshop to those of you interested in self-reliance, homesteading, adding pigs to your farm, and/or are just generally food/farm curious.

In the first half of this 2-part workshop, participants will learn how to humanely slaughter, gut, skin, and quarter a whole pig. The 2nd half of the workshop will feature instruction on how to efficiently butcher and process various pork cuts.

This workshop will be held at Merck Forest and Farmland Center and guided by Mike Stock, Resource Management Coordinator at Merck, an experienced butcher who will share techniques and lessons learned from his days working in a USDA processing facility. Mike’s wife, Hadley, Farm Manager at Merck, will also be on hand to discuss the responsible and humane raising, care, and dispatch of pigs. Mike and Hadley are experienced, caring, and knowledgeable teachers - this is a workshop worth taking! Here is what one workshop participant had to say after the 2024 workshop:

“Based on what I have experienced in the training on pig slaughter, I generally trust that the slaughter-through-butchering practices are food-safe, more caring than the alternative, and would produce high-quality meat for those interested in pursuing food in this way.”

At the slaughter workshop, Rural Vermont will present the updates to federal and state on-farm slaughter regulations, particularly around the proposed clarifying language being advocated for by Rural Vermont and its national partners. There will be plenty of room for questions and discussion throughout the event.

Limited capacity, register now!

Special Notes:

*Please dress accordingly for the weather, wear waterproof footwear, and please leave your dogs at home.

*Please arrive well-fed and bring snacks and water bottles if wanted/needed. Rural Vermont will provide light snacks.

*There are cabins and campsites available at Merck if you would like to arrive the evening before. More information can be found at: https://www.merckforest.org/stay

Ticket Price: $70

A Note About Workshop Pricing & Registration:

Rural Vermont works alongside farm hosts, instructors, and other non-profits to bring a variety of workshops and peer-to-peer learning opportunities to our members and communities throughout Vermont.  Our ticket prices are built on the needs of the community, the needs of the farm hosts and instructors, and the structure of the workshop itself. We work hard to provide accessible, quality programming and to also pay fair compensation to our farm hosts, our instructors, and to cover the cost of managing and producing our workshops. As such, our ticket pricing varies from workshop to workshop and we strive to keep our pricing within a fair range. Thank you for participating and learning alongside us!