The Hutterite Brethren is a Germanic religious based group that moved to North America from Europe in the late 16th century. They live together in groups of traditional families at individual farm sites — referred to as colonies. There are approximately 460 colonies in western Canada and north-western America. Colony size is limited to about 100 people before it splits and a new colony is started. A colony has home, a church, a school, and a central kitchen and dining hall. They are very progressive in farming, but do not believe in the individual accumulation of luxury goods. They are self-sufficient, in that they grow their own food and build much of what they need, including housing, furniture and clothing. Everyone contributes at the colony. Typically, the women handle child care, laundry, cleaning and cooking; while the men do all of the farming activities, as well as wood working, mechanics, and building.
When it comes to farming, Hutterites are very efficient and use the most technically advanced equipment. They are vertically integrated, in that they grow their own crops (barley, wheat, canola) to feed their hogs and other livestock. They also have on-site feed mills and trailers to take their hogs to market. Hutterite producers typically have the best performance in terms of cereal crop yields, pig’s raised/sow, and other production measures when compared with other farmers in the same region.
Hutterite producers run sustainable facilities and are dedicated partners with Maple Leaf Foods. They are also a proud people and the colonies compete with each other to provide us with the highest quality, consistent hogs.