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One way to summarize what’s different about Jason and Amanda Hands’ farm can be found on their website’s header: “Mkono Farm – A Small Batch Swinery.”

On their farm near Bloomington, the Hands raise Kunekune swine, a heritage breed from New Zealand developed by the Maoris. Kunekunes are relatively small, with sows averaging 120-200 pounds and boars 200-300 pounds.

Aside from their size, one of the Kunekunes’ main attributes is the high-quality pork they produce on pasture-based systems. It takes 10-12 months for a Mkono Farm pig to reach a market weight of 180-220 pounds, Jason said. This is in comparison to around 6 months for a conventionally raised commercial pig.

“The meat is bright red in color, heavily marbled, and rich in taste. It is a true culinary delight,” Amanda said.

The Hands’ Kunekunes forage almost all their feed from the farm’s pastures and woods as part of a rotational grazing system that includes a protein-rich ecosystem that Amanda has planted and fostered.

The couple, along with their five children, started farming after Jason retired from the Navy and accepted a job in Washington, D.C. They bought a farm in Maryland and started experimenting. “We wanted to know where our food came from, and we wanted to share that knowledge with our surrounding community,” Amanda explained.

In the early days, the couple had egg-laying hens and dairy goats in addition to the pigs, but they found they were not passionate about these species and that they took away the focus from Amanda's true passion, the Kunekune pig.

“They're very docile, they're very gentle, they don't destroy a lot of stuff, and they don't produce a lot of foul odors, either,” Jason said of the Kunekunes. “They're very lovey-dovey and very happy.”

Both the Hands are native Hoosiers and have a lot of family here, so when an opportunity arose for Jason to transfer to Bloomington, they took it, buying their farm in 2021. Amanda’s love for the Kunekune pig and the niche that they have in the pork industry encouraged her to continue farming in Indiana and to build up a following in her home state, even though starting over has been a huge challenge.

The family is currently experimenting with Navajo Churro lambs. But from the Kunekunes, they sell meat by the wholes, by the halves and by the cut, and they also sell bacon, sausage, ham and salami, and products such as candles, soaps, and salves that are produced with the lard from the pigs.

Mkono Farm “strives to honor each animal with 100% nose-to-tail use,” Amanda said.

They sell through Broad Ripple Farmers Market in Indianapolis every other week and the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market every week. They also sell products through their website, and they have a few on-farm sales as well.

“You have your commercial pork, and I'm not knocking those guys at all, but I just feel like the Kunekune is like the Cadillac, Porsche or Lamborghini of pork,” Jason said.

Find out more about Mkono Farm at www.mkonofarm.com.