Tickled Pig Farm was established in 2003 by Matt Cordonnier of  Russia, Ohio. Matt's vision was to develop a holistic, organic small scale farm so he could raise the best possible food for his family. He knew that raising his kids on a farm would provide them with learning opportunities that only farm life can.

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Embarrassingly, Matt used to pride himself in trying to buy the cheapest meat he could find at the grocery. One day his mother suggested that he go to meet Frank Greishop, a local organic guru, who was one of the founders of the organic movement in the state of Ohio. Matt began volunteering on his farm. Frank taught Matt what it really means to be organic and what sustainable living looks like. Frank was nearly 100% self-sufficient and even farmed with horses.

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Through this experience Matt was transformed. He understood the meaning behind the words organic for the first time and learned key tenets from Frank like, "A healthy soil leads to a healthy animal. It all starts with the soil".

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During this time Matt also volunteered for Dan Kremer of E.A.T. Food for Life Farm. Dan is an apostle for the organic movement in the area and considers it his mission to educate others in the question of why organic. Matt learned from Dan that "eating is a moral act."  Buying the cheapest piece of meat at a store involves much more on the moral scale than just getting meat at a low price. It opened for Matt a whole flood of questions that he never pondered before. How were the animals raised?  Who raised them and why? What were they fed? What would eating chemical fed GMO meat do to ones body? 

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"We're not a big farm, but we are focused on doing the right thing, morally and ethically when we raise our animals."

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Crystal's childhood dream of having "Wilbur," the piglet from Charlotte's Web, became a reality when she met Matt. The addition of Crystal to the farm brought a tender caregiving touch to all the animals. She was the reason the farm was named Tickled Pig Farm, as she spends a lot of time scratching or "tickling" the pigs, keeping them happy and mild mannered. Crystal's favorite farm activity is helping the sows deliver piglets, even in below zero weather in the middle of the night. 

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Join in Matt and Crystal's love of Large Black hogs and help save this breed!

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