As a child and through his teen years, Jennings was deeply involved in his family’s farm and livestock operation. After attending college and then graduate school, he developed a career in business and chemical engineering. Today he works full-time as the Facilities Director for Eastpoint Human Services in Mt. Olive. In 2013, Jennings decided to bring hogs back to the family farm and manage them outdoors the way his grandparents taught him.
With the help of Pena, his full-time farm manager, and son Daniel, who works for Cape Fear Farm Credit, Jennings has gradually grown his pasture-based operation. Their farm includes two distinct habitats for the hogs. Open pastures are planted to millet and winter rye and used for seasonal grazing. In wooded areas, Jennings has installed huts for shelter and for his sows to farrow. Jennings raises a mixture of breeds to enhance meat quality and good mothering characteristics, including Hampshire, Berkshire, Duroc and Chesterwhite.
