PRESIDENT & REGISTRAR

Working with the A.M.B.A. founder to establish the basis of membership and registration practices, she’s the oldest active member of the association.

Opening a Retail Store attached to her own butcher & charcuterie shop in 2017, Laura proved that Meishan pork has a place in our supply chain both in raw cuts and charcuterie. She, and her husband Bill, developed their proprietary American Charcuterie carcass breakdown specifically for their Meishan hogs and were the first to develop and promote A.M.B.A. Certified Meishan Pork Prosciutto, a delicacy to savor.

Laura lives and works on her farm with her children, husband and farm animals just 42 miles east of Atlanta, GA. Her work is completely hands on, requiring focused decision-making skills at every turn. As principal operator of Jensen Reserve, her farm based artisan foods store, Laura also represents a beneficial movement in the agricultural industry as she is one of the female principal operators who comprise just 14% of a predominantly male industry.

Laura’s rare position is informed by the active training she received growing up in North Carolina on her grandfather’s 60-acre cattle farm, where fresh gardens produced enough food to feed her extended family as well as their community. Wisely choosing to provide her children with the same practical foundational experience, she and her husband Bill invested in their own working farm in 2013.

Laura’s experience with Meishan pigs began in 2016 when the founder of the AMBA, introduced her to his herd. At the time, Laura had never heard of Meishan pigs, but soon she wanted some of her own. The docile disposition of this careful bred creature made each a perfect resident for her farm, where previous types had proven to be too ferocious for free roaming among chickens and children. Her journey has since blossomed into 4 additional platforms to help others in their pursuit of Meishan genetics as well as farm marketing goals and sales development.

When Mr Silvera, AMBA founder, contacted Laura in the Spring of 2020 to tell her he had selected her to inherit his herd and become the primary voice for Meishan pig conservation in the United States, Laura was thrilled to seize the opportunity to make such a profound impact for the healthy future of this spectacular breed, perhaps the very first fully domesticated pork provider. 

Of her journey, Laura states, “What began as the pursuit of healthier, minimally processed food for my family became a lifetime commitment to heritage livestock conservancy and quality community food access.”

If you’d like to learn more about the businesses Laura operates, go to her website, The Pig Nerd, for links and more information.