[ferretkeeper]

Wasn't you BB 

I can't get my head around it either OTG   

[Bodger]

When my  GOS  has her litter, I wont be able to sell the pork from them as GOS pork unless the litter is registered but I will be quite in my right to say that the piglets have come from a regeistered mum and dad. 
 
I might advertise my pork as being from cider pigs.They should be born at the end of August just in time to take advantage of the waste from the cider making process. They'll get lots of apples and apple pressing and I think thats what most punters are are interested in. How have they been kept and what have they been fed?
 
Every little bit helps and thankfully, not everything that they will have eaten on the way to becoming pork will have come directly from a bag.

[Berkshire Boy]

Sorry not making myself very clear. If a pig isn't in the herd book or birth notified it is just a pig. Just because it looks like a Berkshire doesn't mean its pure, could have 3 different breeds in it, that's what I mean, so shouldn't be called a Berkshire.
 I think I'll give up there I'm confusing myself now.

[hughesy]

That is totally clear to me BB. In reality it's true that most pork buyers are not too bothered about the small print as long as they are getting what they want. A surprising number do ask me what breed of pig my meat has come from, where and how they are reared, and have an interest in supporting rare breeds. I like to be able to tell them and to be able to show them the certificate from the BPA which backs up what I'm saying.

[Bodger]

Following on from ferretkeepers post, I think that the information in this link shows the responsibility of pork producers to label their pork clearly and fairly.
 
http://www.gospbc.co.uk/labelling-gos-meat/

[SteveHants]

When we kept pigs (last time was in 2009) we made money on them, but only because of this:


The place I was working at the time had a farm shop anyway - and when we were getting pigs killed, we let customers know, so a lot was presold. We made a LOT of sausages with the poorer cuts that would have taken a while to sell. We froze any unsold down before it went out of date, and we certainly didn't reduce the price for the frozen product.


However, feed was a lot cheaper then, we finished on rolled barley and market veg trimmings (which hadn't been through a kitchen, obviously) which cost us £0.50 for a binful, if I recall (the veg was free).


They seemed to make a useful sideline to an existing business - I don't know if it would have stood as a business on its own.

[ferretkeeper]

OTG brilliant link, that makes it all clear.

I think the answer for me then is to carry on as I am, saying exactly who the parents are in every case and that they are cross breeds - it's not like I've got hundreds of pigs, I know who's who!

I am already a member of BPA with my three Tamworth sows so I could birth notify any litters that are pure bred from them, which won't be that many in reality. I wonder if it's worth keeping the membership going as I'll be doing wild boar/iron age type crosses if all goes to plan? 

If I use my non pedigree Large Black sow can I just say she's a LB cross? Does that seem to satisfy the requirements?

[Hassle]

Just to add to the mix...

I think it is important that we as breeders are responsible and that we breed from the best pig we can.
Part of what makes up that best pig is it being breed standard if the pig is good enough to be breed standard it's good enough to birth notify and register (if applicable) paying the BPA is your choice to keep the paperwork.

I'm not saying cross breeds are wrong having a mix of two pig varieties giving you the best of both is useful. But if the boar and sow are the best then you get the best cross breed.

[Bodger]

Not all breeders choose to register their stock and some of the worst specimens of pure bred animals have had enough papers to paper a wall.

[sharpham]

Not sure if anyone makes much money from pigs but just bought sow nuts from Tincknells in Wells for £10.75 a bag when in Mole Valley its £9.50 and on multi bags there is a further discount. It pays to shop around when buying feed.
But at the end of the day its just a hobby for me and putting meat in the freezer for the family which is why I keep a Gloucester Old Spot Sow and a Boar for mating free range in the field. Clearly make no money but at least I know what goes into the sausages.

[rispainfarm]

I would be interested for research purposes, on the number of people who actually first, buy rare breed pork because it is rare breed and not just because it has been produced free range. And secondly the number of customers that have actually either shown an interest in the bpa pork certificate or been persuaded to buy the pork because of this certificate

[Bodger]

We're talking about niche market here, with pork producers targetting a small but none the less significant percentage of the shopping population.
 Unfortuntely, the vast majority of people still buy their pork from the supermarket and don't really give a toss about its provenance. The market for rare breed pork has everything to do with connecting with the customer and presentation is all important.
I'm convinced that when the economic situation improves, the market for rare breed pork will start to grow even more quickly than it is now.In the meantime, sales can be slow. At the moment, price is all important and thats why, without good presentation, rarebreed pork can be difficult to sell.
I was recently advised that my GOS half and whole pigs should be selling for between six and seven pounds per kilo. I hope that i can sell my produce for that sort of price but I can see it being extremely difficult to do so. I think that i'm pretty good at a few things but being a a good salesmen is something that I'm yet to crack.

[Hassle]

Just tell them about pink slime. I normally at least get one person interested each time I mention it 

[honeyend]

Just bought some Duffield sow rolls for £7.20 @20kg, unless someone knows something bad about them I better get some more.

[Beewyched]

   where are you honeyed?