[princesspiggy]

if you aiming to finish pedigree native pigs to sell as pork direct to consumer, what are the most popular breeds from consumer point of view?
 
and same question again for selling bacon/hams?
 

[Rosemary]

I'm not sure that most consumers have a breed preference - most want local, tasty produce from high welfare pigs. For tasty, any of the traditional British breeds will deliver - most pig keepers will favour and promote their own breed, not surprisingly 

But some breeds are better for pork than bacon and vice versa. The smaller breeds, Berkshire, Middle White, tend to be pork pigs while the long Tamworth or Large Black woudl produce lots of tasty bacon and ham.

You do need to be quite careful about how you advertise pork for sale in terms of trade descriptions. There have been threads on here before about this. I think GOS is now a registered name so you can't sell pig products as GOS unless the pigs are registered with the breed society.

Others more experienced and knowlegeable than I will add more, I'm sure.

[Eve]

Yes, GOS have Traditionally Farmed GOS, if you look on www.oldspots.org. you'll find the details.

Probably not many of your customers will know what kinds of breed exist and what the characteristics are, often the fact that they come in different colours & patterns is a surprise. Therefore, the choice could be... whichever looks nicest in the pictures?   

[Fowgill Farm]

I would say GOS are the most widely known traditional breed and judging the amount of times we have a had to fight Waitrose over mis-use of the name i would say the supermarkets would say the same. GOS make both good pork & bacon + the piglets are so cute too!
Somewhat biased GOS keeper!
mandy

[HappyHippy]

As others have said I doubt your consumers will mind whether it's GOS, Large Black, Saddleback etc once they taste it - I reckon a LOT of people wouldn't/couldn't tell the difference.
I had a friend up today whom I haven't seen for a long time, took her up to see the KK weaners and the first thing she said was "wow, I've never seen a black pig before" now she lives in a country village, surrounded by fields and I would've thought she'd have been aware of the differences in pig breeds - obviously not
Don't worry that one breed will be 'most popular' because ANY outdoor grown, traditionally reared pork will be much tastier than even the best the supermarket has to offer.
On the subject of breed names on selling, it's my understanding that unless they've been birth notified to the BPA (as breed x, y or z from registered pedigree stock) you can't sell it as x, y or z - it's got to be given another name like 'outdoor reared' 'traditionally reared' etc without mentioning a specific breed.
HTH
Karen x

[Pel]

Most consumers wont really mind what the breed is, if your selling to a butcher who doesnt know and wont try other pigs best to stick to a white/modern pig, only one of those on the rare breed list in the welsh. Most popular is going to be the GOS if you look at the rare breeds trust site you will be able to tell which is the most popular.
I think they will be more concerned how it has been reared that what it is.

[Rosemary]

But it might be nice to encourage the less popular rare breeds, which Im sure have great qualities too.

Wouldn't it be nice to see these rare breeds of pig moving up categories in the Watchlist?

[Hilarysmum]

I have one or two customers who would only buy tamworth, so lost those to the people who bought my tammies when I gave them up.

GOS sells really well even to the French, who coincidentally did not like the meat from the French rare breed Bayeux (sp?) when I tried them.

Most though dont know or care, they just want tasty pork.

[Eve]

Come to think of it, "Gloucester Old Spot" or just "Old Spot" is all over the menu boards of the gastropubs and the menu's of trendy restaurants around here (Northern Home Counties) since the last few months.

[robert waddell]

interesting this one PEL  you have forgot the British landrace/British lop/large white and middle white
it is always nice to identify the end product with a particular breed but as has been mentioned unless they are pedigree birth notified they are just a pig also it is the only way to increase the numbers and save them from being endangered sorry to all the dolly mixtures that are out there and breeding but the GOS have proved that you just cannot call your product whatever is marketable without the paper work to prove what it is

[robert waddell]

eve looks like TS will be busy checking out the pubs unless they have the paper work to prove it it is what they say it is

[Eve]

I suppose they'll check the suppliers.

It's the latest trend in the more reputable establishments, just like "28-day aged beef from such and such farm". Maybe 5 years from now, after a few reruns of Lark Rise to Candleford, it'll be Berkshires that are top of the list?   

[blonde]

I guess it is the market that depicts what type of pig you grow.   Some pigs are for meat and  some are for tallow/lard/fat.   It probably depends on your environment as well as to what colour you may have or need to have.  there are many breeds and cross breeds and new breeds coming out all the time.   I guess it is what suits you best .

[Pel]

interesting this one PEL  you have forgot the British landrace/British lop/large white and middle white

Lillian, the British landrace and large white arent on rare breed list (the landrace probably should be, as i've heard they lack pedigree numbers) and the british lop and middle white aren't considered to be a modern pig, which is what i was refering too. The only white/modern and rare breed pig that is refered to using both of those terms is the welsh. Now as the poster stated that they are selling direct it really doesnt matter on my usless comment. but more of an in case.

It would be nice to choose one of the rarer ones like the lop, but you would just have to go with something you like and then see what your customers want.

[robert waddell]

well pel, i will bow to your superior knowledge eh no I won't,
 The Annual Bloodline Survey has just been completed.
As the name suggests the primary function
of this exercise is to identify the Bloodlines within each breed which are in danger of being lost.
All our pedigree pig breeds have relatively small populations. One of the biggest threats faced by
breeds with a limited population is inbreeding or loss of genetic diversity. Saving our pedigree pig
breeds is not just a numbers game. 1000 unrelated sows is better than 3000 sows who are all half
sisters. Each breed has a number of sire and dam lines. These are the breeds genetic capital.
Conserving this genetic capital is just as important as conserving our financial assets.
The Bloodline surveys help to pinpoint which lines are under threat so that action can be taken to
make sure that we don’t lose any lines from within a breed. Over the years there have been many
cases where the survey results have set off alarms bells. The breed reps and surveyors have been
able to track down the last few sows, make sure that they produce a few more pedigree litters and
that those pigs are spread around amongst willing breeders.
These Bloodline surveys were started in the 1980’s by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust with the help
of a team of dedicated volunteers some of whom are still helping with the surveys today. At that time
many of our breeds were in a much worse state than they are now. It is no exaggeration when we
say that these surveys and the hard working volunteers who help to compile the results have been
one of the most important factors in saving some of our breeds from extinction.
After investing in a new computer database for our pedigree records in 2003 it made sense for the
surveys to be carried out by the British Pig Association. We have been developing and improving the
Bloodline Surveys over the last few years so that they are integrated with the pedigree database. We
now have system that can more easily cope with the increasing number of pig keepers and pigs but it
is still dependant on you the members responding to the survey.
Every year a team of hard working surveyors undertake the monumental task of phoning our
membership and asking them to complete their surveys. Whether they offer to help complete your
survey on-line or just jog your memory to send your completed form back to the office, they play an
essential part in helping to get accurate and timely results. One or two have reported receiving a less
than friendly reception when phoning round this year. Of course we are all suspicious of cold calls
but please remember that our surveyors are volunteers, giving up their time for free to help ensure
the survival of our pedigree pig breeds. We should be thanking them not putting the phone down.
If you don’t complete your survey and tell us which pigs are still in your herd then we will make some
assumptions based on the age of the pigs and their breeding history. This may mean that your pigs
will be “killed off”. Of course they can be “resurrected” but it wastes everyone’s time. If you didn’t
complete a survey this year please put January 10th 2011 in your diary and make a New Year’s
Resolution to complete your survey. You will be part of one of the largest and most successful
conservation projects ever and isn’t that one of the reasons why you became a pedigree breeder in
the first place?
On the following pages you will find the results for each of our pedigree breeds with a short surveyors
report. In the past we have divided our breeds into Modern and Traditional. This was brought in to
replace Major and Minor breeds classifications. Modern Breeds were those breeds which had
undergone breed improvement programmes in the 60’s and 70’s and Traditional breeds were those
that a Government report in the 50’s deemed surplus to requirements. Nowadays of course
Conservation, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development are key themes in British Government
Agricultural Policy. The Standing Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) advises
Ministers on policy affecting our pedigree pig breeds. They look at breeds in terms of Native and Non
-Native. Our survey figures are used by the FAnGR Committee and so this year they are published in
a slightly different order. Native Traditional Breeds come first followed by Native Modern Breeds and
then Non-Native breeds.
Over the last few years we have moved the survey dates from November to January. We have
decided to publish the latest results as 2010 rather than 2009. The series 2007 to 2010 covers 27 months and so there is no missing year

can I also suggest you log on to the BPA website (an over view of our breeds) and read what it says.
I am always glad to be of assistance no hard feelings on my part.