Guide to Heritage Hog Breeds

By Jennifer Kendall
Published on June 10, 2011
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A couple of Tamworth boars take a look over the sty door.
A couple of Tamworth boars take a look over the sty door.
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This GOS looks perfectly content lounging in the hay.
This GOS looks perfectly content lounging in the hay.
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Large Black sow and her piglets.
Large Black sow and her piglets.
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The Hereford pig is an American original, and was promoted in the early days by Hereford cattlemen.
The Hereford pig is an American original, and was promoted in the early days by Hereford cattlemen.
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Once feared to be extinct, the Red Wattle is waddling back into the limelight thanks in large part to the culinary world.
Once feared to be extinct, the Red Wattle is waddling back into the limelight thanks in large part to the culinary world.

Once an essential part of any diversified farm, pigs have played an important role in agriculture – providing meat, fat, leather, bristles and more – for millennia. Some experts say pigs were domesticated as early as 11,000 B.C., and you’d be better off asking the question of where domestication didn’t occur than asking where it did. On the farm, pigs were often extensively managed and expected to forage for acorns, glean fields after harvest, consume dairy and brewery waste, and eat windfall fruit from orchards.

Not so long ago, hundreds of pig breeds were kept busy in backyards and on homesteads across the country. However, as the pork industry moved toward ever leaner and longer carcasses, increased production efficiencies, and confinement operations, many historic breeds fell out of favor. Today, fewer pig breeds remain, and many are dwindling in number. However, plenty of these pig breeds are perfectly suited to the small holding or homestead.

In the spirit of summertime barbecues, or “pig-pickin’s” as they’re called in the South, let’s explore some historic hog breeds and the unique histories, flavors and personalities that are influencing the rebirth of the sustainable agriculture movement.

Gloucestershire Old Spot

Status: Critical

Noted for its distinctive white coat with black spots, the Gloucestershire Old Spot (GOS) pig looks like the Dalmatian of pig breeds. The breed (pronounced Glos-ter-sheer) originated in Gloucestershire, England, in the 1800s. They often were found on small farms where they were the “pig of all trades” used for cleaning excess whey from cheese making, harvesting windfall apples from the orchards, and gleaning the residue from the cider press. The breed’s reputation as an excellent grazer and forager earned it nicknames like “Cottage Pig” and “Orchard Pig.” 

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