At Hickory Faith Farm, we started raising Berkshire Pigs in 2023 and fell in love with there calm temperament and amazing pork. These pigs have a rich history like the pork they produce. Lets dive into the history of Berkshire Pigs and explore why this heritage breed is the only breed of pig we raise on our farm.
Origins in England-
The origin for the Berkshire starts in England over 300 years ago in Berkshire County, England. In the 17th and 18th centuries, pig farmers started breeding pigs that had standout qualities for hardiness, adaptability, and the incredibly tasting meat. When you breed selectively over generations and only breed ones with certain traits, you develop your own breed of pig. The Berkshire pig features a sleek black coat, white markings, and perky ears. This made the Berkshires catch the eyes of other farmers. The word spread quickly of the tasty, well marbled pork. This resulted in more farmers refining specific bloodlines within the Berkshire breed. The bloodline traits can be for either appearance or better meat quality.
Berkshire Pigs go International-
The Berkshire pig journeys to different parts of the world. In the early 1800’s, they crossed the Atlantic Ocean when American farmers imported them in. The breed quickly gained popularity not only from the tasty pork but with the ability to thrive in a variety of climates. To preserve the breeds purity and characteristics, the American Berkshire Association was formed in 1875. This association was the first registry for swine and played a crucial role in maintaining the breeds purity.
Overtime, Berkshire pigs spread to other corners of the globe such as Japan and Australia. In Japan the Berkshire pork is referred to as “Kurobuta”. In a more common term it is the “Waygu of Pork”. Each region would have different ways to raise the pigs but the core traits for juicy well-marbled pork stayed the same.
Berkshire Pigs Comeback-
The Berkshire pig faced a challenge in the 20th century when industrial farms who are only worried about money gained popularity. In order to make the cheapest product possible, these farms focused their attention on the quickest growing breeds like the Yorkshire and Duroc. These breeds have a slightly faster grow out time which at scale makes a difference in industrial farming. Luckily the Berkshire breed prevailed as small, dedicated farmers kept the popularity for a richer and more flavorful pork.
As previously mentioned, Berkshire pork is known for the rich, savory, and tender melt in your mouth pork. This lead many chefs to want Berkshire pork on their menus to keep customers coming back to experience quality pork over the commercial pork.
Why we raise Berkshire Pigs-
At Hickory Faith Farm we are proud to keep the legacy of the Berkshire breed going. We fell in love with the breed from the very first feeder pigs we raised. They thrived in our pastured-forest based system and had no issues. When we first tried the Berkshire pork, we had never knew that pork could taste so good. We knew this was something we had a strong passion for and wanted to do more. This is when we got into the breeding aspect. We feel we are able to make a impact in the community by providing this delicacy to others. We currently have 3 sows and a boar and run a farrow to finish operation while selling additional piglets we don’t raise ourselves. If you want Berkshire Pastured Pork or Berkshire piglets visit our homepage to see what we have available.