good breeds for pastured organic?

[bibliophile birds]

after many years of thinking i wanted nothing to do with the family farming business, i've finally realized that it's what i love... i just needed to find my own niche, so to say. that niche is organics. i've finally convinced my family to experiment with organics and now have until spring to come up with some really great ideas.

we've always run pastured, grass-fed beef cattle, but for this i want to diversify and do something new and interesting. i'm looking for something resilient and hardy in our Southern heat and humidity. i'm also particularly interested in heritage breeds and the ALBC endangered breeds.

so, i am just wondering if anyone has experience in this area and could suggest some breeds for me to look into. i'm doing some research, but going into this without a direction is quite difficult.

 

[doo dah]

What size do you want the Hogs to be? That should help at least a little in deciding what breed. Most of the information I find does not compare heritage hogs with other heritage hogs. Every heritage hog I've read about does well in different weather (including sun) and does a good job and not squishing their babies so long as they have adequate room. There are two breeds that I have done more research on, though I haven't owned or even seen any. I will talk about these breeds as if what I have read is true (and I'll try and give you sources).

Large Black:
Large Blacks don't root as much as other breeds, if at all. They are more docile than other breeds and make excellent bacon.

http://www.largeblackhogs.com/index.htm -a great resource for Large Black info
http://www.largeblackhogs.org/index.php -the Large Black Association

Mulefoot:
I personally have settled on the Mulefoots. Their single hoof is definatly something that would be good to preserve. They're docile, desease resistant, fatten easily, make the best ham, and they taste better than any other known breed (but of course this is a matter of taste). I have yet to find a single website with as much info on Mulefoots as the first LB page I gave you, but I'll do my best to keep the redundency down.

http://www.maveric9.com/mulefoot.htm
http://mulefootpigs.tripod.com/ -American Mulefoot Association
http://meadowlarkheritagefarm.tripod.com/

Here's an article stating the results of a blind taste test:
http://www.grit.com/daily-commute/Mulefoot-Pork-Wins-Blind-Taste-Test.aspx

 

[bibliophile birds]

WOW! thank you so much for the information. it's a wonderful start! i'm going to go peruse the sites you listed and maybe get back to you with some questions.

again, THANKS!!

 

[Beekissed]

Look into Red Wattle Hogs also!

http://www.nigeriansandicelandics.com/Pigs.html#Large Black Pigs




My sis has the Large Blacks and she says they really do pasture well and are easy keepers. Farrow easily, fertile and have large litters. Gentle natured also.

 

[bibliophile birds]

thanks beekissed!

 

[doo dah]

While doing some research on pasturing hogs I found this information source
http://attra.ncat.org/livestock.html#Hogs
It looks like a good source, but I wasn't able to read it because I don't have the right version of adobe (yet, I'll download it sometime ). Hopefully it can help you.

 

[ksalvagno]

If you were interested in a smaller size pig, what about Guinea Hogs?

 

[BDial]

If you were interested in a smaller size pig, what about Guinea Hogs?

There is also the Gloucestershire Old Spots.

 

[bibliophile birds]

thanks doo dah. i'll check that site out.

ksalvagno and bdial- i've not heard of either of those, but i will look into them. since we aren't trying to make our living on pigs, smaller size might be great for us. probably much more managable. thanks!

 

[bibliophile birds]

There is also the Gloucestershire Old Spots.

those might be the CUTEST piglets i have ever seen! now i want some...