Chinese Pigs Provide Big Pig Profit Potential

Chinese Pigs Provide Big Pig Profit Potential 33-4-10 Carl Blake hopes to use a hard-to-get hog breed from China called Meishans, to create an American version of a rare German swine breed. "Swabian Hall hogs were developed from a cross of Meishan and European wild boar in the 1820's," explains Blake. "It has long been known as the tastiest pig in Europe, so my goal is to recreate that breed for this market. I've already had two customers tell me they will buy all the Swabian Halls I can produce." There are a limited number of Swabian Hall breeders in Europe, and they're in high demand. However, due to import restrictions, they can't be brought here. Blake heard that there were Meishan hogs available for sale at Iowa State University. They had been brought into the U.S. for research purposes decades ago. Meishans are known for their wrinkly hide and ability to put on large quantities of high quality fat. With the Meishan program closing down, the university put them up for sale. Initially, the breeding stock sold for more than $700 each. By the end of June and the planned end of the program, the price had dropped to $200 each for remaining stock. That price is expected to skyrocket again. Blake reports one hog breeding firm selling Meishan/Yorkshire cross-bred sows for $1,500 or more. The appeal of the breed is neither their looks nor their meat production. The baggy skin makes them look like a swine version of Shar-Pei dogs. It's their ability to store fat, combined with aggressive breeding, that makes them interesting. "The meat is well marbled with ribbons of fat throughout. It is really tasty, very flavorful," says John Newton, ISU research station superintendent. "The trouble is there isn't much of it. If you butcher them at 200 lbs., you'll get less than 30 percent edible meat by the time you remove the excess fat, skin and bones." The Meishan reach a roaster market weight of 50 to 60 lbs. at 6 months of age. It will take them 3 1/2 years to reach a mature size of 350 to 400 lbs. However, Blake figures that like the original Swabian Hall breeders, he can make tasty pork without the excess fat by crossing with wild boar. The crossing part should be easy. Male and female Meishan mature sexually very early, breeding by 60 days of age. They are also extremely easy to handle. Newton reports using them to identify sows in heat, but being able to back them off the sow, simply by grabbing them by the ear. Blake originally bought two boars and two sows from ISU. Since then he has purchased several more. He plans to maintain four separate breeding lines of Meishan to preserve access to the breed as well as cross them with multiple lines of European wild boar that he has obtained from other breeders. "After I get my first two litters of purebred Meishan, I'll start crossing," he says. "The Meishan is the fattiest pig I've ever seen, and the European wild boar is solid meat. We'll see what happens when we cross them." One thing Blake doesn't have to worry about is litter size. They can produce litters in the low 20's. Newton reports 9 litters averaging 17 pigs each, with the sows easily raising the entire litter. Blake hasn't established a selling price for either the purebred Meishans or his soon to be Swabian Halls. He's working with several experienced hog breeders in his area. Blake sees the Swabian Hall as an opportunity for small farmers. "If we can pull off anything close to Swabian Halls, it'll open new markets," says Blake. He says he's looking for investor partners to help expand the breed. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Carl Blake, 1109 Larrabee Ave., Ionia, Iowa 50465 (ph 319 464-4175; carl@blake.net).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.