About Your Pork

Tamworth + Large Black 
Hogs

Our 2025-26 hogs were heritage cross of Tamworths and Large Blacks. Tamworth hogs are known to be a resilient, highly adaptable breed that was first recognized hundreds of years ago in England, but is thought to be descended from a line of wild Irish forest hogs. Tamworths are active, athletic hogs: their long snouts allow them to forage vigorously, and longer legs and a more slender build allow them to run quickly. Their body type tends to be long and deep, with excellent bacon and a moderate amount of fat. The Large Black genetics are a very old breed from Cornwall, England. They are all black and lop-eared. They grow to a large size and do very well on pasture and natural forage. The Large Black was very popular in the late 1800s, but by 1960s became almost extinct and remains one of the rarest pig breeds to date. They move much slower than their Tamworth counterparts, in part because their site is restricted by their flopped ears, they are one of the most docile and friendly pig breeds. We raised pure Tamworth hogs last year and have been delighted by this cross, both in personality, management, and end pork product. 

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Management: The pigs were raised on pasture their whole lives. We moved their paddock every few weeks, depending on weather and soil conditions. As we moved them, we sowed cover crop seed behind them to ensure new growth on the impacted soil. They spent a lot of time under a huge sycamore tree, which in early fall started dropping nuts that they loved to munch on, along with bountiful persimmons. 

Feed: In addition to what the pigs forage (which is quite a lot), we gave them a hog-specific feed from Sunrise Farms in Stuarts Draft, VA. The feed is a soy-free, Non-GMO certified blend of corn, oats, and supplemented with seashell flour, kelp meal, alfalfa, wheat, several types of yeasts to aid digestion, and many micronutrients and minerals to ensure overall health. Typically, all of the grain ingredients that Sunrise uses in its feed is grown in Virginia. The soy-free feed is enriched with peas and flax to promote the development of Omega-3 fatty acids. We also fed them veggie scraps, leftover whey from cheesemaking, and windfall apples, peaches, and persimmons from our farm.