2:28pm Wednesday 8th April 2009
The largest display of pig breeds in Britain will be staged at this year’s Royal Welsh Smallholder and Garden Festival at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells. More than 200 pigs representing all 17 registered breeds in the country will be on view over the two days of the event on the Royal Welsh showground on May 16 and 17.
The show of pigs, now one of the top three of its kind in the UK, reflects the revival of interest in pig breeding especially amongst smallholders, and because of the large numbers expected to enter this year’s Festival, two rings and two judges – one for traditional and another for modern breeds – will be working throughout the opening day.
The show will be held for the first time under the rules of the British Pig Association which, among other benefits, means that some of the prize winners will qualify to go forward to compete for the prestigious ‘Pig of the Year’ award, a competition involving winning entries from other leading pig shows around the country.
“Many rare breeds of pigs will be on display at Llanelwedd from the flat-faced Middle White to the double-muscled Pietrain and the Hampshire and Duroc, both unusual in the show ring,” said Keith Brown, chairman of the Wales and Border Counties Pig Breeders Association, who is chief steward of the pig section at the Festival.
“The show will be a wonderful opportunity for people to see the variety of breeds we have in this country including the tiny Kune Kune, a Maori breed from New Zealand. They are trainable, friendly and come in many different colours and are very popular.
Among the interesting pigs appearing at the Festival will be the woolly-coated Mangalitza, an ancient breed, originally the Lincolnshire Curly Coat, which was exported to Europe and developed in Austria and Hungary where they were held in high regard for the quality of their bacon. At one time the breed’s meat products were in demand all over Europe to such an extent that it was traded on the Vienna Stock Exchange and 100,000 Mangalitza pigs a year were sold from Hungary to buyers in the West.
This will be the ninth Smallholder and Garden Festival to be staged by the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society and the event is expected to host the official launch of the Pedigree Welsh Pig Society by Elin Jones, the Welsh Assembly Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
A Wales and Border Counties Pig Breeders Association information stand will be present at the Festival where experts will be available to answer visitors’ question on all forms of pig-keeping.
Further information from Rhian Thomas on 01982 554408.
There's also a chance to win a slap marker in Smallholder's May competition - entries taken at the Show.
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