Recent years have seen great strides made in maintaining active numbers of traditional pig breeds at viable levels.

And the good news is that the work put in by the breeders in question across Northern Ireland is starting to pay dividends.

At the heart of this initiative is the Northern Ireland Traditional Pig Breeders Association (NITPBA).

The summer months see its membership bringing a selection of their bloodlines to a number of local shows.

Castlewellan is, traditionally, the last venue in their schedule. And the event always marked by a more than encouraging turnout of pigs: breeding sows, piglets, and young stock.

The breeds represented by the association are: Tamworth, Berkshire, Saddleback, Middle White, Gloucester Old Spot, Landrace, Large White and Oxford, and Sandy and Black.

Ernest Gregg, from Ahoghill in Co. Antrim is the current chair of the NITPBA.

He told Agriland: “It is vital that the gene pools represented by these native pig breeds are maintained.

According to Gregg, Northern Ireland is a true centre of excellence where the breeding of these traditional pig bloodlines is concerned.

“Breeders from across the UK and beyond are keen to source the genetics that are available through members of the association,” he said.

“It is also important that the island of Ireland retains sustainable populations of these endangered pig breeds, given that mainland Europe and Great Britain will always be very susceptible to disease outbreaks that could wipe entire animal populations.”

NITPBA

NITPBA was established in 2024 with an ethos to unite breeders of traditional pigs and promoting local pork production in Northern Ireland while also educating the next generation of consumers and farmers on traditional pigs.

The group also aims to educate the public about traditional breeds and continue with the conservation of rare breeds in Northern Ireland.

NITPBA members work closely with the British Pig Association.

Meanwhile, recent years have seen Northern Ireland’s livestock sectors expand on the back of good farm gate returns and relative cheap feed costs.

However, where pigs are concerned, this has been achieved on the back of an ever narrowing genetic base.

It is against this backdrop that NITPBA members view their work as being of an invaluable support to the pig industry as a whole.

And they want to build on all of this for the future.