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Swabian-Hall swine
| Place of Origin | Germany |
| Origin | The Swabian-Hall swine (Schwäbisch-Hällische Landschwein) is a breed of domestic pig originating from Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The breed was started by King William I of Württemberg, who imported Chinese Meishan pigs in 1820 to crossbreed with the German Landrace with the idea of increasing the fat content. The breed proved popular and by 1959 totaled 90% of pigs in Baden-Württemberg. However, their popularity declined in the 1960s with the markets preferring leaner pork with less fat than the Swabian-Hall could offer. The breed was kept going in small numbers by enthusiastic farmers in the Hohenlohe district, although numbers were down to only seven breeding sows and two boars by 1984. The breed today has a high reputation amongst gourmets, having a darker meat and strong, distinctive flavour. Since 1998, Swabian-Hall pork (Schwäbisch-Hällisches Qualitätsschweinfleisch) is a name with Protected Geographical Status in the European Union; only pigs coming from the Swabian Hall, Hohenlohe, and some adjacent districts can be sold under that name. There are now only around 1500 sows registered to this breed. All of these are from farms belonging to the Farmer Producer Association of Swabian Hall (Bäuerliche Erzeugergemeinschaft Schwäbisch Hall), who implement an inspection regime which strictly controls the quality of feed given to the animals. The Swabian-Hall Breeders Association (Züchtervereinigung Schwäbisch Hällisches Schwein) was formed (1986) before the Producers Association (1988) but the former is now a subsidiary of the latter. |
| Purpose | Meat |
| Characteristics | It is a large pig, white in the centre with a black head and rear and narrow grey bands at the transition from white to black skin. They have large litters averaging more than nine piglets. |
| Other Considerations | Two reproductions of the Swabian Hall breed can be found in the United States, one can be found at Rustik Rooster Farms in Readlyn, Iowa. This crossbreed is called the Iowa Swabian Hall and was developed by Carl Edgar Blake II in 2008, having purchased several Chinese Meishan hogs from the Genetics Research Department at Iowa State University. In 2010, Blake's pigs won a heritage pork culinary contest, the Cochon 555 in San Francisco. A second version of the Swabian Hall has now been developed in Missouri by Beyond Prime Meats LLC http://beyondprimemeats.com owned by Neal family of Hartville, Missouri. Their cross consists of the Chinese Meishan boar crossed with a Landrace/Mangalitsa sow creating a 3/4 match to the original Swabian Hall from Germany with only the additional Mangalitsa added to the formula. Mangalitsa pigs are considered by many to be the premier lard type pig in the world and was only introduced to the USA in 2008. This cross has an intense dark highly marbled meat being released for the first time in 2015. |
