My commitment to the registered Meishan pig is 6 years strong this year.
My initial goal was to determine if the Meishan was a viable meat pig with the new genetics released in 2016 that started the American Meishan Breeders Association.
I did that. My retail store and other blogs here have proven it has a place "at the table" ...........pun intended....
Now, at the 2 year mark of including the foundation herd and registry into my work, it's time to make sure our genetic foundation is as strong as it can be.
To do that, securing our 3 lines is imperative.
My work with the University of Illinois line initially added the highest percentage of UI in the country. Add that to the work of Rico Silvera of Gods Blessing Farm and you see the UI lines in numerous pedigrees now.
Now, it's time to focus on the USDA line.
Surprisingly, that was the strongest of the 3 lines we started with initially. 7 of our 12 foundation hogs were from that line.
Today, there are only 6 live breedable hogs that are 100% USDA hogs.
Shocking....right?
So, I've worked with fellow member breeders, Wendy Palmer of Imperial Meishans in Bartow, GA & Megan Weaver of Weaver Meadow Farm in Lebanon, OR to identify said pigs and develop a plan to preserve 100% USDA genetics before they're gone.
Of the 6 pigs and 6 different member/ breeders, 5 members are ready to work with us to save these genetics.
2 of the hogs are better located for Megan to work with while the others are more accesible for me to work with now.
So - Off I Go!
My VP of Operations and I are leaving this Sunday to secure these genetics and it will likely take all week to do so.
Stay tuned & ask questions!
I'll be sharing our journey on our social media. Like us on Instagram and Facebook to watch.
