Walk The Pork - The Farmer

I started the business in 2004 with two in pig Large Black gilts from a prison farm near Boston which we put in a field at the bottom of the garden in Scotts Lane – hence the name Scotts Field Pork. We expanded to six sows and a boar and moved to this farm in Oxborough in 2005. We continued to breed the pigs pure but found that although the taste & tenderness of the meat was most appreciated it was a little too fat for modern tastes. We decided to cross The Large Black with a commercial boar and after a series of experiments found that the Duroc Boar worked best by reducing back fat levels whilst maintaining intramuscular fat and improving confirmation. This made the meat we produce more appealing to our butchers and their customers and we have been able to expand the herd to about a hundred sows – seventy of them pure bred Large Blacks and about thirty Large Black cross Welsh sows using the Duroc as a terminal sire.

We originally chose The Large Black Pig as it used to be the commercial pig of choice for East Anglian farmers indeed my maternal grandfather had a herd of Large Black Pigs as did my paternal great grandfather who kept them in his Orchard at Blakeney so there is a strong family connection.

We also felt there was an opportunity to help a rare breed by trying to create a viable business based on the breed’s favourable eating qualities and it’s ability to thrive outdoors. This would give our butcher customers a product not available in the supermarkets and thus enable them to grow their pork sales.

In summary the business has four main aims. One is to provide an income for us as a family & hopefully a full time member of staff. The second is to increase the fertility of this Breckland soil on the host farm, the third is to promote the Large Black Pig and encourage others to do a similar thing with another rare breed. The fourth is to give our butcher customers a branded product to help to increase their sales within the local community