Guide to the Best Breeds of Pigs to Raise for Meat

This guide will walk you through the different pig breeds and things to consider when choosing the breed for your farm or homestead. Plus, our personal recommendations and what breed we have found to be the best here at Pleasant Grove Homestead.

Raising pigs on your farm or homestead is so rewarding for the delicious meat that you harvest. Pork grown on a pasture is so much better than pork from grocery stores! There are a variety of breeds that you can choose from depending on what your goals are and the type of meat you would like to produce. A few things to consider are how much fat to meat ratio you’d like to have, and the space and environment you have to raise the pigs. Breeds can vary by size, growing rate, temperament, litter size, and more! We have tried a couple of different breeds on our farm, and have found what works best for us and our goals for meat production.  

Lard production or meat production

When considering what breed of pig to raise on your homestead or farm, it is important to think about what type of meat you would like. There are two main types of pigs to raise for meat. A lard pig has a lot of fat on it. This produces meat that has a lot of fat and marbling throughout. The fat helps create a more flavorful meat as well as lard for cooking and baking.. On the other hand, there are meat pigs. They are the type of pig that is lean and have a higher meat-to-fat ratio. They typically have a longer body and will grow faster than lard pigs. 

We personally love to harvest lard to use in cooking! Learn more about the process of rendering lard here. 

What is “the other white meat”?

In 1987, in an effort to increase the sale of pork, The National Pork Board created the slogan of “Pork. The Other White Meat”. They wanted consumers to believe pork was healthy, like chicken, and change the reputation of it being a fatty and unhealthy meat choice. The thing is… pork should not be white. A pork loin is whiter than the rest of the pork, but hogs raised well will be a deep red color. 

Pork that has the ability to move more will have darker red meat because the meat has received more oxygen. When they came out with “the other white meat” from the National Pork Check-off, it was referring to hogs raised in confinement that are lean, but pasture-raised pork will not be “white”.

Other things to consider when choosing breeds

Specific breeds of pigs will have unique characteristics to consider when raising. It is a good idea to think through the different factors and what will work for your farm or homestead. Things like their size, temperament, and the type of environment they thrive in can all vary from breed to breed. 

Temperament- Some breeds of pigs are very docile and friendly, where others can be more aggressive, especially for the males. Some are friendly enough to become pets if that is what you’d like to do!

Environment – Some breeds of pigs do well outside, where others need shelter. A big reason for this is the type of hair they have and if they can stay warm in cold weather and rain. Some breeds do well in confinement but keep in mind that it’s important for hogs to be raised outdoors with access to pasture to have higher omega-3 in their meat. 

Feed – It is important to consider the feed costs when raising pigs. Some breeds like to forage which means that you can supplement with less feed, or their size can determine how much they will need to eat.

Growth rate – Something to consider is if they take a long time to grow to full size. If you are harvesting for meat you will want to know if they are ready within a year or need more time to grow. 

Litter size – Some have larger litters, which means a bigger yield of meat. Additionally, some are better at mothering their young than others which means less work for you when it comes to the young. 

Popular breeds of pigs on a homestead

American Guinea Hogs

American Guinea Hogs are a small black pig that is very docile. They are a lard pig that can do well on small farms since they are a smaller breed of pig. They like to forage and you can expect that they will forage for a lot of their own food. They like to eat things like grass, roots, nuts, rodents or snakes. They have a slower growth rate and will take longer than a year to get to size. 

Kunekune Pigs

Kunekune pigs are a medium-sized breed that is even-tempered. They are known for being a good option for small farms because they won’t uproot your plants and are good with fences. They do well outside if it is not raining, however, they do need shelter from the rain because they do not have fur that keeps them warm. They are another breed of a lard pig. 

Chester White Pigs

Chester White Pigs are large white pigs that are great to raise because they live long lives and will produce multiple litters. They are very nurturing and good mothers to their young and are not aggressive. They are another breed of a lard pig. 

Berkshire Pigs

Berkshire Pigs have shorter legs but are medium to large in size. They are black with some white on their snouts. They are a lard pig with darker meat with more marbling throughout making their meat very flavorful. 

Red Wattle Pigs

Red Wattle Pigs are red or red with black spots, they are very calm and non-aggressive, and they even get started very easily! They have large litters and are great at mothering. They are good foragers so you do not have to give them as much feed, but if they need to be in confinement they do well with that too. They grow to be very large meat pigs and their meat is tender and lean. 

Hereford Pigs

Hereford pigs are red with a white face, similar looking to what a Hereford cow looks like. They are docile and do well in a variety of climates. They are also great foragers and do well raised on a pasture. 

American Yorkshire Pigs

This is the most popular breed in the United States! They are a meat pig with pink skin and white hair. They have the typical look when you think of a pig! They grow quickly and have large litters and are also great mothers to their young. They are generally well-mannered and non-aggressive. 

Hampshire Pigs

A Hampshire Pig is a meat pig that is a great forager and will also do well in smaller spaces. Female pigs are great mothers but males can be aggressive. 

Our experience at Pleasant Grove Homestead

We have learned through some trial and error which pigs are best for our needs. The first time we had pigs on our homestead, We started off with American guinea hogs, a lard breed. The lard was amazing, but with their slow growth it took two years to get to a reasonable size and even then, the pork chops were small. Then we got some mixed breeds from a local person when they had too many, they were confinement breeds that did not handle being outside well. We think that they might have been Yorkshire Pigs. 

In our preference, we want a freezer full of delicious and nutritious high-quality meat, raised in a sustainable method that didn’t take multiple winters to raise. We settled on Hereford Pigs for our direct-to-consumer sales and have a breeding set of 5 females (sows) and 1 male (boar). In about 8 months our piglets will go from newborn to freezer, which is significantly slower than a confinement breed, but much shorter than a lard breed. We raise our Herefords “slow” on pasture, with dirt, and mud with access to feed, water, milk from our cow, and plenty of garden scraps. They could be ready for processing in six months if we kept them confined to a small lot with only grain but we believe it is worth it to raise the pigs on pasture. 

Our favorite breed to raise

Our top Contender for a breed to raise for meat are Hereford pigs. They are the perfect mix between a lard and a meat hog. They have plenty of fat which gives it great flavor but not an overpowering amount. They are great pigs because they will eat scraps and grain but not become overly fat. They also handle being on pasture well. 

Other things to know 

From experience, we have learned that you will want an unbred female, called a gilt, or a castrated male, called a barrow. You could process a sow, meaning a female who has had babies, but you would never want to process a boar. Boar taint is a very real thing. This is when the male pigs that have been used for breeding put off a foul smell and the meat smells bad. You will be very disappointed if you harvest a boar and get meat that tastes bad! It is not poisonous, just very unpleasant and not worth the effort of processing and butchering. It literally tastes like pee– ask us how we know! 

Final recommendations 

Overall, you have to consider what will be best for your homestead. For us here at Pleasant Grove Homestead, we wanted a pig that would do well on a pasture with foraging, have a growing season of less than a year, and produce a good ratio of fat to meat. It took us a few tries to get the breed right, and sometimes you just need that experience to know which will be the right fit for you and your goals. Hereford pigs have checked all the boxes that were most important for us, but yours could look different! Consider what is important to you and do your research so you know what type of breed would be best for your farm or homestead. 

Other ways to get pasture-raised pork in your kitchen 

If you don’t want to raise your own pigs, you can also buy pasture-raised pork from a local farm. You can either purchase pork by the cut, or you can also buy a whole or half hog! It’s the same concept as a cow share, and you will have a freezer full of high-quality pork. Learn more about buying a whole or half hog here! 

We raise and sell pork here at Pleasant Grove Homestead! Our two Hereford cross mama sows raise our piglets until they are ready to be turned out to graze. In addition to all the garden scraps, fresh milk/whey, and foraging, they do get a ration of traditional corn and soy to maintain their condition. We do everything from bacon, ham, pork chops, roasts, or even brats and hot dogs. You can learn more about purchasing our pork from our farm, through local markets and co-ops with the link below.