Meishan

It is a medium-sized lard hog. There were once three sub-types: small, middle and large. The large is gone. China keeps the small and the middle as separate breeds on conservation farms, and only the middle type exists in the United States.

The American population arrived in 1989, after ten years of negotiation with China, as part of a joint study by the USDA, Iowa State and the University of Illinois. Only 99 animals came in, split evenly by sex and by genetic line. The research programs held them until the work ended in 2016, when the remaining pigs were dispersed to American farmers; everything here descends from those 99.

A black pig with deeply wrinkled skin and large drooping ears. The Conservancy puts boars at 275 to 375 pounds and sows at 300 to 400. The trait the breed is famous for is prolificacy: litters typically run 14 to 16 piglets and occasionally 20 or more by the third farrowing, and piglets reach puberty at about 90 days.

It was bred to be quiet, docile and sedentary, which makes it easier to handle than almost any other pig; the Conservancy notes they often have to be woken for feeding. Rated for beginners.

Heavily marbled meat and quality fat: charcuterie, roasts, sausage and ham. It was bred to do well in small spaces on rough feed, and it performs well on pasture-based, fiber-rich diets.

Not much space and not much grain: small areas and fibrous, forage-heavy feed are what the breed was selected for. The prolificacy is the management load; a sow raising 15 piglets needs the keeper to have planned for 15.

Threatened on the Conservation Priority List, and declared critically endangered worldwide by The Livestock Conservancy in 2018. The American herd's base is 99 imported animals, so the genetics are narrow by construction; breeder numbers in the US are rising as smallholders take the breed up.

Ask for the registration from the American Meishan Breeders Association, and ask which of the original genetic lines the animal traces to; in a population founded on 99 animals, line diversity is worth paying for.

Be honest about the product: this is a lard-type, marbling-first hog for charcuterie and direct markets, not a lean commercial carcass.

Recent sale prices on HoofnHorn, where there are any, are further down this page.