With these characteristics, the Berkshire pigs made it into the English royal family. Queen Victoria bred the first boar named “Ace of Spades”. There is a large population of these animals in Asia, especially in Japan and South Korea. Berkshire is also described as the “ Wagyu of pig breeds ” due to its outstanding meat quality.

There are only a few purebred animals in Austria. Therefore, the creation of a herd book including the already active farms is a necessary first step towards establishing the Berkshire breed in Austria. The necessary support is provided by the Austrian breeding company “ PIG Austria GmbH ”. The creation of a herd book is intended to create new opportunities and better access to breeding material for interested companies in the future than before. Since there is currently no structured breeding work with this breed, the activity presented represents, to a certain extent, pioneering work in the field of herdbook breeding.

The primary purpose of the work is to support Austrian agriculture. The purebred animals are also the starting point for crosses with meat-rich pigs. These crossbred animals are intended to combine the outstanding quality of the Berkshire with a little more flesh.

Just listen or watch:

In this podcast episode, Priv.-Doz. Dr. Andreas Steinwidder with Ing. Markus Gallnböck about the current status and the intended further development of Berkshire breeding in Austria: