The Tamworth Breeders’ Club Autumn 2011 Volume 6, Issue 1 TamworthTamworth Tamworths - The future’s orange! TrumpetTrumpet

New Club Secretary

Lucy has decided to relinquish being Tamworth secretary owing to changed circumstances in her life- style which have severely reduced the amount of time available for her to do the job as she wanted. She has done an enormous amount for us over the past year not least completely revising and updat- ing the membership list and determining who was and who was not paid up!

Inside this issue: She also oversaw the revamping of our website transferring the domain to the club’s ownership and control. Not least she has been very patiently dealing with members queries and problems, some of Tamworth Trifles 2 which were far from easy going to sort out. We are very grateful to her for putting such a lot of her time into the role and are delighted that she intends to continue her membership. We shall also look Chairman’s Message 3 forward to seeing her in her position at the Royal Berks Show which she undertakes with great finesse 25 Years with Tammys 4-5 and success each year. Thank you Lucy for being there for us at a difficult time.

Howes ‘At! 6 We are very lucky to have found someone to take over from Tammys in NZ 7 Lucy and here is an introduction in her own words: My name is Michele Baldock, and I live on a smallholding on New Book 8 the Romney Marsh in Kent with my husband Mark and two daughters Florence & Edie. I have worked with animals since King of 9-11 leaving school, firstly for the Born Free Foundation for 5 years Solar PV for Farmers 11 as a big cat keeper at their rescue centre for lions, tigers and leopards and then 5 years as a veterinary nurse in small animal Shape of Things 12 practice until having the girls. Guide to AI 13-14 I am a fairly recent convert to keeping, starting off with Strange 15 hand rearing a Tamworth and a Saddleback and enjoying the experience of growing and eating our own produce. The whole family fell in love with the charismatic Tamworths and we now have a Harris’ Bacon 16-17 small breeding herd consisting of our handsome boar Hamlet and his harem of 3 sows and 2 young Interbreed Honours 18 gilts and various weaners and growers.

TWs in Jerusalem 19 I became a member of the Tamworth Breeders' Club committee at the last AGM and have been help- ing Lucy & Liz Shankland to get the new website up and running and accessible to all members. Book Review 20 This year I have had my first experiences of showing and look forward to getting to a few more shows in 2012 with some of our homebred stock, meeting new and existing members through the season, allowing you to put a face to my name! Tamworth Trumpet I am keen to continue the hard work which Lucy has put into the club with the website and updating Help spread the all the members’ information, I would welcome any members to contact me with any queries or sug- word—recruit a new gestions to how we can improve the club. member at every opportunity. Michele Baldock Fairview Farmhouse, Ruckinge. Ashford, Kent, TN26 2NT—01233 730891; 07879 697792 Pa ge 2 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

Tamworth Trifles by Dreamboy

xciting news that our new website is about to go live and by E the time you receive this edition of The Trumpet could well be up and running. We owe a great deal to our secretary, Lucy, and also to that ebullient journalist and show person, Liz Shankland in getting it all off the ground.

I can fully recommend the acquisition of our editor, Richard Lutwy- che's, latest book, " Higgledy Piggledy ", which has provided me with many interesting things about pigs I never knew about. How he has collected all this information and kept it organised in one place I have no idea! It's the sort of book you can keep by your bedside or favourite armchair and just keep dipping into time and time again. There is a mass of amazing miscellany about pigs drawn from a worldwide basis. Another book which is designed to be dipped into and well worth the investment is "Hatfield - The First 400 years", edited by the BPA President's wife, Hannah Salisbury. All sorts of interesting family history is here and she has not spared the family blushes by not including items of family scandal which have occurred along the centuries. Not that it appears in the book, but I was interested to learn that Lord Salisbury's first ever pig was a Tamworth, given to him as a present. Apparently it was love at first sight (as is usual when people acquire their first Tammy!) and the affair was cemented when soon afterwards she gave birth to her first litter. It wasn't long before other breeds had joined her and that the "Emsworth" style porcine accommodation had been set up at Cranborne - the rest as they say being history. It is great to see the pigs being transferred to Hatfield and the setting up of a magnificent new farm park there. This should be a great benefit to the people of North London who are not used to seeing our traditional . It is also good to hear that showing will once again recom- mence from Lord Salisbury's herd of pigs and that we should indeed soon have some good competition from his Tamworths.

It was good to see Viki Mills return to the RBST Council with a substantially increased vote. Pigs need a strong voice and a deci- sive approach on this influential and positive body promoting our traditional breeds across the spectrum.

Great news that the RASE have appointed a new dynamic Chief Executive whose main object in life it appears is to restore the Royal Show. Many people felt that this once su- premely popular event could have been saved or refounded by "starting small" and rebuilding. British needs a national showcase and it would be fantastic if we could once again show our wonderful breed on a national basis and again compete for what was always the most sought after prize in British pig showing - supreme championship at the Royal. The Tamworths have not attained this in living memory.

Congratulations to Bill Quay's Ryan Perry and Shute Vale's Kieran Finn on qualifying for the final of the young pig handler at Hatfield Show. Kieran came in a creditable reserve champion to Hayley Loveless as he did last year. Unfortunately, Ryan was unable to make the final but I hear that he has started a new job at the RBST revolv- ing around genetics and is lodging with Bill and Shirley Howes in Kenilworth. I wonder if we will see him helping the "old boy" out in the show ring next year! Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1 Pa ge 3

Message from your Chairman by Nick Hunkin

have been very pleasantly surprised this year at just how well the traditional I pig breeders of the UK have withstood the con- tinuing downturn in the pig in- dustry. Many breeders have worked hard over the years to build up a cus- tomer base and have diversified into interesting cu- linary sidelines. By and large their end users have not deserted them and have been prepared to pay an in- creased premium for their products reflecting the increased production costs that have occurred. This success has been reflected in the show ring and the much dreaded possible reduction in entries anticipated by senior stewards at the beginning of the year on the whole has not happened. It would seem the Tamworth breed is surviving very well - perhaps reflecting the superb quality of our delicious meat and the ingenuity of our producers. You have not got to look very far for the leading lights of pedigree pork production when we can boast members like the Francis brothers and Caroline Wheatley-Hubbard.

I achieved a 24 year ambition at the beginning of September when I won my very first supreme interbreed champion- ship with a Tamworth pig at a major County Show - the Dorset County. I have won Supremes with other breeds I have been involved with over the years and with Tamworths a best traditional and reserve champion once but the big one had eluded me - until now. But then I am always a slow starter where Tamworths are concerned! After all it took me 15 years to win breed champion at the Royal Show!

It was good to see a Tamworth represented in the final of the Pig of the Year this year. After a string of 5 years being represented, we had been missing for a year and it was good to see the breed back up there once again. I still think it was a judge's omission that we went 21 years without producing a single qualifier and I do not regret losing my commentating position at the Great Yorkshire for saying this publicly.

It was good to see some new faces in the show ring this year especially at the Royal Bath and West and the Great Yorkshire which are now the 2 premier UK agricultural shows where pigs are concerned. I hope all you newcomers enjoyed yourselves and will be happy to repeat the experience in future years. Maybe your example will encourage others to come out of the woodwork and "have a go".

I hope that as many of you as possible will have made the effort to attend the AGM this year. We are fortunate that the dynamic and go ahead Francis Brothers found Tamworths before any other breed. A visit to their herd will be a fantastic opportunity to see how pedigree pork products can be turned into a "big business". The Francises now have by some way the largest Tamworth herd in the country and are still discovering increased markets for their products. This is an example for all of us and we will all learn something by attending the meeting and visiting the herd.

In August our Tamworth pork admiring ,TV personality and food writer, Charles Campion, was commissioned by the Financial Times Weekender Magazine to write an article on The Marquisof Salisbury and in particular his interest in pigs. Charles being the loyal member he is ,went one step further and centred the article around Tamworths - since this was the first breed the Marquis ever had. Unfortunately the FT do not allow their articles to be reproduced anywhere, but if you follow the link below you can see and read it in its entirety on your computer and probably print it off if you want to. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/30ba9daa-bd82-11e0-89fb-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1XGTcG0s0 Pa ge 4 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

25 Years With Tamworths by Caroline Wheatley-Hubbard

hy is it that when one is young, old people get older, W but now that one is a little older, one does not get older? In April I celebrated 25 years at Boyton – and that means 25 years of life with the Tamworths which has prompted me to reminisce (another part of getting older!) over those 25 years! My first memory of meeting the Tamworths was in 1963 when I stayed with my godmother, Ann Wheatley-Hubbard to conva- lesce after having had my appendix removed. In those days ‘Aunt Ann’ had commercial Large White pigs as well as Tamworths and each morning we walked down to the pig buildings to see if one of the Large White sows had farrowed – of course we had to wait till the last morning for it to have happened! Perhaps that was the basis of my love of pigs?!! Caroline, at one of her favourite pastimes—sitting in a pen communicating with her pigs! Frank Watts was pigman in 1986 so the pigs were in very capable hands and needed little attention as the various activities of a working mixed farm were got to grips with. However, with 2 small boys and a grandmother-in-law to entertain, visiting the pigs was a frequent event. We farrowed twice a year and the fat pigs were sold to a wholesaler who gave us very little for such carcasses!! This meant intense times of farrowing (January and July of course!) and of fattened pigs leaving. Frank sadly died a few years after we came and it was then that my involvement increased. We had started to sell some of the pork from ‘the backdoor’ and to make sausages and this led to doing research with Bristol University and the RBST into the flavour, tex- ture etc of various different modern and traditional breeds of which, famously, the Tamworth came ‘Top for Taste and Texture’. I learned to butcher when I took the children to school, picked up the carcasses from the slaughterhouse and spent the morning hav- ing the pigs butchered. Eventually the butcher handed me a knife and said ‘you might as well help as stand there’! It has stood me in good stead – I struggle with a whole carcase but I do know most of the time when the butcher is pulling a fast one! The sausage recipes we use today were created then, and taste just as good as they are made from the same line of pigs! When one of the boys was laid low for many days I spent the time with him watching telly while I traced our present day pigs back through the herd books to the original No 1 of the Berkswell Herd, Jemima. It was an insight into history, especially with the noted influence of the Canadian imports of the 1930s. Involvement with the RBST led to serious genetic studies, helped by Lawrence Alderson. His co-efficient of in-breeding meant trac- ing every pig in the herd back for 8 generations. I spent one Royal Show sitting on the box surrounded by wadges of paper! – well what else was there to do at The Royal Show! In the end, I think it was an academic exercise as it only served to underline how in- bred the herd, and the breed, is. This was also underlined when we had the two imported Australian boars at stud here. Litter sizes more than doubled – 14 became the norm out of these matings and our average litter size rose accordingly. Interestingly, ten years or so later, a second generation (i.e. grandson) of the boars had no better fecundity figures than the other ‘non-Australian’ boars in the herd. Fecundity has always been high on my agenda – I wonder who remembers my attempt with using a Large White x Tamworth to grade up? The first outcry was when she was seen at what is now The Ginger Piggery – ‘Caroline has

Our Editor has a new book out in time for Christmas. Higgledy Piggledy. Published by Quiller Pub- lishing it looks at the many ways that the pig has influenced our lives through culture, language, art and much more. Things as diverse as Slang & Cant, Sayings, Quotations, Pigs on Inn Signs, Pigs that Rock and Piggy People. All interspersed with fascinating stories about pigs and their impact on our history and culture.

Available from all the usual places (are there any bad book shops?) or through the publisher’s web- site www.countrybooksdirect.com

Hardback, 128pp with colour photos and illustrations, £14.99 Pa ge 5 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1 got a white pig at Boyton!’ I soldiered on with the grading up, fascinated by all the different markings on the sec- ond generation cross. By the fourth generation, born in 2000 (hence the choice of ‘Millennium’ as his name) the boar was passed to go into the national herd and again, fecundity figures were no better!! I never sold a pedigree boar out of him and the name will get lost in the mists of time. 1997 saw a celebration of the herd be- ing 75 years old – the centenary seemed a long way off then, 2022 is only 11 years away now! It has been a privilege to look after some small part of por- cine history. If I was asked what I enjoyed most with the pigs I would struggle – yes I love the crackling, and if I was on Desert Island Discs I think my luxury would be Tamworth bacon – I cant do without it! It is no secret that I don’t enjoy showing, from training, through washing to being in the ring! Except perhaps for those odd occasions when we have had a stonking win, and always unexpected at that level. I am sure this will bring a smile to Nick’s face as he will remember engineering the Grand Parade at the Bath and West one year when Champion and Reserve Champion (with their respective owners) were towed by Nick’s 4x4 into the Grand Ring and got bogged down in the mud! I guess my favourite times are when I have been able to sit quietly in a pen, or on the straw outside, and communicate with the best of pigs – the Tamworth!

Berkswell Belmont 5

Obituary—Mr L M Farrington

Members will be sorry to hear of the death of Mr L M Farrington, one of the great characters of the Tamworth world, earlier this year.

Mick always kept faith with the Tamworth breed at his local show, the Great Yorkshire, and never missed a show, even when the breed was relegated into the "any other breed" class, after local breeders gradually dropped out. He was delighted when support began to come back and the Great Yorkshire was in a position to restore the breed classes. They are now back to their former glory and he was so pleased to be win- ning top prizes there against the appropriate competition including the 2010 Breed Championship. He would have been delighted to see his son judge the Tamworths at the Royal Bath and West this year to universal exhibitor approval and to have seen the herd he founded go on to win the breed championship at the Hatfield Show (on their first outing) in 2011.

The full story of Mick's long association with Tamworths appears in an article written by him in a previous edition of The Trumpet. Pa ge 6 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

Howes ‘At! 50 Years of Memories by Bill Howes

Last Christmas I happened to mention to Nick Hunkin that it was 50 years since I started work. He suggested that I might write down a few reminis- cences. So here goes…. I was always 'mad keen' to work on a farm, much to my parents' disappoint- ment and disapproval. As soon as I was old enough to go out on my own, I could always be found in a farmyard somewhere near to our home. My friend Andy (Capp to his mates) and I were there any time I was free - even staying over during school holidays. Eventually, when I left school, I was apprenticed to Capp's Dad, earning £3 a week with one day release at college during the winter months.

The farm was 180 acres, mixed farming which was very typical of the Bill Howes with some of his prizes. time. We had a herd of pedigree Jersey cows which were tied by the neck in a cowshed, just for miking in the summer, and all the time in the winter (except for daily exercise outside). They were miked by ma- chine into buckets. This was then carried to the , tipped through a filter into a churn and cooled with a rotary in-churn cooler. The churns were then labelled with the farm details and trundled up the drive on a trolley and put onto the churn stand ready for collection by the milk lorry. There was a flock of mixed breed for fat lamb production. These sheep spent most of their time breaking through the fences into next door's fields -thank goodness for a pair of very good Collie sheepdogs (Bouncer & Scamp). About a quarter of the farm was arable - oats, wheat and barley. For the first 2 or 3 years I was there, about 12 acres of oats were cut with a binder and stooked in the old fashioned way. This was so that the straw could be used for fodder in the winter. We also grew grass for hay and kale for winter feed. The pigs were very small scale, only 6 sows, and were a pretty 'mottley' bunch of cross-breeds - Large Black x Large White x Saddleback x anything else. Bill stoking oats in 1963. The sheaves were wet and thus the They were used to eat up a lot of the waste produce - 'beestins' milk (the first need for a sacking apron. after calving), penicillin milk and the like. We had our own mill and mixer and used to mix a ration for them. The boar was a Large White type and was used by everyone locally. He wasn't ours and we took the sows to him. There were no movement restrictions in those days. Some- times, if you timed it right, you could take the sow, get her served while you waited and bring her home again. We farrowed the sows down in loose boxes with farrowing rails round the outside and a creep in the corner for the infra red lamp. - nothing new there!! You'd get it all set up, switch the lamp on and go home, thinking all was OK. When you got there next morning, she'd lifted the door off its hinges, gone into the barn, made a nest in the straw and had them there! Quite often, in the autumn, the sows would take their litters up the drive to go acorn- ing. The piglets were always healthy—no coughs or scours. When they were nearly weaning age, we'd round them up, get them in a loose box and shut the sow out in the yard. With a paint-stick marker - a dot on the head for the boars The Comet herd of Jerseys coming in for milking and a stripe on the back for the gilts. in the early 1960s. Then the grizzly task of castration!! It was a two man job - one would grab the pig, swing it between his legs and grip between the knees and a cry of 'Don't let go!!' The other chap had a sharp penknife. There was no an- aesthetic or antiseptic. Holding a testicle between finger and thumb, squeeze and make an incision lengthways. The testicle 'popped' out and was pulled to expose 2 cords - one was cut and the other pulled till it came free. This morsel was thrown over the door for the sow to eat, which she did with gusto and relish! This was repeated with the other testicle. When all the boars were cut, the sow was let back in. As we all know, sows get very upset when they here their piglets squealing, so when she was let back in, we kept well out of the way! Although this seems very barbaric by today’s standards, we never lost a piglet and the scars healed very quickly. To be Continued...... Pa ge 7 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

Tamworths in New Zealand by Pierre le Bas

irst thing I can say is that the Tamworth breed was registered in the first Herd F Book of 1918 and apart from that I do not know much more about them till I was a lad.

I grew up in the late 40s and early 50s knowing that the pig industry was based on the Tamworth - Berkshire cross. So when I left school and worked on farms in the late 50s, they still dominated the scene. I must say the Tamworth was not recognised for use as sows but more as a terminal sire. In those days they had a very bad reputation as not nice to handle, especially when they had litters on them. So Berkshires were the choice of sows with a Tamworth boar to cover them.

They were mostly reared out on grass as there was very little housing of pigs. That did not come till the 60s which then bought on the decline of the Tamworth as a white boar become the preferred cross. The Tamworth sow was very athletic compared to the Berkshire so could very easy hurdle any fence that was put in her way. You would have needed today’s deer netting to keep them in. Most of the troubled times were when you castrated the boar piglets at about 2-3 weeks of age. The sows could become very highly agitated. Also at that time, feed was just about all whey, so they would climb over other pigs to get in the trough which also gave them a springboard to jump over fences.

In their defence, as a terminal sire the cross won many highly prized bacon competitions. These competitions were based on the Wilt- shire side. There were four that I know of that I could enter and if you won one it helped im- mensely with your stud advertising. At that time NZ dairy farms were about 100 acres and most used their entitlement of whey back from the cheese factory to fatten pigs. If there were no cheese factories in their area they would supply cream to a butter factory. They sepa- rated the cream on the farm and were left with skim milk the most prized pig food of them all. So with every farmer having a few pigs, a Tam- worth boar for their sows was most sought after.

As I mentioned above, once the white breeds, housing, less whey and more meal feeding came into being, the Tamworth become a which to this day it remains, struggling to Tamworth pigs in New Zealand stay alive. In NZ you can count on one hand just about how many people are breeding them. Most are supplying Farmers Markets as a rare Tamworth taste. With not being able to import new bloodlines, they are looking at crossing with some of these long nosed American Yorkshire bloodlines that have been bought in by frozen semen.

With help from NZ Rare Breeds the Tamworth, I guess, will struggle on. I hope so, as we do not know what is ahead and like other minor breeds they may be needed again as a mainstay for the pork and bacon industries.

Pa ge 8 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

New Book by Tamworth Breeder

aynes Manuels used to be about replacing a clutch in a Mark II Cortina or H body filling your Hillman Imp but The Art of Pig Maintenance is what it says on the cover—a book on how to keep pigs! Tamworth breeder Liz Shankland has written a new book about pig keeping. Liz, a journalist and broadcaster by profession, is the author of The Haynes Pig Manual – the latest in a series of leisure titles to be published by the company once best-known for its essential car maintenance manuals. The manual is a straightforward, no-nonsense guide to pig-keeping. Packed with colour photographs, it’s ideal for beginners who need advice on buying and rearing their first pigs right through to breeding and showing. It’s also intended as a handy resource for the more experienced pig-keeper who occasionally needs to dip into a Liz Shankland with ‘Pricey’ quick-reference manual for help and reassurance. As Liz is the breeder of the current Tamworth Champion of Champions, you might have ex- pected to have seen one of her Tudful Herd gracing the cover. But, instead, she chose an Oxford Sandy & Black piglet for the main picture. “As I breed Tamworths, I couldn’t really ask for one as the main image on the cover, otherwise people would have said I was biased. So I opted for what I considered the next most attractive breed and asked a friend, Rachel Nicholas, to let us photograph one of her litters. “We had great fun getting that shot. The publishers hired James Davies, a professional photogra- pher from Swansea, who arrived at the farm with thousands of pounds’ worth of photographic and lighting equipment and then proceeded to turn one of the barns into a glamorous studio! “Haynes had this image of what they wanted - a single piglet on a white background. So the pho- tographer set up a paper backdrop and Rachel and I had the job of trying to coax a litter of about 10 lively little blighters to get in position. “Eventually, one of the piglets did exactly what James wanted him to – but only after the entire litter had wreaked havoc, ripping up the backdrop and knocking over expensive lights and reflec- tors. “James is a very experienced photographer and has had to work in difficult situations over many years in order to get the right shot, but even he said it was one of his most testing assignments yet!” The Tamworth breed wasn’t totally upstaged, however, as the cover of the book also features three of Liz’s own pictures – one of a Tamworth sow and piglet . And, just for good measure, there are plenty of Tamworths included inside the book, too! The Pig Manual is Liz’s second book, and she is currently working on another, the Haynes Smallholding Manual, due for release in 2012. The Haynes Pig Manual is on sale for £19.99 in shops and online stores, or can be bought direct from Liz Shankland at various pig Oxford S&B piglets destroying the backdrop—photo by James Davies shows. For more information about Liz’s books and about the prize-winning Tudful Herd, please visit www.lizshankland.com

A Plea From Our New Secretary I am asking members to ensure that we have their updated details. All current members have been issued logins for the forum on the site but I have been unable to contact about half a dozen members as the email addresses we have for them are out of date. Please email your details to me and I will update our records. Pa ge 9 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

King of Pigs by Charles Campion

amworth pigs are charming creatures, they will look you in the eye, smile and then do whatever they T choose. Showing any pig is a difficult job, the idea is that the pigs walk gently round the ring at an agricultural show while the judge – usually a weather-beaten fellow in a bowler hat or a resolute lady with the kind of floral headgear usually reserved for country weddings – decides whether the are per- fect; whether the underline is sufficiently elegant; and if the head is carried well while also considering a host of other arcane porcine beauty traits. The pig’s minder (or minders – boars must have two handlers in the showing ring) has an old walking stick and a board for steering, you block off the left hand side of the pig’s head with the board then he or she obediently turns to the right in order to see round the obstruction. So far so good. Pig showing is a pleasant country ritual that’s as much a part of summer as the hum of a bumble bee. Lean on the arena fence and watch a dozen large, plump pigs amble round the ring snuffling to themselves. Then it’s time for a rude awakening as the Tamworth class storms into the ring.

In the main Tamworths are larger than their handlers, quicker than their handlers, and dangerously clever. Imagine you were trying out your stick and board pig guid- ance techniques on a large, ginger sofa fitted with an outboard motor - bulky but athletic and with an impressive turn of speed. Sensibly enough Nick Hunkin now concentrates on commentating at the shows and spends more time with micro- phone in hand than he does chivvying his beloved Tammys. Each year his Shute Vale herd of pedigree Tamworths racks up an impressive tally of Championships “This was and Interbreed cups after the animals have been paraded round the ring by Nick’s raggle-taggle army of teenage helpers. The deal is that if the kids help with the Dreamboy’s work in the piggery Nick will take them away to the shows all expenses paid. It’s most enjoyable one time when like seems to cancel out like, both the teenagers and the Tam- Nick accepting the RASERoyal Championship to date…” in 2009 from worths are frisky, flighty and out for a good time. The showing season is one long the Marquis of Salisbury. Photo by Anthony Mosley party for them all. Showing would be a good deal easier if the pigs were not so bright. Nick still tells a tale from the early days – at one of the first shows on the calendar, the Devon County perhaps – a competing sow sidled up to Shute Vale Melody the 3 rd and bit her in the bum, Shute Vale etcetera who was generally known as Henrietta, limped on out of sorts and ended up with a rather depressing fourth place. But such is the perspicacity of Tammys that at the far end of the long showing season, Henrietta found herself entering the ring at the New- bury Show, and caught sight of her old adversary, she abandoned her handler, rushed across the arena and bit her rival in the hams. On that occasion the enemy was limping while Henrietta secured the Championship she deserved.

Nick Hunkin is the son of a Devon farmer and in the 1950s and 1960s delighted in what he now describes as the heyday of the small mixed farm “when the farmer worked with nature rather than against it.” The Hunkins kept a few dairy , a few beef cattle, some sheep and some Saddleback pigs. They grew a bit of corn . They lovingly tended the ancient meadows and were rewarded by impres- sive milk yields. Towards the end of the 1960s things started to change, the pigs had to go, then the sheep and beef steers had to go as the dairy herd grew and the word “intensive” started to be bandied around in farming circles. Finally, as with so many other farm- ing families, the Hunkins hit the buffers. Nick wanted to take over the farm from his father while his two sisters and mother were all for selling up. The ladies got their way and Nick moved to London and a job as an auctioneer. It wasn’t long before the people who bought the farm brought in the most valuable crop of them all – an estate of executive houses. Talking about it still upsets Nick, “I try not to drive past the old place as I don’t like seeing the best meadows under concrete.” Fast forward to a Show and Sale run by the Devon support group of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, in Exeter – one of the lots was an elegant Tamworth gilt , “Gilhouse Lucky Lass the 37 th” . Before he could convince his wife that they needed a pig; before he had convinced the seller that he had any- where to keep a pig; let alone any way of transporting her home, Nick had bought her. That pig a.k.a.. “Poppy” was to be the foun- dation of the Shute Vale herd. What could so easily have been a lesson in the wisdom of sitting on your hands while at an auction, eventually turned out rather well. Some neighbours had an old piggery they were prepared to rent out and Nick managed to borrow an old Bedford van to take Poppy home. “The journey wasn’t too bad, we put some straw bales across behind the front seats and she couldn’t quite reach the steering wheel with her nose”. Later that summer Poppy won the Tamworth championship at the Okehamp- ton show, much to the delight of her sceptical breeder who could now tell by the splendid condition of the champion that Nick had a real talent for pig keeping. “In the beginning I think the lady who bred Poppy thought I was some green wellied man from Godalm- ing, it was difficult persuading her I could be trusted with a Tamworth, especially as at the time I had nowhere to keep one.” If you ask Nick Hunkin why he has been such a fervent supporter of Tamworth pigs he goes all sheepish and will give you a long rambling speech about the importance of preserving rare breeds. The truth is he fell in love with Poppy. When he was starting out in Tammys the breed was in a parlous situation, the “intensive” farming imperatives of the 1980s meant that pigs needed to be long backed, white skinned and docile so numbers of the huge, independently-minded ginger pigs were declining fast. Pa ge 10 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

King of Pigs (cont.) Nick’s pig –keeping ambitions took a turn for the better when he was lucky enough to find a small-holding owned by the County Council - 2½ acres, a barn and a few old stables. He took it on and now the Shute Vale herd had an headquarters and room for expansion. Over the roller coaster years and through two bouts of foot and mouth disease the number of pigs at his piggery has varied enormously. Pigs are busy animals and each year every sow has two litters which can mean as many as 32 piglets. Sows need a boar, and the herd needs a young boar in training, so to enter a few pig shows with some gilts, and a junior boar plus a senior sow and boar means that your dozen travelling superstars represent a much larger herd. They really are the best of the best. Before the second World War pig showing was a vital part of the agricultural economy but often a stockman’s livelihood depended on winning – in Nick with Gloucestershire Old Spots breeder, Liz Hurley, at Hatfield House the 1930s a prize boar could fetch £1,000, (which is equivalent Show 2006, Photo by Anthony Mosley to a modern day £15,000 to £20,000!). No wonder there are well documented cases of pigmen sleeping with their charges during the night before the competition to avoid “pig-knobbling”. Pigs are sensitive creatures and waking them up abruptly in the middle of the night is enough to impair their performance in the show the following day. Nick insists that there are dark mutterings about present day pig knobblers who are alleged to try everything from squirting water into a sow’s ear (that will make her shake her head for the following day and walk round the ring unbalanced with her head on one side) to the altogether more beastly “drawing pin in the trotter” to make her lame.

For the Chairman of the Tamworth Breeder’s Club Nick is remarkably tolerant of other breeds and has “dabbled” in Oxford Sandy and Blacks; Middle Whites; and most surprising of all British Landrace. It seems odd that someone so passionate about rare breeds would give houseroom to a commercial pig like the Landrace. If you ask him why he started to keep a commercial pig like Landrace he will respond with a short lecture on their origins. The breed was developed by the Danes in the 1930s and its ancestors include eight different traditional British pigs. But as became more and more intensive in the 1980s, “closed unit” piggeries adopted more and more stringent hygiene policies culminating in an edict which meant that any pig leaving the premises could never return and must be slaughtered. This draconian approach put an end to showing and any interchange of stock putting gene diversity at risk . As ever, Nick ended up keeping Landrace pigs for the good of the pigs!

The mathematics of pig-keeping is awe inspiring. Even with a small herd the sows produce a remarkable number of pigs per year. Each that ends up in the herd book gets a three part name. For example “Shute Vale” (that’s the herd), “Lucky Lass” (that part comes from her mother or his father), and finally the 750 th - signifying that this pig is the 750 th born of that line in this particular herd. And yes the numbers of Shute Vale pedigree Tam- worth sows has already passed 750! These numbers mask a good deal of heartache, pig food is pricy so sentiment must take second place to decisive action. It make sense to grow the litter on a bit before deciding on any po- tential champions but any pig breeder always has more boars than he needs, and some farmers are forced to shoot surplus piglets as soon as they are born. If you ask Nick his favourite he responds with the alacrity of a true enthusiast his loyalties are split between a roast loin of pork (well-fatted for great crackling) and the perfect bacon sandwich (streaky bacon cooked until very crisp indeed and doughy white bread). If you then ask him what it’s like to eat a pig he’s brought up he looks at you a rather blankly, like everyone with farming in their blood he has an inbuilt pragmatism, without the on-going cycle of breeding there would be no superstar show pigs; waste and cruelty are unacceptable and so each month another batch of weaners go off to the fatteners and thence to slaughter. This philosophy extends to sows and boars that are growing old – as soon as they falter there is no alternative but to send them to the slaughterhouse where they can be despatched humanely.

In the final analysis Nick Hunkin keeps pigs for two reasons, one practical and one sentimental. On the practical side he points out that in the 20 th Century animal fat has become a public enemy whereas in the 19 th Century, when there was no central heating and Pa ge 11 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1 much more work was manual, it was a vital component of any sensible diet. Mankind does not know what the future holds and there may come a time when we will need the attributes of rare breed animals: hardiness; higher fat levels; better mothering skills. If the Tamworth gene pool were to be lost we would have no way of recovering it. How could anyone be so careless as to stand by while we lose such a valuable resource? Nick’s second argument for Tammys is more sentimental, he points out that we spend huge sums preserving stately homes; antiques; and sites of special scientific interest… surely livestock has equal merit. He sees the bold ginger pig that is the children’s favourite and has come down to us from Iron Age times as living history and something that demands our support.

Sadly 2009 saw the last Royal Show. This was the 160 th year that the Royal Agricultural Society of England had run what was the most prestigious event on the farming calendar. Standing by the Main Ring as the last ever as the Grand Parade of cattle snaked around the arena brought a tear to the eye. So many magnificent animals, so many breeds, what an advertisment for British Farming. The parade of cattle took over 30 minutes to wind past – from Dexters, to Holsteins, to , and ruby rred Devons. What a tragedy it is that farming has lost this showcase. Down at the pig lines however, things were less melancholy, over the years Nick Hunkin has had several champions at the Royal – Large Whites and Middle Whites - but never his beloved Tamworths. But at the last ever Royal Show, Shutevale Lucky Lass 761 won the Tamworth Championship and the magnificent Rufforth Perpetual Chal- lenge Cup. Congratulations to the King of Pigs! ….talk about leaving it to the last moment. Solar PV for Farmers - Can You Afford Not To? n 2010, the government introduced a new green subsidy called the Feed-In I Tariff (FIT) to encourage the uptake on solar and wind power. By utilising electricity generated from the sun and the wind, the reliance on gas and nu- clear power stations is decreased. Solar technology has improved in recent years to the extent that it is possible to generate electricity throughout the year in the UK even on cloudy days. To achieve this, panels need to be facing south or within a 90 deg angle between SW & SE and be free from shadow from other buildings, trees etc. For domestic situations, the number of panels is capped at a capacity of 4kW for these grants but for farmers (and owners of commercial buildings), far greater installations can be accepted up to 100kW. The benefits to the owner of the property, (the grant is not applicable to tenants), are threefold. Firstly, all the electricity so generated is free and thus your electricity bills will reduce. Secondly, if you generate more electricity than you can use, your electricity supplier should buy all the surplus from you at 3.1p per kWh. This is the least generous aspect as you will be paying between 3 and 4 times that rate so the best thing to do is to reschedule things wherever possible to utilise most of your electricity during the hours of day- light. Also, you need to check that your supplier participates in this scheme and if not, look to change suppliers. Lastly, you are enti- tled to be paid under the FIT and whilst this is less than the domestic rate, it is a very generous subsidy and you should be able to recoup the capital cost of the system in around 7-8 years whereas the government guarantees that the benefits will keep accruing for a full 25 years. Details are shown below. The technology installed does all the calculating for you and the grant is paid by your electric- ity supplier. This scheme can cut your fuel bills substantially and provide a worthwhile income for 25 years. As a business, the income is taxable as part of your profits, (although for domestic users it is tax-free) but farmers can claim for the initial cost as a capital allowance. Note that if your buildings are listed or you are in a conservation area, you will need planning per- mission. Similarly, if the solar panels are not being roof mounted, you will almost certainly need planning consent so to be safe, check with your local council first. Each April, the rate of FIT reduces so it is best to make the commitment sooner rather than later. Once you install solar pv, the rate at which you begin will apply throughout the 25 year period and what’s more, it’s index-linked to the RPI against inflation. All installers must be MCS-approved, but there are some ‘quick-fix’ operators out there. Firstly, some may offer a ‘free’ system or ‘roof rental’. You get the solar panels installed for free and get the electricity generated for free. But the company keeps the FIT which is the big earner and the presence of panels under such a contract may detract from the value of your property. Also, read the small print carefully on such schemes to ensure that you are not responsible for any maintenance costs. Also look not for the cheap- est quotation as less responsible suppliers will be using cheap Far Eastern materials that may well require replacement before the full 25 year term is up. For more information, go to http://www.vysal.com/grid_tied_solar_systems-467.html

In a domestic situation, a 4kW system can generate FIT and free electricity to a value at today’s rates of over £48,000 over 25 years against an initial cost of around £12,800. The FIT rates for larger installations on farm buildings are reduced but will still provide a return that will pay for the system roughly over 7—8 years giving a very worthwhile return over the full period. Pa ge 12 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

The Shape of Things to Come by Michael Feasey

here are basically 3 types of people. Those that navigate by churches, those by pubs, or foodies like me, who mark their jour- T neys by pattisseries, butchers and bakers as landmarks. Whilst some men drool over window displays of power-tools, you’ll more likely find me gazing wistfully at succulent meats or cheese through a deli window. Since my move to Dorset some years ago, to be near the source of this good stuff, I’ve been surprised by the never-ending discovery of new delights – very drinkable wine, coffees and teas, even chillies, the expected sausage rolls and pasties and yet, despite the abundance of good pork I’ve never had a satisfying pork pie here yet. That is, with good seasoned filling, correct crust and yes, jelly. Northern realms seem to be able to produce what I call a “proper” pork pie, but finding a local one that ticks all the boxes has become something of a crusade for me. Now I’m excited by things to come from Merrylands farm. Situated on the Corscombe to Halstock road, owners Simon and Maria Shaw, have grasped my dream and have started trials that may see my mission completed. Producers of fine Tamworth pigs, they are selling direct to the public at very reasonable prices and adding value to their excellent pork by making sausages, and some of the finest maple-cured smoked bacon I’ve ever had. They are keen to maintain a high standard of quality and welfare and judging by the half-pig I’m cur- rently consuming from them, they’re not long for some peer recognition and well-deserved gongs. Selling at the Eat Dorset Food Fair for the first time, they found buyers keen to get all the cuts like tails, cheeks and trotters, not just the main joints. Maria was surprised and heartened to find “It wasn’t just tenderloins for the older customer that sold. People tried our bacon and sausages as well as chops and shoulders and feedback was good”. Simon was totally de- lighted, “I was encouraged by the feeling of people having an open mind towards the tradi- tionally less-popular cuts, – hands of pork went really well with people starting to really take interest . . . “. Simon’s background was originally in a successful engineering business in London, where he relished the challenge but felt the need to reconnect with the land as the company grew big- ger and more involved with corporate administration: “I needed to reintroduce myself and contribute to a new creative direction, I’m a natural problem-solver who relishes challenge. It was basically a life-style choice. With children, we wanted to be more cohesive as a family and we discussed it all together what our choices might be, Maria had a solid background in food appreciation – her side is after all, Italian – and as you would expect were all good eat- ers. I too, was quite critical of our food sources and could easily get a delivery order of good beef from Scotland but nearer was difficult. So I pondered on ways we could get good qual- Simon Shaw took up a new lifestyle in Dor- ity and add value to livestock”. Maria adds “If you’d asked us at that time it wouldn’t have set been obvious that we would choose to be ‘in pigs’. But we decided to start there and look for a farm premises that would suit us.” Simon had a link with the west country through his side of the family so it was a natural choice. “It was always a plan to gain enough experience and financial backing to pursue this – I haven’t really retired from my interests in engineering – but I wasn’t cut out for that solely”. I asked whether there were any down- sides to such a lifestyle change? Maria confessed to having to readjust from being what she called “A real townie, not liking to miss anything, and our children, now teenagers, felt some initial frustration at being so rural. Now, it’s an asset for all of us. Our daughter brings our eggs to her teachers with pride and their friends have all come around to the fantastic setting of our landscape. In summer, they camp in our fields and enjoy creating a little bit of Glastonbury atmosphere of their own”. Simon underlined this new enthusi- asm: “Our son at Uni said ‘Sorry Dad,’ for buying Danish bacon, as it was so much cheaper for him on his student budget, so I’m glad he has grasped the ethical point of what we do as well as we have. It is important for us to feel good about what we do... and the word is spreading”. Once the Shaws had made their decision it was then just about what sorts of animals to choose. Maria explains: “We decided to go with the native breeds that would cope well with the environment and Tamworths thrive all year round and don’t loose condition. Like their ancestors, the , they can exist outdoors comfortably. They are good parents and don’t need much ‘interference’”. Stocks of Dorset Poll and Horn sheep and some Manx have swelled the contingent although they are somewhat “higher main- tenance” than pigs, according to Simon, and there are plans afoot for beef cattle. Aberdeen Angus is top favourite at present as again, they are happy with outside conditions. Like me, Simon and Maria are not fans of intensively-reared grain-fed cattle and prefer to let our lush pastures allow a source of food as Nature intended. Special mention is also to be made of the Sherborne abattoir with Merryland’s careful husbandry being in the capable hands of Charlie Goodlands. After all, it is criminal to expect good husbandry to go to waste in a stressful environment without a ‘safe pair of hands’. I left the rat-race of London after 30 stressful years and left in search of ‘space and fresh meat’. Now I’ve found it. Perfect. For supply en- quiries Tel: 01935 891 531 or e-mail [email protected]. Mike Feasey is a food writer and chef. He was a restaurateur and the creative arm of The Nosh Brothers writing cookbooks and presenting for radio & television until his food odyssey led him to West Dorset. He has been a passionate supporter of the county’s producers and celebrated the finest in his book ‘Eat Dorset’ published by Parnham Press. The critical reception of the book led to the annual Eat Dorset Food Fair which continues to build on its success. This article was first published in People & Food magazine Winter 2010. Contact: [email protected] Pa ge 13 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

A Guide to Artificial Insemination by Guy Kiddy

This is an extract from the book, Rare Breed Pig Keeping published in 2003 by the Gloucestershire Old Spots Pig Breeders’ Club

Introduction Artifical Insemination (AI) is an excellent means of introducing new blood into your herd, or as an alternative to owning a boar. It is cost effective compared to natural service, with a success rate that should be almost equal to that of the boar, with the added bonus that dis- ease will be unlikely to enter your unit which could happen if you are sharing a boar with someone else.

Heat Detection This is obviously vital to successful AI. A typical sow cycle is shown in fig.1. If inseminating a gilt watch out for her first heat, record it and watch for the second 21 days later. Keep re- cording heats until she is ready to be inseminated at about 9 months. With a sow, heat detec- tion is usually much easier because she will normally come on heat about 5 days after wean- ing.

Heat detection needs to be carried out twice a day to ensure it is not missed. The usual sign is a swelling and reddening of the vulva although this is more pronounced in some animals than others. She should also stand when pressure is applied to her back, (figs. 2 & 3). Insemination should be performed about 24 hours after the sow stands to the ‘back pressure’ test.

Method When your sow or gilt shows signs of heat, order your semen - it will take 24 hours to arrive. The semen will be deliv- ered in a polystyrene box and it should be left in this container and stored at room temperature of around 20 oC until needed. Each tube or bottle of semen will contain about 1 - 1.5 billion sperm. There will be three bottles or tubes so that the sow or gilt can be inseminated three times in total. This should help to ensure successful insemination, (fig.3). If the semen is in a tube, it will be ready to use. However, if it is in a bottle then it will need mixing with the diluent sup- plied before use. Mixing should be car- ried out by gently shaking the semen (small bottle) and then mixing with the diluent (clear fluid). Replace the cap and check for leaks around the thread. Only mix just before insemination. With either type of semen container, place it in your pocket to warm the semen just before use. Cut the end off the bottle or tube ready to place it on the end of the catheter.

Apply a little liquid paraffin or KY jelly to the spiral end of a new catheter. Hold the catheter in the middle with a bend, so that when it is pushed into the sow, the tendency is for it to travel upward and so miss the bladder entrance (fig. 4).

(cont, overleaf) Pa ge 14 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

A Guide to Artificial Insemination cont.

Clean the sow’s vulva with tissue paper. Hold the sow’s tail with the middle, fourth, and little fingers, using the thumb and index finger to open the vulva. Insert the catheter firmly, but with care. It is necessary to maintain an upward angle as the catheter enters the vagina. This ensures that the catheter misses the bladder (fig. 4).

When the catheter reaches the entrance to the cervix an obstruction will be felt. Using the thumb and index finger to control the catheter, turn it an anti-clockwise direction (towards the left side of the sow) until it is locked into the cervix. This means that if you let go of the cathe- ter it would spring back. If you cannot gain a lock, gently remove the catheter by turning clock- wise, and try again.

Hold catheter with thumb and index finger making sure that it is well locked into the cervix. This lock provides a seal, preventing the semen from flowing back to the vulva. Take the disposable insemination bottle from your pocket and place on the catheter. Apply GENTLE finger pressure until all the semen is discharged into the uterus. It might be necessary to remove the bottle and allow it to fill with air once or twice during insemination.

When both the bottle and catheter are empty, first remove the bottle from the catheter, then wait a few seconds before removing the catheter from the sow. Remove it by turning it in a clockwise direction. A suitable method of environmentally-friendly disposal should be adopted discarded disposable catheters and plastic in- semination bottles.

Never use disinfectant, soap or detergent to lubricate the catheter before insertion into the sow as this may affect the fertility of the semen. Remember to watch the sow for return of service 21 days after insemination. If this does not happen, you may assume that the insemination was successful.

Any unused semen should be disposed of by washing it down the drain; it should not be kept for the next sow that needs serving. The shelf life at room temperature is about 5 days; refrigeration does not extend this.

Remember to get the registration details of the boar in question from the AI station so that you can successfully register your pigs when the time comes.

The only AI station that has Tamworth boars at stud is Deerpark AI Centre in Northern Ireland. Phone them when your sow is showing early signs of heat and they will send 3 containers of semen and three catheters to arrive on the next working day by post. The cost is around £20 and they invoice at the end of the month. To contact Deerpark, phone 02879 386287. Pa ge 15 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

Strange Happenings with Bacon by Prof Robyn Metcalfe

uilty pleasures drew a crowd of bacon lovers to the Somerville Armory for a G “Bacon Takedown” on a recent sunny Sunday afternoon. At least that was what some confessed drew them to this sold-out event. Feeling not so guilty and cer- tainly reveling in pleasure, participants positioned themselves in front of their bacon- inspired offerings wearing pig-imprinted aprons and flaunting outrageous porcine jewelry. The Takedown was a collaboration of its main sponsor, Hormel (based in Austin, Minne- sota), and an extreme food enthusiast in Somerville, Matt Timms. He initiated a series of food takedowns as part of his radio programme, Mind Kitchen , a programme that chal- lenges his listeners to imagine a five-course meal made of five ingredients in five minutes. A veteran promoter of his other Takedowns, such as the Chili Takedown, Timms’ enthusi- asm knows no bounds, which is evident in Some of these concoctions make the fact that the Bacon Takedown is now a Heston’s creations sound posi- series of events that are noted with the dates of future bacon takedown printed on the tively conventional! backs of the black T-shirts (àla rock concerts) worn by those attending this event. The Armory’s main hall filled with bacon lovers flaunting the opportunity to indulge in guilty pleasures. Families, bike messengers, foodies, and Harvard law school graduates, grazed down the long tables sampling the bacon-based foods that the competitors flogged and promoted. Amateur cooks soon filled paper plates with samples of bacon ginger crème brulée, bacon cheesecake, bacon bao, maple bacon munchkins, bacon oreos, confit, bacon jam, bacon bourbon bark, bacon chocolate waffles, bacon toffee brownies, maple bacon lollipops, and bacon chocolate smores. The aroma of bacon fat, maple, imbued the air along with throb- bing heavy metal rock music. Pigs in all forms appeared to promote the porcine fare on posters, as jewelry, hats, aprons, and bumper stickers. Who knew that bacon would so supremely satisfy those guilty pleasures? After downing about twenty samples laden with lard and bacon, the attendees voted on the best bacon recipe, scribbling down the number of the cook/contestant on a small card, which was stuffed into a cardboard box atop a table draped with black and pink event T-shirts. The takedown impresario Timms gathered the crowd on the stage for the judges’ declaration of the winners, who, by the way, each received a year’s supply of bacon. That’s one pound of bacon every other week, or 26 pounds of bacon in all. Imagine the buckets of bacon ginger crème brulee one could produce for neighbours, colleagues, and family members, all of whom would question your culinary, if not broader, insanity. When asked why bacon is attracting such a following, the Hormel representative, who had apparently never pon- dered the recent surge of interest, suggested that vegetari- ans sought out bacon as their one pleasure, even if not feeling particularly guilty. This makes sense if you consider that bacon is sometimes called the “gateway” meat, the first step in a vegetarians’ apostasy of turnips and imma- nent embrace of meat. He claimed he was, in fact, a vege- tarian, “….except for bacon,” a convenient allowance in his position as national spokesman for the product. Other takedown attendees were puzzled by the interest but grate- ful and one Harvard law student pointed out that bacon’s down-home, simplicity was a reaction to the high-tech mo- lecular gastronomy that represented a culinary culture com- ing off the rails. Whatever the cause, the bacon takedown in Somerville was sweet news to those who raise pigs for market and for those who need to feed those wanton guilty pleasures.

[For anyone in the UK wondering where they have come across the name ‘Hormel’ before, they are the corporation that produces Spam around the world.] Ed. Pa ge 16 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

When Harris’s Bacon Complained

his letter from the famous Harris Bacon Co in Calne, Wiltshire was recently found among papers by Amanda Thomas, a Brit- T ish Saddleback keeper in south Wales. Pa ge 17 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

Pa ge 18 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

Interbreed Honours by Nick Hunkin

2011 was a great year for the Tamworths at interbreed level. Firstly, Caroline Wheatley-Hubbard won reserve su- preme at the Royal Bath and West Show with her lovely Princess sow and in an entry of 340 pigs. She also qualified for pig of the year with her magnificent Yorkshireman boar. All her pigs stood out from the others this year and we should all have fun breeding stock to challenge her for next year's show!

Later in the year, Bill Howes won supreme at Fillongley with his Jacqueline gilt against an entry of 25 and Nick Hunkin won supreme at the Dorset County with his Princess sow against an entry of 100 and finally Jim Farringdon gained the reserve supreme honours at Peniston with a Jacqueline gilt against an entry of over 30.

As the full results of shows will appear on the new web- site, this article will major on the championships and high- lights of the 2011 show season.

At the Bath and West Caroline Wheatley-Hubbard gained champion and reserve champion with her Princess sow and Golden Rose July gilt respectively. It was good to see Simon and Maria Shaw who were new exhibitors win- ning a first with their 18 month gilt and reserve male with their November Glen boar. This was Jim Farringdon's debut judging Tamworths at County Show level and there wasn't one word of complaint about his judging from any- Tamworth Champion of Champions went to Liz Shankland from south one - not always the case! Wales with Shutevale Lucky Lass 761

Next to the Three Counties - always an interesting show because there is a second bite of the cherry at the RBST Sunday show and as often the tables were turned from the Friday judging. For the main show Barbara Warren won champion and reserve with her Golden Ranger boar and Jacqueline gilt respectively under Kevin Matthews. Other highlights were Liz Shankland winning the January boar class with her Royal Standard. On the following Sunday under a different judge, Brian Upchurch, Liz Shankland won the breed champion with her Lucky Lass sow and re- serve went to Bill Howes with his Jacqueline. It just all shows how different judges look for different things.

At the Yorkshire Show it was the turn of Roberts & Fairclough to win championship with their July born Golden Ball boar and Bill Howes came in reserve with his Jacqueline sow. Other notable highlights were Bill Quay winning the January boar class with their Yorkshireman and January gilt class with their Golden Rose and Jim Farringdon win- ning the July class with his Maple.

At Hatfield Jim Farringdon came up trumps with his lovely Maple sow with Bill Howes nudging him with his July born Jacqueline gilt in reserve. Other notable wins were by Liz Shankland.

At the Newark and Notts Show Bill Howes came up trumps with his Jacqueline sow, reserve champion going to his gilt and Roberts & Fairclough winning the group of 3. Bill went on to win best Tamworth at Stafford with the same sow.

At Newbury Bill won with his lovely Jacqueline gilt, the reserve going to Liz Shankland and her Lucky Lass sow.

It was excellent to see so many new starters at shows this year including Simon and Maria Shaw and Simon Redman at The only Tamworth qualifier for this year’s Pig of the Year Finals at the Bath and West and Michelle Baldock at Heathfield. the Great Yorkshire Show was Caroline Wheatley-Hubbard’s BerkswellYorkshireman 41 - Photo by Richard Lutwyche Pa ge 19 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 6, Issue 1

Tamworths in Jerusalem - a Recipe from Charles Campion

n the dark days of winter soup comes into its own. We may be short on interesting vegetables but at least there are some Jerusa- I lem artichokes about - the name derives from a series of mis-understandings - they are not from Jerusalem and they are not arti- chokes!. These strange knobbly tubers look like mutant spuds but they have a rich and beguiling sweetness. They can also have a for- midable effect on any diner’s digestion and that has given them a bad reputation – as long ago as the 18 th Century they were know as “wind apples” and in an article in The Sun , Alex James referred to them as “fartichokes”.

Soup is real food. Think cosy kitchens, deep bowls, crusty bread - but that’s no reason it should end up lumpen. I am a big fan of thinning vegetable purée soups with skimmed milk rather than stock, you get a lighter, jollier soup that way. Many vegetable soups also benefit from having some lumps of meat floating around in them!

Serves four 50g unsalted butter 200g thick cut, well-cured streaky Tamworth bacon 200g English onions 500g Jerusalem artichokes A fat pinch of ground mace Up to 1 litre skimmed milk. Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the bacon into rough chunks. Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the bacon bits gently until they are crisp.

Remove and put on one side, leave the butter and juices in the pan.

Peel and chop the onions finely; and peel then slice the Jerusalem artichokes finely. Add a fat pinch of ground mace, and sweat the vegetables in the butter until they are very soft but not brown.

Put the soggy vegetables into a deep saucepan, and liquidise with a hand held blender. (Or use a free-standing blender or processor and pour the purée back into a deep saucepan).

Thin the purée down with some of the skimmed milk. Stop adding milk when the soup is as thick or as thin as you want it to be. Sea- son well with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Add the bacon bits to the soup. Re-heat and adjust the seasoning. Serve with pride….

In the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, Club member and Founder Chair- man of the RBST (and Adam’s Dad), Joe Henson was awarded the MBE for his services to the conservation of rare breeds. During the parade of livestock in the main ring at this year’s Three Counties Show, the RBST awarded Joe an engraved goblet by way of their thanks. As well as his pioneering work with the RBST, Joe established the first rare breeds centre and open farm with his Cotswold Farm Park in 1971 and has had 2 rare breeds of pig there since the start—one of them the Tamworth! Joe Henson (right) receiving engraved glassware from RBST Well done Joe and congratulations from us too. President Peter Titley during the Grand Parade of Rare The Tamworth Breeders’ Club Newsletter The Tamworth Breeders’ Club

Tamworth Trumpet edited by Richard Lutwyche © Tamworth Breeders’ Club & Richard Lutwyche Michele Baldock New Secretary’s Please send contributions to: Fairview Farmhouse, Details Ruckinge. Ashford, Kent, TN26 2NT Richard Lutwyche, Tamworth Trumpet, Freepost (GL442), Cirencester, Glos., 01233 730891; 07879 697792 GL7 5BR Tel: 01285 860229 [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] www.tamworthbreedersclub.co.uk Don’t forget, you can advertise pigs for sale or wanted on the Club website, FREE! Furthermore, you will find there the full range of Club merchan- Tamworths - dise and you can download an order form to send to the Secre- The future’s orange! tary with your payment.

Book Review by Richard Lutwyche - Perfect Pigs by Clare & Robin Wilson Until about a decade ago, all pig books were aimed at commercial enterprises with intensive herds numbering in tens if not hundreds of sows. In this climate, it was the GOSPBC that effectively helped break the mould with the publication of Rare Breed Pig Keeping in 2003. Since then a num- ber of publications have been produced aimed at the small-scale pig keeper. Some are better than others. Perfect Pigs is written and produced by Clare & Robin Wilson from the Kent-Sussex borders. They began by offering pig-keeping courses and gradually produced this book as a training manual to ac- company the course. In this respect, there are advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, it reads like a training manual rather than a book and this may be a little off-putting for some. There are few if any anecdotes and little humour. But it is mostly pretty comprehensive and goes into more detail on nitty gritty subjects such as mating than most other publications. And because it is home produced and not available anywhere else, (eat your heart out Amazon- folks), it has the advantage that the authors can correct and update it issue by issue. Whenever you buy a copy it will be 100% up-to- date! It is very practical and covers almost everything the smaller-scale pig keeper may want to know such as how to build a straw shelter for pigs, training pigs to electric fencing, and even basic butchery. But there are areas where improvements could be made. When discussing outdoor pigs, little consideration is given to different soil types and their suitability to pig keeping. The section on how to market your meat is sparse and could contain quite a lot more on rules and regula- tions and the use of marketing to sell your produce. But these are minor quibbles and ones that may even have been corrected by the time the next copy is sold! The Wilsons include most if not all of the relevant rules and regulations in full with explanations where necessary, something I haven’t seen in any similar publica- tion. The subjects are all illustrated with their own photos and include some that politi- cally correct publishers in grand London offices would consign to the reject bin on grounds of taste but close-ups of genitalia, afterbirth and mummified piglets are all useful education tools. Perfect Pigs can be purchased through the website - http://www.oaklandspigs.co.uk/ perfect-pigs-book/ - it costs £17.50 including P&P within the UK. Alternatively you can send a cheque for £17.50 made payable to ‘C. Wilson’ to Mr & Mrs R Wilson, Oaklands Farm, High Cross, Rotherfield, East Sussex, TN6 3QB. Anyone interested in attending one of their one-day courses can book online or contact Clare Wilson on 01892 852663. They run from March to September and there are places available on Sat 24 and Sun 25 Mar 2012 when they restart.