Today let’s go to the center of the country to visit an innovative family which has centered its business on high quality, locally produced fresh food, including their own specialty pork.
Last week we met Kaden and Emily Roush, the owners of R Family Farms near Lebanon — the geographic center of the contiguous United States. The Roushes operate a niche hog production system involving Berkshire pigs. What is the history of Berkshire hogs?
According to legend, 300 years ago Oliver Cromwell’s army was encamped in winter quarters at Reading, the county seat of the shire of Berks in England. They discovered the hogs there to be larger than any swine of the time and to produce ham and bacon of remarkable quality. That was the beginning of the Berkshire breed.
For years, the royal family kept a large herd of Berkshires at Windsor Castle due to the excellent carcass quality of the hogs. In 1823, the first Berkshires were imported to the U.S. In 1875 the American Berkshire Association was created, becoming the first swine registry to be established in the world.
In modern times, Kaden took note of the carcass quality of these hogs. For example, in a summary of tests conducted over a 20-year span at the National Barrow Show in Austin, Minnesota, Berkshire pigs scored highest of all major American pure breeds in sensory quality.
R Family Farms began raising Berkshire hogs. The business now specializes in private label production and direct online marketing of their Berkshire pork. R Family Farms is a member of the From the Land of Kansas program of the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
