Two pig producers from Wales are in the running for top industry awards due to their innovation and success.
Jack Tiley and Forest Coalpit Farm have been shortlisted respectively for the Pedigree Pig Producer of the Year and Marketing Initiative of the Year.
Organised by the National Pig Association’s magazine Pig World, the annual National Pig Awards shine a spotlight on excellence and celebrate success in the sector.
Pedigree breeder of the year category finalist Jack Tiley was “bitten by the pig keeping bug” while working at a local community farm.
With no prior farming experience, he has become swiftly immersed in pig breeding and the importance of conserving bloodlines.
Four years ago, he bought a in pig Pedigree Berkshire, and the following year he began showing his first home bred stock.
His interest increased, and he now works to preserve and improve pig bloodlines and earlier this year he ran Berkshire Pig Week on Pedigree Pigs UK page via Facebook.
Also, as part of raising awareness about the breed, he runs #malelinemonday and #femalelinefriday – a series about bloodlines on the Berkshire Pigs Facebook page.
Jack said: “I’m fascinated by bloodlines and their variety and type. I have two breeding sows that are put to different boars. So far, seven of my boars have gone to other parts of the country.”
He is also enthusiastic about helping and guiding new breeders as they dip their toes into the wide world of pig keeping.
Jack lives in Risca near Newport and keeps his Fernlea herd of pedigree Berkshire pigs at a friend’s farm near Abergavenny.
In addition to working at the community farm in Cwmbran, he conducts courses on pig keeping and undertakes smallholder consultancy work.
For Kyle Holford and Lauren Smith of Forest Coalpit Farm near Abergavenny, using social media to create a window into their business has proved a successful approach.
The couple, who are finalists in the Marketing Initiative of the year category, operate a 24-sow finisher outdoor unit producing around 500 Large Black and Duroc cross ‘Welsh Black’ pigs a year.
The pigs roam free on a mixture of woodland and pasture, and the couple’s natural approach to using social media has garnered important business customers throughout Wales and beyond for their pork, sausages and bacon.
People are attracted by the authenticity of the enterprise and their Instagram presence has proved beneficial too when approaching potential new customers.
Kyle said: “We’ve found Instagram to be a great marketing tool, we just take nice photos of our pigs and the farm, but it has really got us noticed.
"Indeed, pretty much everything we sell has been a result of customers seeing us on social media.”
