Meissen pig

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The Robust M 301 boar , which was the epitome of the breeding goal

The Meißner Schwein or Meißner utility pig was a breed of pig from the area around Meißen in Saxony.

The breed was recognized after the second DLG exhibition in 1888 in Breslau , where it received 23 prizes. In the same year the breeding cooperative for the Meißner utility pig - as it was called at the time of origin - was founded. This cooperative was the first breeding association for a pig breed in the German Reich . As a result, smaller farms began to be active in breeding for the first time . The rapidly growing organization introduced compulsory licensing for the first time in Germany . In the first half of the twentieth century, the Meißner pig became extinct due to displacement crossbreeding and the animals became part of the German landrace .

Since 2008, attempts have been made to revive the name and establish it as a regional trademark and protected collective brand .

Breeding history

Prehistory of pig farming in Meissen

In the period after 1800, relatively few pigs were kept in what was then the Kingdom of Saxony compared to other areas in Germany. They were used primarily for the self-sufficiency of farming families and the small town population. The few animals on each farm were mostly imported as piglets from Bohemia and Silesia , and there was hardly any pig breeding. From 1850 onwards, the farmers' way of production changed. The purchasing power of the population increased and production shifted towards more marketable products. The consumption of pork per inhabitant in Saxony rose between 1850 and 1900 from 11.8 to 27.8 kg per year. In about the same time, the number of pigs quadrupled, which was also accompanied by a change in husbandry conditions away from pasture and acorn fattening towards pure stables with the feeding of potatoes and grain. Meissen developed into the area with the most pigs in Saxony. The rather small-scale agriculture in connection with the good local conditions for arable farming contributed to this. Towards the end of the 19th century, around a quarter of all breeding sows in Saxony were kept in the Meißen district administration .

Certificate on the occasion of the DLG exhibition in Breslau in 1888

Until 1850, the domestic pig was similar to the wild boar , with which it mated again and again when fattening acorns. In contrast to the breeding performance, the fattening performance was quite unsatisfactory. Meißen began to cross more developed English breeds in 1846, first as simple crossbreeds with boars of robust Suffolk pigs and Yorkshire pigs . One of the first breeders reinzüchtiger pigs English breeds was Hermann von Nathusius in Hundisburg (then Prussian province of Saxony ). These crossbreeds have proven themselves in broad agriculture thanks to their better fattening properties. Individual breeders presented pure-bred pigs of this English type at an exhibition for the first time in 1865. In the broad masses, however, the pure-bred English animals could not prevail. Only larger farms were able to meet the special feeding and keeping conditions and to cope with the financial expense of importing new animals to avoid inbreeding. Breeders from Meissen therefore began to refine their own pigs by crossbreeding, primarily from Suffolk pigs. The aim was to preserve the existing fertility and at the same time to breed more precocious pigs which, as fattening pigs, can reach a live weight of 120 to 150 kg in one year.

Foundation of the breed association and establishment as a successful breed

Award-winning Meißner pigs between 1903 and 1912

In 1886 a breed of its own was created, which was then called the Meissner utility pig. At the second DLG exhibition in Wroclaw in 1888 , the animals on display (23 boars, 31 sows with piglets and 28 pregnant gilts) achieved 23 prizes, and the breed was recognized by the German Agricultural Society as a breed in its own right. As a result, on November 24, 1888, the breeding cooperative for the Meißner pig was founded as the first breeding organization for pigs in the German Reich. This was the first time that smaller farms began to be active in breeding. The rapidly growing organization introduced compulsory licensing for the first time in Germany . At the first licensing at the end of 1889, 800 animals were classified according to their external characteristics.

Up until 1914, all DLG exhibitions that were taking place in different locations at the time were sent, and almost 200 prizes were won within 25 years. These included six honorary prizes, five winning prizes and six collection prizes. Prizes were also won at fattening livestock exhibitions with collections from Meissen pigs. As a result, a flourishing trade in fattening piglets and breeding animals developed. 16,155 breeding animals were sold by 1913. For the period from 1902 to 1912, data is available that 4094 breeding animals were sold to a total of 1564 different buyers. The vast majority of 2003 pieces were exported to other countries in Germany and 642 pieces to other European countries, Argentina and South Africa. This made the Meißner pig one of the original breeds of the refined country pig. The most important source of income for the farmers was still the sale of beef pigs.

Central boar rearing stations were set up as early as 1889. These existed at changing locations with different farmers and were operated by the breeding association organized as a cooperative with the support of the state government. By 1918, seven important boar lines had emerged. Robust M 301 is considered to be the boar most closely related to the breeding goal, as it had a lasting influence on pig breeding during its ten-year breeding period.

Integration into German Landrace through displacement crossing

The First World War also marked a turning point for pig farming. In 1918 there were less than half as many animals in the stables as in 1900. It was not until 1925 that the numbers were back as large as a quarter of a century earlier. In the years that followed, the pig population in the Meissen pig breeding area increased steadily. The breeders of the Meißner pig succeeded in preserving their breeding material, but after the war they had to join larger units in order to remain competitive. In 1920, the establishment of the state association for the breeding of the refined country pig (later German landrace ) in Saxony served this purpose, which they joined in the year of establishment. In the first years of its existence, this relied on the Meissner breeders with their pigs. Gradually, however, large farms from other Saxon regions took over the organization of the breeding association and strengthened their influence through their economic superiority and by filling all management positions in the association. As one of five district associations without representatives in the decisive bodies, the Meissner breeders were largely dependent on the decisions of others. The common breeding goal changed towards a more robust animal with better resistance than the Meißner pig. The reasons lay in a different feed basis in the other Saxon areas, especially in the lack of protein-rich feed such as soy meal and fish meal , so that the happy-growing Meissen pigs could not be adequately fed in order to exhaust their performance potential.

From 1936 at the latest, the Meißner pig was no longer mentioned in breed listings, but was part of the German landrace . Animal breeding inspector Oskar Busch drew the conclusion on the 50th anniversary of the breeding cooperative in 1938:

“The real Meißner pig no longer exists as such. It belongs entirely to the refined country pig and appears as such at all events. "

- Animal breeding inspector O. Busch 1938

Only individual animals of the Meissen pig were kept by a few keepers without any organized breeding taking place.

Attempt to re-establish it as a regional brand

A breeding and marketing community, organized as an association in 2008 , has since tried to build on the tradition of the Meissen pig. A breed , as it is defined in the Animal Breeding Act , is not bred. The five pig farmers involved (as of 2018) are trying to market regionally with environmentally and animal welfare-friendly husbandry conditions that go beyond the minimum requirements described in the animal welfare and animal husbandry ordinance. The Lommatzscher Pflege farms had partly bred Meissner pigs earlier. The pigs should visually resemble the original Meißner pig, born locally as piglets and fed only with regional feed.

Breeding goal and outward appearance

Breeding Association 1888

In 1888 it was defined as a breeding goal that the animals should be precocious and moderately heavy. The refined country pigs should be happy-growing and fertile, even with simple feeding and keeping, and at the same time suitable for the production of fine meat streaked with fat. The following were considered breed characteristics:

  • a moderately long head,
  • a broad. not steep forehead,
  • big floppy ears,
  • a full, strong neck,
  • a long, barrel-shaped hull ,
  • a straight back,
  • a wide, horizontal or arched pelvis ,
  • a fine-boned, well-formed foundation with a strong metatarsus,
  • smooth, elastic white skin on which blue pigment spots were permitted,
  • white, covering, not bristly hair,
  • Well-developed sexual characteristics with at least twelve well-developed teats .

It started with fifteen different boar lines for which a performance test for born and weaned piglets per litter with weight determination was carried out. The breeding register shows average values ​​for three lines with 271 sows for the period from 1888 to 1914 of 10.3 piglets born per litter with an average of 5.4 litters per sow. At least 13% of the sows had more than 10 litters.

The fattening and slaughtering properties were also checked right from the start, especially in order to deliver pigs to the butchers in the quality they wanted. In 1891 a comparative slaughter was carried out with a Meißner pig and a Yorkshire pig, in which the Meißner pig was distinguished by better marbling with less fat.

today

Meißner country pig
(2010 in the Merzdorf Leuben-Schleinitz farm)

Today's animals are said to be large-framed and elongated with white bristles on white skin in the landrace type . The floppy ears remain characteristic. The teats should have at least seven well-developed teats on each side, and emphasis is placed on a stable foundation. Today (as of 2018) the association does not publish a breeding goal and limits itself to approximate information in its advertising statements with reference to a performance level with "highest meat quality" achieved through years of breeding.

Web links

Commons : Meißner Schwein  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

literature

  • State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology (ed.): On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000. Series of publications by the Saxon State Agency for Agriculture, Issue 1, 2003 (available as PDF ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 2.
  2. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 3.
  3. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 6.
  4. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 8.
  5. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 9.
  6. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 10.
  7. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 12.
  8. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 13.
  9. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 16.
  10. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 22 f.
  11. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 27.
  12. ↑ Hendrik Lasch: The return of the Meißner country pig. Mitteldeutsche Zeitung , January 16, 2012. Accessed August 6, 2018.
  13. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 11.
  14. ↑ On the development of pig breeding and production in the state of Saxony 1850–2000, p. 11 f.
  15. ↑ Breeding goal of the breeding and marketing association. ( Memento from June 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) on fleischerei-naecke.de (participating cooperation partner).
  16. ↑ Meissen Pig. Website of the breeding and marketing association. Retrieved August 7, 2018
This article was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 15, 2018 in this version .