Rearing and Curing Heritage Pigs

Slow Food farmers Martin and Noreen Conroy are renowned for their free range pork, bacon and sausages. They believe that if you want high quality Pork you must start with a traditional breed. Their wonderful pork is the meat of pure traditional Saddleback and Gloucester Old Spot pigs which they breed, rear, butcher and process themselves. They feed their pigs only on locally grown rolled wheat and their own vegetables, to produce a slow-maturing, flavoursome meat - and the difference is clearly in the taste. The pigs travel just six miles to Midleton to be slaughtered by a local butcher and the same trip to be sold at market, which combined with the use of local feedstuffs, means their produce has virtually no carbon footprint. A real nose to tail operation.

This boots on the ground day course will focus primarily on raising heritage pigs and is suitable for small scale to commercial scale production.

Course Elements: 

• Sourcing pigs
• Sow and boar management
• Pasture management
• Sourcing feed and supplies
• Housing options and construction
• Managing drift health
• Butchering options
• Product pricing and marketing
• Overall benefits and challenges of raising pastured pigs in Ireland

Good to Know:

• As we’ll spend time walking and learning around the farm please bring suitable clothing and footwear - and allow for changeable weather!
• Refreshments and Lunch included; eat alongside our students, cookery school teachers, farm staff, gardeners and visiting experts

• Tea and Coffee with whatever’s fresh out of the oven will be served from 9am so please arrive early to sign in, meet other students and get ready for a busy day of hands on learning

• The course is held at Ballymaloe Cookery School’s Organic Farm and Gardens in Shanagarry, Co. Cork P25 R274

Additional Info

Discounted / Part-Funded Tickets Through NOTS:

Eligible participants living in Ireland can avail of a generous cost reduction on this course through our course partners National Organic Training Skillnet. Go to the NOTS Course Listing and sign up through NOTS to avail of their reduced price offering and to get the course for just €90. Once you sign up and pay the reduced rate through NOTS, they will notify us, and you will be all set for the course on October 11th! Please note – to qualify for the NOTS rate, you must be a) resident in Ireland; and b) employed in any sector (either full-time or part-time)