Ian and Fiona of Perky Pigs with some of the pigs on their farm in Eastoft, near Scunthorpe
Ian Bishop used to work in an office job in Leeds, but now he rears rare swine with his wife Fiona.
The pair hope to bring real meat to the people of North Lincolnshire, and breed healthy, happy pigs.
Ian said: "We wanted to get out of the rat race that was West Yorkshire and get over to Lincolnshire and move into a village environment really.
"We were looking to develop a rural business and we decided rare breed pigs was a really good idea."
Ian works from home in IT and Fiona works as a school teacher to help prop up their new business, Perky Pigs.
Their passion lies in giving pigs a happy life, supplying tasty pork to customers and showing people where their food comes from.
"We're trying to keep these rare breeds going and reconnect people with their food," said Ian. "We really encourage people to come and see their pig. They can give them a good old scratch behind the ears, and we really socialise with them – they love it.
"Pigs are really bright, intelligent animals who really love the company of humans."
They are so eager to show off their happy hogs, they have set up a web cam in the pigs' pen.
"It's really bizarre, like being on Big Brother," said Ian. "We have a lot of traffic as friends and relatives log on as they have their breakfast and we're feeding the pigs.
"We just know any time we're out there someone could be watching the web cam, and that's fine as we want to be absolutely open."
The pair hope to show people there is more to meat than generic supermarket fodder.
"People don't realise there's so many different breeds," said Ian. "We're introducing our customers to different flavours and types of pork."
Historically, different breeds served different purposes.
Some pigs would be good for lard for cooking, and others offered delicious bacon.
Perky Pigs is focusing on rare mangalitza pigs at the moment.
The rare woolly hogs are scarce in England, but Ian and Fiona have three pedigree breeding sows.
"Customers ring all weekend and say how fantastic the meat was," said Ian. "Even if they shop at a butcher's, they've never been able to try these different types of pork."
To try it for yourself, visit www.perkypigs.net
Original Article
Scunthorpe Telegraph
The pair hope to bring real meat to the people of North Lincolnshire, and breed healthy, happy pigs.Ian said: "We wanted to get out of the rat race that was West Yorkshire and get over to Lincolnshire and move into a village environment really.
"We were looking to develop a rural business and we decided rare breed pigs was a really good idea."
Ian works from home in IT and Fiona works as a school teacher to help prop up their new business, Perky Pigs.
Their passion lies in giving pigs a happy life, supplying tasty pork to customers and showing people where their food comes from.
"We're trying to keep these rare breeds going and reconnect people with their food," said Ian. "We really encourage people to come and see their pig. They can give them a good old scratch behind the ears, and we really socialise with them – they love it.
"Pigs are really bright, intelligent animals who really love the company of humans."
They are so eager to show off their happy hogs, they have set up a web cam in the pigs' pen.
"It's really bizarre, like being on Big Brother," said Ian. "We have a lot of traffic as friends and relatives log on as they have their breakfast and we're feeding the pigs.
"We just know any time we're out there someone could be watching the web cam, and that's fine as we want to be absolutely open."
The pair hope to show people there is more to meat than generic supermarket fodder.
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| Mangalitza pigs |
Historically, different breeds served different purposes.
Some pigs would be good for lard for cooking, and others offered delicious bacon.
Perky Pigs is focusing on rare mangalitza pigs at the moment.
The rare woolly hogs are scarce in England, but Ian and Fiona have three pedigree breeding sows.
"Customers ring all weekend and say how fantastic the meat was," said Ian. "Even if they shop at a butcher's, they've never been able to try these different types of pork."
To try it for yourself, visit www.perkypigs.net
Original Article
Scunthorpe Telegraph
