Small Farmer’s Journal — Rico Silvera, “Meishan Pigs”

This file reproduces a published breeder article for research. No original standard is authored here.

Rico Silvera (God’s Blessing Farm, Niota, TN) is identified in the article as then President of the American Meishan Breeders Association. The piece is a farm-press article, not a registry standard, but it is a primary US-breeder statement of type, size, teats, litter size, and the medium-type origin of the 1989 import.

Source

Author: Rico Silvera, God’s Blessing Farm, Niota, TN
Publication: Small Farmer’s Journal, issue 42-4
Title: Meishan Pigs: The Best Small Farm Hog You’ve Never Heard Of
URL: https://smallfarmersjournal.com/meishan-pigs/
Retrieved: 19 August 2026

Verbatim excerpts (appearance, type, and production statements)

The Meishan Pig is a member of the Taihu group of pigs from China. This area (so named for Taihu lake) is a region in China where pigs have been domesticated for over 5000 years. To say the Meishan pig is unique is an understatement. Appearance-wise it is a medium sized pig (300-400 lbs), has long pendulous ears and a wrinkled face that is similar to a Sharpei dog. The Meishan is a lard carcass hog with intensely micro-marbled red meat. It is extremely flavorful and tender. However, what makes the Taihu pigs in general, and the Meishan in particular, singularly unique is their ability to farrow and wean large litters. Typical litters are consistently in the double digit range with 12-14 piglets being average. The largest reported litter in the US was 28, and in China 42. On our farm the record is 20 piglets. Meishan sows usually have 16-20+ teats and are renowned as excellent mothers, capable of extremely good weaning to farrowing ratios.

…

Size: The Meishan pig in the United States is from one of the three Meishan sub-types that once existed in China. The small Meishan, the medium Meishan and the large Meishan (now extinct). All of the Meishans imported to the US in 1989 were of the medium variety. Meishans are typically a 300-400 lb pig at full adulthood.

Temperament: Meishan pigs are docile, bordering on sedentary. We often have to wake them up to feed them. Meishans don’t test fences unless a boar is trying to get to a sow in heat (or vice versa). The majority of Meishan breeders do not even use electric fences. … Meishans are not a rooting breed. If they have a diet that fulfills their nutritional needs they will root a wallow but they are not exploratory rooters.

Prolificacy: Larger average litters means that a small farmer seeking to raise pigs for a meat business can raise more piglets while maintaining a smaller breeding herd than when using other heritage or conventional breeds.

Reasonable Growth Rate: When seeking a 200 lb plus butcher hanging weight, … breeders are finding that, with the right profile of pasture and supplemental feed, Meishans can hit these target weights in 10-12 months consistently.

The full article, including market and conservation narrative, is at the URL above.