Located near the tiny Hamlet of Burr in Saskatchewan resides a small herd of pigs that many have probably not heard of – Herefords.
“I chose Hereford because of all the research I did they seemed like they would a good fit for my farm operation and they have great temperament and do great outdoors,” explained Brock Bornhorst.
“They are very easy going. I can walk up to any of my Herefords and pet them like a dog, my big boar is a giant puppy dog. They do great outside in all seasons as long as there is some shelter and lots of straw, they do great in the winter months here in Saskatchewan as well.”
Bornhorst said pigs of any kind are very much a new enterprise.
“I am a fairly new breeder myself so there is lots of stuff I am learning for the first time,” he said, noting pigs are not in his or his wife’s background. “. . . I grew up on a grain farm my whole life and now working for a grain farmer full time and my fiancé Chantelle grew up in Saskatoon her whole life. We have been raising pigs for a year now.”
The couple run the small operation, although Brock’s dad does come out and help if they need an extra hand or are gone for a day or two.

They bought their first two pigs June of 2024 and have grown to seven sows and two boars in the last year.
“I run mostly Herefords but do have a Berkshire and a Hampshire, as well as a purebred Hereford boar and a 95 per cent Hereford boar,” said Bornhorst. “At the moment I am not registering my stock but do plan on it in the future.”
The Herefords are raised outdoors for the most part.
“I raise all my pigs outside with the sows out on pasture in the summer and the boars in their own separate pens,” explained Bornhorst. “Come late fall I move the sows off the pasture and into two pens so they are ready for breeding season when I turn the boars in with them and they will stay in those pens all winter.

“I have some huts that I fill with lots of straw for the winter and they burrow up in there and come out steaming hot when I go out to feed them. I pail feed them all year around as well as them feeding on pasture in the summer they get fed everyday.
“So far most of my marketing has been just from word of mouth as well as putting some ads on Facebook pages.”
And, down the road Bornhorst hopes the herd grows.
“I do want to expand. I want to get out of my commercial sows and run just a straight purebred herd of 10 sows,” he said. •
— By Calvin Daniels
Photos supplied