Introduction - Breeding Excellence is in our Genes

Hermitage Pedigree Pigs Ltd. was established in 1958, making it the longest established pig breeding company in the world today. Over the past 52 years, the Hermitage team have set about developing market leading maternal and terminal line genetics and disseminating these high performance genes to our customers worldwide.

Hermitage genetics have been supplied to customers in over 36 different Countries across the globe. High health is a key element in the Hermitage production pyramid with all Multiplication Herds maintaining strict S.P.F. status. The Hermitage product portfolio includes the highest quality breeding stock and semen available on the market. The Hermitage Maternal Lines are some of the most prolific female lines in the world and many of our customers are now achieving over 30 pigs per sow per year.

Our terminal sire lines, in particular the ‘MAXGRO’™ and the ‘HYGRO’™ Pietrain, have continued to lead the market for economically important traits such as growth rate, feed conversion efficiency and carcass yields. We have also developed a unique new terminal line for producing high eating quality carcasses. The Hermitage BERKI™ line has been especially developed for pork production for the restaurant trade. All Hermitage purebred animals are registered with the Irish Pedigree Pig Breeders Society and all AI sires are registered in Hermitage’s DNA database ensuring complete traceability throughout the pork chain. Supporting the Hermitage genetic products and services is a world renowned Research & Development Programme, focusing on reproductive performance, carcass performance, traceability and gene markers. Embryo Transfer is now being used to further enhance the bio-secure dissemination of top performing Hermitage genes worldwide.

The ‘Hermitage PIGBLUP Exchange’™ (HPE) has been established to coordinate all breeding programme administration for Hermitage Genetics worldwide. The HPE also maintains the vast BLUP database for all Hermitage maternal and terminal line animals and calculates the breeding values for Hermitage nucleus, multiplier and customer herds around the world.

The Hermitage technical support team provide expertise in Genetics, High Health Breeding Programmes, Artificial Insemination, Herd Management, Research and Development and Transport and Logistics to our customers worldwide.

Once again, we look forward to working together with our customers and continuing to produce world class, market leading, high performance breeding pigs, which in turn produce excellent carcasses and which return maximum benefits to all who use Hermitage products and services worldwide.