The renaissance of the breed - the activity of the Olmos & Tóth Ltd.

By 1991 the mangalica was on the edge of extinction, there were less, than 200 (!) stockers in the whole world. The number of the shallow-bellied and red mangalica sows fall to 30 animals, consequently the extinction was exepted to happen in several months. In the last moment, a Spanish market demand has arosen, which radically changed the status of the breed in the last 10 years.

In the spring 1991 Juan Vicente Olmos Liorente, the chairman of the Spanish Jamenos Segovia ham factory contected with Péter Tóth, candidate for agrarian engineer sowed stepped with Péter Tóth agricultural engineer in order to seek any, rather fat, original Hungarian pig, that can be kept in the open all the year round, for ingredients of high quality ham and pork chop. Naturally the mangalica has been chosen for this purpose, so the established Olmos & Tóth Ltd. has worked on breeding of the mangalica since 1991. Basic principles are, that the pigs have to get fat with the use of Hungarian fodder and Hungarian labor force on Hungarian pig stock-farms, and Hungarian Butchery have to do the meat packing. The hard work done in the last 10 years brings its first fruits by now. Fortunately the number of the stockers of the mangalica breed have started to grow in numbers, so in 2004 it exceeds the number of 5000 sows and the number of the store-pig sales of the Olmos & Tóth Ltd. reaches 10000 animals.

The Olmos & Tóth Ltd. is the only company, that successfully mix the traditional mangalica breeding with the hygienic keeeping of the piglets and tha pigs that meets the exigencies of the time. The sows are in gigantic meadows and in bawns through the year, where they live in large groups, under "pig friendly" conditions. The farrow also passes off in pig-pens offering great movement possibility for sows, but here we are concerned with newly-born pigs extraordinarily. They have separate feeders, watering troughs, heating and resting room at their back and call. Naturally each mangalica gets the unique number in the age of a couple of days by the help of whitch it can be looked up all through its life, even from the products made from it. The sows come approximately 4 weeks after the farrow to the boars selected by the breeding program at the first time, then back in the meadows. The piglets are relocated to the hygienic pig-keeping rooms using the most modern technologies available. From here, in two months weighed 35 kilograms they move to their final place, to the fattener chambers provided with spacy bawns littered for traditionally large groups. They reach its butchery weight of 130-150 kilogram here in a year.

The fodder consists exclusively of wheat, barley, corn, mineral supplement and green forage, and produced by the own mixing mill of the Olmos & Tóth Ltd. under strict controll.

It is a rule for all pigs of the Olmos & Tóth Ltd. that exclusively the stockers and the piglets can get preventive veterinarian treatments. None of the mangalicas can get single individual veterinarian measures and medicines.

The mangalicas become fat is slaughtered and processed by the Meat Combine at Gyula. (Gyulai Húskombinát).

The formed, frozen ham and cutlet is exported in the semi-finished form to our Spanish partner, Jamenos Segovia Sa, while the remaining parts of the meat are processed entirely in Hungary.

The hams and cutlet have a trip of 3500 kilometers to get to the town of Carbonero el Mayor in the middle of the Spanish plateau called Masata, where it is cured in the maturity warehouses of the owners, the Olmos family for three years. The Monte-Nevado Mangalica Ham, produced with the Serrano-type curing, be prepared only with salting and driing, it is not gammoned and smoke-dried. It is quite a high-quality, exclusive product and exclusively sold in the brand-shops of Jamenos Segovia Sa and one or two elegant delicate shops.

From the other parts of the mangalicas the Gyula Meat Combine Plc. prepares the Gyula mangalica products. The Gyula mangalica sausage, clod, ham and liver products satisfy the claims of even the most fine-toothed consumers. So far these products have won the first prize of any fair, where they were imagined. (First Prize of Meat Festival, Omék First Prize, Foodapest Novelty Prize etc.) The best dry commodity factory prepare the best sausage from pigs with the best meat.

The products mentioned above are available only in limited quantities for the present because of the small number of the animals and the protection of the genetic basis of the breed.

Because the quality of the mangalica satisfies also the highest claims and the market also reacts well to the products made from it, the expansion of the livestock is continuous, and it exceeds the 8000 animals in 2004. The Spanish and the Hungarian market is willing to take over 50-60000 mangalica products annually, so the development and subsistence of the breed remain secure regarding the market.

The Olmos & Tóth Ltd. operates own stock-farms in Em?d-Istvánmajor and in Nyíribrony, and it has pig farms at 10 locations. Except the own pig farms, it buys mangalica store-pigs over agreements as well and the firm executes also the export of the products. The Olmos & Tóth Ltd. has been expanding its mangalica-stock continuously with investments of 100-200000 Euro annually, so that they can mark the growing claims of the market in terms of both the quantity and the quality.

So as to the preserve the genetic bases, the National Assotiation of Mangalica Breeders (Mangalicatenyészt?k Országos Egysülete; NAMB) was reorganized in 1994, after a 45 year-old pause, by the origination of the Olmos & Tóth Ltd. This is the only official breeding organization of the breed, which is recognized by the Hungarian state. This organization carries out the origin examination and the origin certification in terms of each mangalica pig coming to the market.

The breeding work concerning the mangalica is among the functions of the NAMB. The experts of the organization control the trade of the animals kept for breeding purposes. Their control covers each animal and is vital to avoid the sister-breeding, which is because of the small number of the animals. To sustain the trust of the consumers, the Olmos & Tóth Ltd. only takes over mangalica pigs having certificate of the NAMB, therewith it guarantee the origin of the mangalica products officially.

Not long ago there was a year, when 95% of the Hungarian mangalica-stock was on the farm of Em?d-Istvánmajor of the Olmos & Tóth Ltd. Today there are more than 160 mangalica stock-farms again all over the country. It inflate us with pride, that like the blood of Kisjenő in the 1850s, now the blood of Emőd can be found on each mangalica stock-farm.

The Olmos & Tóth Ltd. invests considerable sums into supporting the research and development activity concerning the mangalica. They collaborate with several notable Hungarian and foreign universities and institutions in the investigation of the genetic and biological reproductive characteristics. Spanish, German and Japanese research groups analyze the tissues and blood samples provided by us, in common with their Hungarian colleagues.

Together with the Research Institute of Animal Husbandry (RIAH), we have already realized the "test-tube piglet" program, aiding the reproduction of the genetically valuable sows, only in case of the mangalica-breed. This program is a part of the comprehensive project, called "biotech interventions to grow the reproduction capacity of the mangalica-breed" which has gained a considerable state subsidy and implemented on our farm of Emőd between 2002 and 2008.

The mangalica, that was kept widespread and was known as the food of the poors in former times, has become special Hungarian product providing delicate product by this time. It will enhance the fame of the Hungarian pig-breeders and generally Hungary in small amounts, but in perfect quality in the more and more integrating markets of the world. The products made from the mangalica is only bought by the wealthy consumers because of their high price, so we can say: the success of the Olmos & Tóth Ltd. can be imagined only with the success of Hungary itself. If the citizens live well, then our products can be sold easily, if not, our firm can not be also successful. After the experiences of the last 10 years, we believe, that the future of the mangalica is secured in the long run and we confidently undertake developments lasting over more years or decades.