Barossa Valley’s Gumshire Pork – a cut above the rest
Bacon might be the one thing everyone agrees on! And when it’s locally grown, award-winning and available every weekend at the local farmer’s market, it’s definitely worthy of a public service announcement.
At Keyneton in the Barossa Valley, the Blenkiron family is raising the bar (and the pigs) – and the nation is taking notice. At the 2025 Sydney Royal Easter Show, Gumshire Pork walked away with 16 first-place ribbons across four breeds, and were also a finalist for the second year in a row in the prestigious President’s Medal in the Sydney Royal Fine Food Awards.
The good news is, you don’t need to head to Sydney to try it. Just take a trip to the Barossa Farmers Market any Saturday morning and you’ll find Gumshire serving up top-quality bacon, snags, schnitzels and more, made from their rare Hampshire pigs — a breed known for its flavour, tenderness, and beautiful fat marbling.
Gumshire is South Australia’s only Hampshire pig breeder, and one of just a handful in the country. They manage around 300 sows in deep-litter eco shelters that give the pigs room to move, because for Shaun Blenkiron, “happy life, happy pigs”, and for the rest of us that means tender tasty pork and delicious big bacon Brekkys!
The family’s passion goes beyond the final product. They’re big on sustainable and eco-conscious practices, supporting ag education, and are active in the Australian Pig Breeders Association.
With eighty per cent of Australia’s Hampshire pigs in their care, Gumshire is preserving a heritage breed, and delivering top-shelf pork while they do it.
If you want to check out the amazing Barossa Farmers Market, you can find the details here.
