The Hereford Hog or Hereford is an American
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
of
domestic pig. It is named for its color and pattern, which is similar to that of the
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
breed of
cattle: red with a white face.
It is of medium size, with a curly tail and lop ears.
History
The first person to breed for the Hereford color pattern in pigs – and the first to describe it – was R.U. Weber of
LaPlata, Missouri. From about 1902 until 1925 a number of farmers in
Nebraska and
Iowa, among them John Schulte of
Norway, Iowa
Norway is a city in Benton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 466 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is approximately southwest of downtown Cedar Rapids. It is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area. Norway is ...
, collaborated in the
selection of pigs with this coloration. The principal breeds used were the
Duroc and the
Poland China
The Poland China is an American breed of domestic pig. It was first bred in Warren County in Ohio, in the American Midwest. Its origins lie in a small number of pigs of Chinese type bought in 1816, which were cross-bred with a variety of breeds o ...
; there may also have been some
Chester White or
Hampshire influence. They bred not only for color, but also conformation and performance. In 1934 a selection of the hundred best animals from five herds was made, and became the
foundation stock for the breed. A
breed society, the National Hereford Hog Registry Association, was formed in that year under the sponsorship of the Polled Hereford Cattle Registry Association, and a
herd-book was opened.
The breed grew in numbers into the mid-twentieth century, particularly in Iowa,
Illinois and
Indiana, but from the 1960s, with the move of commercial pork operations to the modern system of three-way cross-breeding using
American Yorkshire
The American Yorkshire is an American breed of large domestic pig. It is the most numerous pig breed in the United States. It derives from pigs of the British Large White or Yorkshire breed imported from the United Kingdom or from Canada at va ...
, Duroc and Hampshire, population numbers fell sharply.
In 2013 the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (now the
Livestock Conservancy) estimated that fewer than breeding animals remained, and listed the
conservation status of the breed as 'watch'; in 2022 its estimate of breed numbers was unchanged, but the conservation status of the breed had changed to 'recovering'. The population reported to
DAD-IS for 1970 is 317, while that for 2011, the most recent year listed, is ; in 2022 the conservation status of the breed was shown as 'unknown'.
Characteristics
It is a pig of medium size: mature sows weigh about and boars about . The only allowable coat coloration is a deep red-brown covering at least two thirds of the body, with a pale face, ears, underbelly, and socks. The ears hang forwards over the face.
It is hardy and docile, prolific and maternal, and suitable to either
extensive or
intensive management.
Use
Hogs for market reach a slaughter weight of about in five or six months.
References
{{Pig breeds of Canada and the United States
Pig breeds originating in the United States