Danish Landrace pig


The Danish Landrace is a medium to large breed of pig, white in colour with long bodies, fine hair, long snouts, and heavy drooping ears. They are bred for pork production. There are two distinct varieties, the white and the piebald

Characteristics

The Danish Landrace is a medium-to-large, long, lean, pig. It is white, and is scantily clad with short hairs. The snout is long, and the large ears droop forwards. It has deep flanks and lacks the wrinkles and excess fat found in some other breeds.

History

The first registered Landrace herd was established in 1896 in Denmark, with the first progeny and sibling tests taking place in 1907. Since then, production and quality testing have become a regular part of the Danish swine improvement program. Primarily because of this breed, Denmark became the world's chief bacon-exporting country and for many years refused to export purebred Landrace breeding stock to protect this position. Registrations are governed by Denmark's Landsudvalget for Svineavl og Produktion. Research and improvement of the breed is still continuing. In a seven-year period in the 1970s and 1980s, there was improvement in daily weight gain, feed conversion, the percentage of meat to bone in the carcase and the quality score.
Danish Landrace have been exported to the United States, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, People's Republic of China, Philippines, Malaysia, Sweden, Thailand, the former U.S.S.R., Albania, Hungary, Greece, Germany, and several African countries.
In Denmark, Danish Landrace pigs can be experienced at The Funen Village open-air museum.