Excerpt from The Meat-Type Hog: Ars 22-31, October, 1956

A number of factors influenced the next change. Machinery was re placing man labor and reducing the need for so much fat in the working man's diet. Pe0p1e were moving to the cities and adopting more sedentary occupations, with a resulting change in diet. Vegetable oils began a spectacular rise in public favor. Lard, for domestic use and export, began a long decline to the status of a low-priced product. The hog was soon producing a year's meat for two and a year's lard for three.

Growers and breeders, who had watched the pendulum swing in hog types, were understandably confused as to what type of hog best satisfied the market and their own interests. Following a series of tests by various State agricultural experiment stations during the 1920's, the U. S. Department of Agriculture and some State experiment stations did research on hog types. The Department's trials extended from 1931 through 1938. The tests, on 800 small medium and large-type hogs, sought to find the advantages and disadvantages of each type in prolificacy, viability, rate of growth, economy of gain, and dressing percentage.

The results generally favored the medium-sized hog. It gained better up to around 220-230 pounds and finished out on less feed, had a higher percentage of pigs that lived past weaning, seemed to meet market de mands better, and was a more economical animal for the farmer to raise than either the small or the large type.

Meanwhile, since early in the 1930's, accomplishments of the Danes with their Danish Landrace hogs became known to research men and to many hog breeders in the United States. The Danes for many years have been keeping systematic records on performance in both economy of pro duction and carcass quality. In 1934 Denmark released 30 hogs to the U. 8. Government for research purposes. Six of the imported hogs were Danish Yorkshire and 24 were Danish Landrace. These imports were crossed with domestic breeds and the Department of Agriculture investigated the results. Six inbred lines were developed at Beltsville, Md that compare favorably with Landrace hogs in general.

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