Although the history is difficult to trace it is believed that the breed originated in the county of Yorkshire in England. Many of the first exportations of this breed to other countries occurred from the county of Yorkshire. The large, coarse-boned and leggy white pigs of the region were crossed with other breeds. Davidson, in his book, “The Production and Marketing of Pigs”, has suggested that among these were the Cumberland, Leicestershire, and the Middle White and Small White. Specimens of the new breed first attracted attention at the Windsor Royal Show in 1831. The breed was first recognized as a distinct breed in England in 1868. The Large White has since become a well-established breed, which has truly left its mark on world pork production. Furthermore, it is comfortably the leading breed of the world if one considers that the Yorkshires in the United Sates and Canada are the direct descendants of the Large White. Virtually every county in the world that values pigs has made importations of the Large White.

The importation of Large White pigs into South Africa can be summarized as follows: It is believed that the first significant imported consignments, from abroad, took place in the late 1890's. The next real influx of Large White pigs took place shortly after the South African Boer War (1899- 1902), when dedicated efforts were made by the government to build up the depleted local pig herds that had almost come to a standstill after the war and the Rinderpest outbreak. Subsequently consignments of Berkshire, Large White, Tamworht, Minnesota No. 1 and Large Black pigs were imported from England.

The Large White pig should exhibit characteristics exactly as the name suggests, giving an overall impression of size and capacity. It is a powerful breed of great all round quality, and one of the oldest recorded purebreds. They are sometimes regarded as late maturing with some strains coming into season for the first time at 7 or even 8 months. However, they produce large, healthy litters and are very good protective mothers – producing offspring with exceptional growth rates and feed efficiency. Hence the breed can be regarded as the ultimate dual-purpose breed. Boars are normally good workers. When crossed with almost any other pure breed, they will produce progeny of excellent bacon type. The Large White has excelled as a universal foundation mother breed and when crossed with the Landrace, produces F1 female stock of outstanding reproductive merit.
 

Standards of Excellence for the Large White

General Appearance
The Large White is a big, medium boned, broad backed animal with deep lean sides, good performance and full smoothly muscled hams. They should stand on well placed strong legs and even clays.

Head
Moderately long, face slightly dished, snout broad but not turned up, jowl light, wide between the ears.

Ears
Large upright ears, it can be slightly inclined forward and fringed with silky hair at maturity.

Neck
Long, strong and proportionately full at the shoulders.

Chest
Wide and deep.

Shoulders
The shoulders should be level and enough proportional width from neck to rump. Must give the impression of great length and form a consistent line, free of irregular dips or bumps when viewed from the side.

Loin
The loin must be broad and full.

Hams
Should be broad and full to the hocks.

Tail
Set high, stout and long, but not course, with tassels of fine hair on the switch.

Ribs
Well sprung.

Sides
Deep and flat rather than barrel shaped.

Belly
Full, but not flabby, with straight underline parallel to the ground and with at least seven pairs of sound, evenly placed prominent teats. The boar should have at least three pairs in front of sheath.

Flank
Thick and well let down.

Legs
Straight and well set. Level with the outside of the body, with strong flat bone.

Pasterns
Should be short and springy.

Feet
Strong and even toed. Claws must be short and rounded, not long, pointed or curling towards each other.

Action
Deliberate and free.

Skin
The skin should be fine, white, free from wrinkles and black hairs, and as free as possible from blue or black spots.

Coat
Long and silky.

Objectional Points
1.  Course heavy shoulders or excessive shield
2.  Kinked tail
3.  Excessive blue and black spots on main body
4.  Collar or crease around neck or shoulder
5.  Excessive wrinkles along sides

Disqualification
1.  Lop ears
2.  Black hair
3.  Extra digits or visible deformities or any signs of contagious diseases
4.  Less than seven teats a side
5.  Inverted or blind nipples
6.  All genetic defects. This applies to the boar, sow and progeny