Growth of the pedigree Large White pig population in Australia

Abstract

From one pedigree herd in 1911, the Large White breed has expanded by an increase in the number and sizes of pedigree herds to 571 males and 965 females registered in 169 herds in 1960. Growth was characterized by rapid expansion between 1925 and 1947 followed by a long period of stability. At no time was expansion so rapid as to seriously depress selection intensities. Marked annual fluctuations in registration numbers could have caused random changes in gene frequency.