Before the 20th century, two types of piglets were common in Europe: The Great big-eared country pig and the Small-eared staghorn pig. The large large-eared country pig replaced the small-eared sable pig around the second half of the 19th century. At the time, people wanted a pig that matured earlier, grew faster and had more meat to bacon ratio. The Groot grootorig country pig was known in the Netherlands by several regional names such as the Frisian pig, the Drents pig and the Limburg pig. Unfortunately, these regional types have disappeared.

In the early 20th century, breeding stations, pig breeding associations and herd books were established and Dutch pig farming underwent significant growth. At this time, the first ennobled German land piglets were introduced. Starting in 1930, Danish land piglets were introduced, which allowed for considerable improvement in slaughter quality and suitability for bacon production.

Today's Dutch country pig was created by inbreeding with the Danish country pig and the Vererdelde German country pig. Around 1933, the studbooks were given the freedom to register the crossbreeds as the breed Dutch country pig. Eventually, the official bloodline for the Dutch country pig was set at 5/8 Danish country pig and 3/8 Veredelde German country pig. At that time, this breed of pig was mainly used for bacon production. At that time, the export of meat to England was not allowed for veterinary reasons, but meat products were. The clever Dutch had a solution for this: bacon was shipped. Since the 1960s, the Dutch land pig has been the basis for most of the meat pig dams in modern pig breeding. In the 1990s, semen from three breeding organizations from their Dutch land pig lines was stored in the gene bank. These three populations were eventually merged into one. Around 2013, this population was integrated with the landrace lines of Scandinavian origin.

For several decades, the Dutch country pig has been used in the commercial pig industry and actively used in various breeding programs. However, due to intensive selections, inbreeding with more productive breeds and cost savings, the pure Dutch country pig is about to disappear. Topigs is integrating the Dutch land pig line (NNNN line) with the Scandinavian line (F-line). As a result, the pure line of the Dutch land pig will disappear. In addition, the number of breeders and the number of pure Dutch country pig is currently declining, so the breed can thus be considered rare.

The Dutch land pig lends itself well as a grazer, living plow on grasslands and fields, as a forest manager clearing natural "waste"(acorns, beech nuts, fall fruits) and keeping young plant growth in check. Moreover, the friendly hangoor can be an attraction for recreational and educational outings: a scavenging advertisement for its own species.