It is named for its color and pattern, which is similar to that of the Hereford breed of cattle: red with a white face.

[4]: 611 [6]: 394  The principal breeds used were the Duroc and the Poland China; there may also have been some Chester White or Hampshire influence.

[7]: 198 The breed grew in numbers into the mid-twentieth century,[7]: 198  particularly in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, but from the 1960s, with the move of commercial pork operations to the modern system of three-way cross-breeding using American Yorkshire, Duroc and Hampshire, population numbers fell sharply.

[3] The population reported to DAD-IS for 1970 is 317, while that for 2011, the most recent year listed, is 2045; in 2022 the conservation status of the breed was shown as 'unknown'.

[4]: 611  The only allowable coat coloration is a deep red-brown covering at least two thirds of the body, with a pale face, ears, underbelly, and socks.