Livestock Conservancy Microgrants help farmers, ranchers, shepherds, homesteaders and breed groups save Conservation Priority List breeds from extinction. 

Microgrants up to $2,000 each are awarded in three categories. National Microgrants support adults working with heritage livestock and poultry; Youth Microgrants support teens raising CPL breeds; and Breed Association Grants help improve membership services, expand marketing materials, bank rare genetics, and promote educational events. 

This award season had the largest number of applications in the program’s seven-year history, making judging exceptionally difficult. Congratulations to the following Microgrant recipients for 2024-2025: 

Richard Broker of Robbins, North Carolina, will use Microgrant funds to improve forage diversity and support a more efficient rotational grazing program for his Ankole-Watusi cattle. 

Dobson

Sue Dobson from Checotah, Oklahoma, will expand breeding facilities for her award-winning flock of rare poultry, including endangered Crevecoeur chickens. The Microgrant will increase her supply of hatching eggs and breeding stock to help others begin raising heritage poultry. 

Jon and Jess Gray of Morrow, Ohio, will construct a larger coop to safely house their Narragansett turkey flock. Rotationally grazing their turkeys will improve soil health and forage quality while contributing to farm sustainability. The Grays’ Microgrant is sponsored by Premier 1 Supplies, a fencing and livestock care products supplier. 

Hollingsworth-Jones

Linda Kaye Hollingsworth-Jones from Emmett, Idaho, will use the Microgrant for semen collection and storage for her Hackney horse stallion, Kodiak. This will increase the availability of Hackney genetics for other owners of the critically endangered breed. 

Jackson and Earl Ransom of Strafford, Vermont, will purchase technologically enhanced ear tags for their third-generation organic Guernsey cattle operation. The monitoring devices track cow activity, rumination and temperature and will help monitor herd health and reproduction issues.  

Levi and Robin Stroing of Emmett, Idaho, will install underground water pipes, buried power lines and frost-free waterers in their Mulefoot hog pastures. The electric lines will also power protected outlets for the heat lamps needed in farrowing pens.  

Watson

Jessica Watson of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, will acquire a larger incubator to accommodate long-legged Shamo chicks. She will also expand her flock’s brooding capacity and add additional pens to better manage more breeding trios.  

Vivian Westfall of Scottsville, Virginia, will expand hatching capacity for White Rose Combed Dorking chickens and Dutch Hookbill ducks by purchasing a new cabinet incubator.  

Youth Microgrant Recipients: 

Bianca Currey from Dixon, California, will bring in new genetics to expand her Rhinelander rabbit breeding program. Currey will also develop a comprehensive breed education package, including a pictorial guide to proper breed characteristics and markings.  

Nelson

Alex Nelson of Fultonville, New York, will expand the genetic pool of his rabbit warren and purchase carriers so he can take more Beveren rabbits to shows and events. KW Cages, a manufacturer of rabbit equipment including cages and hutches, sponsored his award. 

Calista Sappenfield of Citra, Florida, will purchase hatching eggs to expand her White-Faced Black Spanish chickens’ genetics. She will also build a chicken tractor – safe mobile housing that takes advantage of pasture resources for her poultry flock. 

Ainsley West of Milton, Delaware, will purchase professional shears, hoof trimmers and a head gate and chute to make caring for her Leicester Longwool sheep easier, safer and less stressful for her flock. 

Since 2018, one-quarter of Livestock Conservancy Microgrants have supported youth working with heritage breeds. 

National Organizational Recipients:  

The Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Association International (BBSAI) will use its Microgrant to support a major DNA study of Barbados Blackbelly sheep. Research likes this drives conservation initiatives and provides accurate population metrics for better tracking improvements or declines for heritage breeds. 

Sarah Pedelty of the NALRA with a Lincoln Red bull.

The North American Corriente Association (NACA) will purchase new computing equipment and software for their cattle registry. The equipment will also help improve the quality of outreach materials to current and future Corriente cattle ranchers.  

The North American Lincoln Red Association (NALRA) will conduct a baseline assessment of the nutrient density of Lincoln Red cattle beef in the following three test areas: metabolomics/antioxidants, fatty acids and minerals. Results will help members market their beef more effectively. 

Funding for the Microgrant program comes from generous donors, including Drs. Pam Hand and Will Hueston, Premier 1 Supplies, KW Cages, Lawrence Davis, Louis Eubanks, The Stucki Family Foundation, Robert Gjerdingen, Pat Lusted and a generous anonymous foundation donor. For more information on becoming a donor for this unique conservation effort for heritage breeds, contact Karena Elliott at The Livestock Conservancy by calling the office or emailing kelliott@livestockconservancy.org. 

With nearly $26,000 awarded in Microgrants this year (the highest amount of single-year awards ever), the program has funded more than $135,000 in heritage livestock and poultry projects since it began in 2018. Each of The Livestock Conservancy’s 11 heritage species – cattle, chickens, donkeys, ducks, geese, goats, horses, pigs, rabbits, sheep and turkeys – has received funding. Recipients are now found in two-thirds of the states in America and more than half the endangered breeds on the CPL have been awarded a Microgrant to support their survival.  

Applications for the next round of microgrants open in May 2025.