One of the oldest horse breeds in North America, the Morgan horse is widely recognized as an American treasure. It is also unique because the breed traces to a single foundation sire, a colt named Figure owned by Justin Morgan whose name became forever associated with the breed. Morgan was a teacher and musical ... Read more
D. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, PhD., has served as Science and Technical Advisor to The Livestock Conservancy since 1978. He provides counsel and mentoring to Conservancy staff, breeders, breed associations, scholars, and NGO partners. Dr. Sponenberg established both the Conservation Priority List and the standards for rare breed inclusion on that List. Because of the ... Read more
Almost 200 Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds For the past 37 years, The Livestock Conservancy has been identifying and ranking the threat of extinction for almost 200 heritage breeds of livestock and poultry. “More than 4,000 volunteer breeders and 150+ breed associations work diligently to ensure these endangered breeds don’t disappear from our farms, ... Read more
Heritage breeds are traditional livestock breeds that were raised by our forefathers. These are the breeds of a bygone era, before industrial agriculture became a mainstream practice. These breeds were carefully selected and bred over time to develop traits that made them well-adapted to the local environment and they thrived under farming practices and ... Read more
Heritage breed education can have a profound impact on young people, often shaping their life-long appreciation for conservation. Alexandria Brown-Haglund of Sweet Rose Acres is a great example of a heritage breeder whose passion for American Chinchilla rabbits started as a student. “In high school, someone had an American Chinchilla rabbit for sale at ... Read more
The Livestock Conservancy invites you to celebrate International Heritage Breeds Week Sunday, May 21 through Saturday, May 27. During the ninth annual celebration, the Conservancy is sharing the critically important message that rare breeds of livestock and poultry are an important part of the climate solutions needed for a changing planet. Biodiversity matters. ... Read more
Involving younger generations in heritage breed conservation is crucial to our mission of protecting endangered livestock and poultry breeds from extinction. As we celebrate Rabbit Month and recognize the sixteen rabbit breeds on the Conservation Priority List, we want to highlight how young people can get involved with these heritage breeds. Whether by joining ... Read more
By Eric and Callene Rapp, Rare Hare Barn Eric and Callene Rapp, members of The Livestock Conservancy, focus on the conservation of heritage breed rabbits at Rare Hare Barn. They are the authors of Raising Rabbits for Meat, a how-to guide to help you succeed in starting and running a home rabbitry for a ... Read more
Sandra Guidi on Black Rock Ranch, photo by Paige Green Sandra and Rob Guidi planned to enjoy retirement in a small California beach home. They ended up as Santa Cruz Island shepherds battling the effects of climate change. Santa Cruz Island sheep grazing at Black Rock Ranch, photo by Koa Kalish ... Read more
By Heather Loomis As farmers, we often focus our outreach efforts on how we farm. The reality is, most consumers do not understand or care about these topics. What should we be sharing with them? Our stories! Storytelling is one of the greatest ways to gather interest from the general public. You can then ... Read more
