Saving Heritage Breeds

By Nancy Smith
Published on February 1, 2004
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Choose heritage turkeys to help save endangered livestock and support local farmers.
Choose heritage turkeys to help save endangered livestock and support local farmers.
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Blue Slate at Sand Hill Preservation Center.
Blue Slate at Sand Hill Preservation Center.
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Narragansett at Sand Hill.
Narragansett at Sand Hill.
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Bourbon Red at Sand Hill
Bourbon Red at Sand Hill
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Learn how you can preserve rare livestock breeds on your homestead by joining the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
Learn how you can preserve rare livestock breeds on your homestead by joining the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.
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Belted Galloways are rugged cattle known for their abilities to forage and to withstand harsh winter condistions; they're a focus of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy efforts, too. These Belted Galloways are owned by Karen and John Thornton of Big Creek Farms, Mount Vernon, Iowa. Karen is an ALBC board member.
Belted Galloways are rugged cattle known for their abilities to forage and to withstand harsh winter condistions; they're a focus of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy efforts, too. These Belted Galloways are owned by Karen and John Thornton of Big Creek Farms, Mount Vernon, Iowa. Karen is an ALBC board member.
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While historic livestock breeds may not be as
While historic livestock breeds may not be as "effecient" as their industrial counterparts, the animals are often healthier and more interesting to keep; their meat, milk or eggs are more flavorful, and their genetic diversity is vital to our food security. Learn how you can help save rare breeds by joining the Real Food Revival.

Increasingly, consumers are seeking alternatives to factory farmed products; a growing number of us want more flavor and substance in our food, humane treatment for the livestock and less environmental damage from huge animal confinement operations. Dedicated livestock breeders are rising to meet this challenge, in part by raising historic, heritage breeds. These rare, often endangered, animals were bred for different regional environments and taste preferences over many generations, but in recent years, they have been all but abandoned in favor of the few breeds agribusiness promotes. Historic breeds may not be as “efficient” as their industrial counterparts, but the animals are often healthier and more interesting to keep; their meat, milk or eggs are more flavorful, and their genetic diversity is vital to our food security.


When it comes to rainbows, Frank Reese, Jr. will take a double every time. But his rainbows aren’t the kind that arc across the sky after a storm. Instead, they’re a particular coppery sheen on the tail feathers of his prized Bronze turkeys, a heritage variety currently making a fourth-quarter comeback from the brink of extinction.

“I hatched 5,000 turkeys to get that color,” Reese says, showing off some of his best Bronze toms. “That’s why it’s so tremendous to finally find a market for them, so we can now raise more.” The Reese operation, in Lindsborg, Kansas, is called Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch.

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