News

Two breeds graduate from Conservation Priority List

Livestock competitions have helped to revitalize breeds from two species.

Dr. Alison Martin, program director at The Livestock Conservancy, says Hereford hogs have moved off their Conservation Priority List (CPL).

“They’ve found some comeback for production on small farms and also in the show ring.”  She says, “They’re really popular for youth exhibition and that’s been a factor. That’s really helped them improve their numbers.”

She tells Brownfield Southdown sheep populations have also rebounded thanks to increased demand for their wool.

“In part due to that and in part due to their role on small farms and in the show ring.”  She says, “Southdown sheep have grown to sufficient numbers.”

Martin says protecting heritage breeds provides several benefits.

“Part of it is about keeping those breeds around as a genetic reservoir for breeding,” she says, “but then part of it too is we don’t know what traits or individual genes might be carried in some of these older breeds that might be important to farming in the future.”

The group will continue to observe both breeds, but without the intensive monitoring devoted those on the list.

More than 180 breeds across 11 species remain listed.  Not a single breed identified on the CPL has been lost to extinction since the effort began nearly four decades ago.

The Livestock Conservancy is a national non-profit that works closely with breed associations, breeders, and conservationists.

AUDIO: Dr. Alison Martin – program director @ The Livestock Conservancy