Since 1977, The Livestock Conservancy’s mission has been conservation of agricultural biodiversity. As America’s leading organization working to protect heritage breeds, our small staff and large network of partners safeguard a resource developed over hundreds of years including donkeys, cattle, goats, horses, sheep, pigs, rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys. And we’ve never lost a breed to extinction. More than 150 at-risk livestock and poultry breeds appear on our Conservation Priority List (CPL). These animals are raised by thousands of heritage breed stewards on farms across America. They turn to us for information, help selecting stock, breeding advice, marketing help, microgrants, and emergency rescues. From hard science to hard work, The Livestock Conservancy’s approach to conservation has become a model for heritage breed conservation world-wide. Rare breeds of livestock and poultry are part of our national and cultural heritage and represent a unique piece of the earth’s bio-diversity. We have inherited a rich variety of livestock breeds. For the sake of future generations, we must work together to safeguard these treasures. Heritage breed conservation may seem like a fancy term, but in reality it’s all about small farmers making smart choices and raising the right breeds in the right systems – serving as a link in the chain between past and future.