We farm eclectically. We practice permaculture, hugulkultur, and biodynamics. We practice symbiotic, natural, free-range and pastured husbandry. But more than any of these, we conserve. So much so that we prefer to be considered conservationalists, or stewards, rather than farmers.
So what exactly defines conservation? It’s viewing a heritage livestock breed or an heirloom seed as a genetic resource and managing those resources in a way that ensures our future. Our mission as conservationalists is to maintain the original genetic identity through selection criteria that’s consistent to the breed or seed’s history. In livestock, this entails the philosophy that a herd is more important than one individual, no matter how ‘nice’ that particular animal may be. A steward is always looking to the good of the herd and focuses on genetic diversity within the herd. This means a steward realizes the importance of restricting the use of just one superior representation of the breed so that a sound animal that might be lacking some in performance or appearance (ie, a mediocre color) will have genetic representation within the herd or flock. It also means keeping or accessing through artificial insemination a larger group of males for breeding than most breeders do.
So what exactly defines conservation? It’s viewing a heritage livestock breed or an heirloom seed as a genetic resource and managing those resources in a way that ensures our future. Our mission as conservationalists is to maintain the original genetic identity through selection criteria that’s consistent to the breed or seed’s history. In livestock, this entails the philosophy that a herd is more important than one individual, no matter how ‘nice’ that particular animal may be. A steward is always looking to the good of the herd and focuses on genetic diversity within the herd. This means a steward realizes the importance of restricting the use of just one superior representation of the breed so that a sound animal that might be lacking some in performance or appearance (ie, a mediocre color) will have genetic representation within the herd or flock. It also means keeping or accessing through artificial insemination a larger group of males for breeding than most breeders do.
What about improving breeds of heritage livestock? Some people hear the word conserve and think it means to keep things exactly the same; this is a misconception. Conservation allows for the improvement of breeds. In fact, it should be the goal of every steward to move his herd or flock closer to the historical ideal or standard, and that means selecting sound animals (with diverse genetic lines) that are good representatives of what their breeds should be. It means you cull hard within a balance of maintaining genetic diversity. It means years of dedication. It means restraint against following the latest trends and demands in the show ring and the market.
Does Improvement Breeding contradict Conservation Breeding? It most certainly can, and has. Consider the Devon breeds of cattle. At one time, there was a single breed known as the Devon. They were the ultimate homesteading cattle; indeed, they were instrumental in helping early Americans settle the frontier. But the time came when the market started demanding a beefier animal to compete, and thus, many breeders began to shift away from the historically correct Devon, which was triple purpose, to select animals that were beefier and polled. In this quest, the fine milking and draft qualities of the Devon were viewed as less important by many breeding for more meat yields. Today, thanks to the dedication of some breeders who wished to conserve the original qualities of the cattle, there remains herds of Devons known as the American Milking Devons, which are historically correct triple purpose cattle and are of great genetic importance, as well as functional use for the contemporary homesteader. If it weren’t for stewards, we would have already lost many of our heritage breeds due to so-called improvement. Consider, as well, other problems caused by Improvement Breeding which include conformational issues, unsoundness, lack of foraging ability, shorter lifespan, shorter production span, fertility issues, and difficulty in birth. One only needs to take a glance at the commercialized breeds of today to see this reality. Generations of selective breeding for one particular trait has had catastrophic results in terms of health and reproduction.
Does Improvement Breeding have to contradict Conservation Breeding? Not if the idea of improvement is to truly improve the overall herd or flock. If the steward seeks to improve his animals overall, considering all historical traits of the breed, then improvement breeding is beneficial and indeed, necessary. The focus with heritage breeds should be to produce animals that are good representations of their breed, that represent a diverse genetic population of the breed, that are sound and able to perform that which they have historically been produced to do, and that thrive under the conditions they have been traditionally kept. We have a herd of Fainting Goats. We select for soundness, conformation, hardiness, foraging ability, good mothering, ease of kidding, docile temperament, parasite resistance, and several other traits. These are characteristics the breed has been known for throughout its history. As a result, we have a herd that overall rarely needs deworming, that requires no grain to maintain healthy condition, and that has virtually no health or kidding issues. Ignoring the popular trends, patiently working over time, maintaining genetic diversity, and selecting for many traits rather than a few, has resulted in more performance balanced herds and flocks, and less genetic issues in our animals.
To summarize, Improvement and Conservation will conflict if the goal of improvement is to focus on one or two specific traits; one can improve their herd or flock while still maintaining the historic use and characteristics of the breed. A word of caution: a breeder is able to improve a trait to compete in the marketplace or show ring, but if that ‘improvement’ changes the appearance or function of the original, then the newly improved is no longer the same animal in type or function----it is the same in name only, and over time will become genetically altered. That is not conservation of our genetic resources; that is producing a new breed from an existing one.
Please stay tuned for future blogs concerning how we select animals and manage our breeding programs on our farm.
Please stay tuned for future blogs concerning how we select animals and manage our breeding programs on our farm.