Indeed, the turkey is the most genetically eroded of all livestock species, according to the ALBC. Just a handful of large white turkey varieties are used for more than 90 percent of all turkey production.
Particular livestock breeds became endangered for a variety of reasons, says
Jennifer Kendall, ALBC's marketing and communications manager.
Dutch Belted Cattle, for example, fell out of favor as a dairy cow after World War II as agriculture began to change. Before, farms were smaller and food was very localized, but as the population began to boom, agriculture became more industrialized, she says.
"So we saw agriculture favoring very few breeds that were selected for certain things," Jennifer says. "The Holstein became the premier cow because it could produce a lot of milk, and they were looking for production."
Now, the Holstein represents about 91 percent of the nation's dairy stock, the ALBC says.
Industrialized agriculture relied on the predictable standards that selected breeds could deliver: certain chickens could lay more eggs, particular turkeys would grow to specified size and weight, and Holsteins could be relied on to deliver the most milk.
Heritage breeds, such as the Dutch Belted, may not produce as much milk as a Holstein, but they have characteristics that small farmers prefer — they can live on grass, have natural parasite resistance, are very mellow, and make good mothers.
"These are traditional traits that were valued on family farms that industries didn't really value," Jennifer says.
Dutch Belted, she adds, produce an extraordinarily creamy milk that cheesemakers use for specialized, rich cheeses. "So when they were selecting in favor of industrialization," she notes, "they were losing other characteristics the breeds have."
Partial to Heritage Breeds
Steve and Sharon, through their small business, "S and S Poultry," (sandspoultry.com) have been doing their part for about 16 years to preserve such endangered poultry breeds breeds as Feathered Cochin chickens, Runner Ducks, Dark Cornish chickens, Toulouse geese, Bourbon Red turkeys, and Standard Bronze turkeys, to name a handful. They are ALBC members.
Their passion for poultry started with Oscar, a mixed-breed barnyard rooster who showed up one day — and remains with the Ashmans after all those years. The couple built Oscar a small coop and added a couple hens for companionship. They then added Muscovy ducks and Midget White turkeys after deciding to specifically raise heritage breeds.
"Heritage breeds have more of a taste," Steve says. "People can't believe the taste difference when they try it."
"Plus, they're self-renewing, which means we don't have to go get new ones every year," he says.
In fact, S and S Poultry provides both hatching eggs and young hatchlings to others who want to raise heritage breeds.
"In the spring, we hatch hundreds of eggs," Steve says. "We try to have weekly hatchings."
They ship eggs, but they don't ship live birds, he says. Those must be picked up at their small farm.
The Ashmans have seen business pick up as the local food movement has taken hold. "A lot more people are into smaller backyard flocks," Steve says. "They're also interested in raising their own eggs."
Increased business, they note, also helps keep the heritage breeds sustainable, because unless there's a demand, there's no financial benefit to raising them.
It's breeders such as the Ashmans who are making it possible for endangered livestock breeds to survive, Jennifer says.
"Our mission wouldn't be possible without breeders," she says. "Our mission is conservation and promotion of heritage livestock breeds, but it's all done through the heritage livestock breeders. People think we have animals here (at their headquarters), but we don't do active breeding; we depend on the breeders."