American Livestock Breeds Conservancy - General Programs

General Programs

The preservation of various pure breeds and strains, including some that are rare today, was once undertaken in North America in large part by large agriculture-focused colleges and universities. However, many of these institutions have changed their focus to commercial or crossbred strains, with many herds being sent to slaughter. The ALBC and Rare Breeds Canada intervened in some of these cases, leading to the survival and preservation of some gene stocks. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) participates in livestock preservation mainly through technology-based approaches such as gene mapping and germplasm (genetic material) storage. However, although the storage of genetic material is a useful technique in the preservation of rare breeds, it cannot preserve the entire range of genetic diversity within even an individual breed, and stored material cannot react and adapt to environmental or biological changes as live animal populations can. The US federal government rarely supports rare breed live animal population conservation, and while agricultural subsidies were once seen more than they are in present times, they were never focused on individual breeds. The ALBC has been instrumental in preserving live populations of many rare livestock breeds in the US.

In the 1980s, the ALBC began a gene bank designed to preserve the genetic material of rare breeds. After collecting genetic material from over a dozen rare breeds, the bank was transferred to the USDA National Animal Germplasm Program (NAGP). The ALBC maintains a close relationship with the NAGP, including assisting in the collection of genetic material from additional rare breeds. The conservation list published by the ALBC is also used by the SVF Foundation, an organization that uses cryopreservation to preserve germplasm from rare breeds. In the early 1990s, the organization mounted displays of historic rare breed livestock illustrations at the National Agricultural Library and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, designed to raise public awareness of the declining populations of rare livestock breeds.

In 2004, the ALBC entered a partnership with Slow Food USA, Chefs Collaborative, and four other organizations to found the Renewing America's Food Traditions collaboration. The effort resulted in a book, Renewing America's Food Traditions, describing more than 1000 varieties and species of food that are disappearing from the United States. The organization has written or published over a dozen books on heritage livestock breeds, including several on heritage poultry and waterfowl and more on general livestock conservation. Its conservation criteria and literature on livestock biodiversity are also widely used in independent publications on breeds. The ALBC organizes an annual conference that focuses on the preservation and promotion of rare livestock breeds. For this conference, it partners with other organizations to teach members and other attendees about various aspects of rare breed livestock. For instance, in 2005, the ALBC partnered with the NAGP and the American Grassfed Association for a discussion on the cryogenic preservation of rare breed genetic material, which included a tour of the USDA Livestock and Poultry Gene Bank. In 2009, the ALBC set up an online classified advertisement system to help users find and purchase rare breeds.