Happy Thanksgiving

The staff at the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy wishes each of you a happy Thanksgiving. We hope your holiday is filled with family, joy, and relaxation.

There has been a lot of media buzz about Heritage Turkeys this holiday season. ALBC is excited to see growing consumer interest in saving rare breeds. By putting them back on the American dinner table, we can increase their population numbers and ensure genetic diversity and security for our agricultural food system.

In October as part of ALBC'S Master Breeder program, staff member Jeannette Beranger traveled to Kansas to do a walk-through of Frank Reese's flocks. Frank is the owner and operator of Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch and he's a notable heritage poultry breeder.

During her tour, Jeannette tried out her "turkey whispering" skills. And the verdict - see for yourself! (These are Bronze turkeys.)

To learn more about Heritage Turkeys, visit www.albc-usa.org.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Lost Art of Last Cuts

This past week ALBC had the opportunity to partner with two talented local chefs to do a cooking demonstration with rare breeds. The event was educational, fun, and tasty!

Chef Scott Crawford of Herons at the Umstead Hotel and Spa and Chef Brett Jennings of Elaine's on Franklin shared their culinary expertise and passion for underutilized cuts from rare breeds. They invited us into the kitchen at Herons restaurant and allowed participants to see first hand how to break down a carcass and utilize multiple parts to make a delicious meal.

Byran Childress, the Hog Island sheep producer, was also on hand at the clinic to educate participants about the breed. Byran gave a brief history of the breed and answered questions. Many were amazed to learn that the Hog Island sheep is listed as critical on the ALBC Conservation Priority List, meaning there are less than 200 annual registrations of these animals in the United States.

An important part of saving rare breeds is developing a market for them - and with many of these breeds that market is food. Heritage breeds have different genetics from your standard industrial breeds; therefore, they have different tastes, textures, aromas, and flavors. The more ALBC can educate consumers and chefs about these breeds, the more we can support the mission of conservation. It may seem paradoxical, but by creating a demand for these breeds it will encourage farmers to raise more animals which in turn helps genetic conservation.

The breed that was prepared at the cooking clinic was the Hog Island sheep. The Hog Island sheep is a breed that has its beginnings in the 18th century. The breed was developed from British sheep living on Virginia’s barrier island, Hog Island, which was historically inhabited by America’s earliest colonists. The sheep evolved in response to the island’s natural selection for hardiness, foraging ability, and reproductive efficiency. In the 1930s, hurricanes destroyed Hog Island and forced inhabitants back to the mainland; however many of the sheep were left on the island and reverted to a feral state. In the 1970’s, the Nature Conservancy purchased Hog Island and most of the sheep were removed.

Today, the breed is extremely rare, with fewer than 200 animals registered annually. Hog Island sheep vary in physical appearance. Most of the sheep are white wooled, though about twenty percent are black. Ewes may be horned or polled. Rams can have horns or are somewhat polled. Mature animals weigh between 90–150 pounds. Hog Island sheep are excellent foragers and prefer to browse rather than graze, if given the opportunity to do so. They stay in very tight flocks and are extremely alert in nature. The breed is a rich part of American history and needs stewards to help it survive.

The best part of the cooking event - the food!

The menu was as follows:

• Crispy Livers with Celeriac, Apples, Maitake, and Sherry-Brown Butter
• Roast Lamb with Ratatouille, Lemon Confit, and Black Olive Jus
• Warm Pumpkin Waffles with Autumn Fruit Compote and Calvados Ice Cream

To learn more about Heritage breeds or how to incorporate them into your farm plan, resturant, or dinner table, contact the ALBC office or visit www.albc-usa.org.

Northeastern Exposure Part 3 – Legends in Sleepy Hollow

By Jeannette Beranger

I left Tilley Foster Farm in Brewster, New York, and made my way south to meet with Craig Haney, Farm Manager of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, in Tarrytown. He and I were scheduled to give a presentation together at the famous Astor Center in New York City that evening. Along the way, I wanted to stop in the infamous community of Sleepy Hollow (yes, it actually exists!) that is adjacent to Tarrytown.

The first thing you notice coming into the town is the huge, historic cemetery where the famous author, Washington Irving, is buried. At the entrance to the cemetery is the former location of the bridge that Irving describes in his novel as “the place where poor Ichabod Crane meets the Headless Horseman.” The covered bridge is no longer there but there are the remains of a 17th century manor house. The property has become a living history museum that is open to the public. Philipsburg Manor is a beautiful facility that incorporates some rare breeds into its programs. I came upon an impressive Randall Lineback oxen team comprised of Jacob and Joshua. The two, led by farm manager Stephen Kozack, were busy pulling a load of hay from a nearby field on the property. Along the way, they passed numerous Wiltshire Horn sheep crosses that populate the entire farm and make visitors feel as if they have stepped back in time onto a working farm.

Time was growing short, so I made my way to Stone Barns in the next town over. Formerly an estate owned by David Rockefeller, the property is now open to the public and is dedicated to celebrating and teaching advanced community-based food production and enjoyment as well as “farm to classroom to table.” Several heritage crops and animals are raised at Stone Barns including heritage chickens, turkeys, and geese. I met up with Craig and along with his wife and new daughter and we made our way into New York City to the Astor Center.

The Astor Center, located in NoHo on the eastern edge of Greenwich Village, has the reputation of selling one of the most diverse collections of wine and spirits in the entire city. In keeping with the independent culture of “the village,” Astor goes beyond being just “another store” by offering a wide assortment of courses and presentations ranging from cooking, wine, food, and culture. ALBC was invited to the learning center at Astor to talk about rare breeds and how they are finding their way back onto farms and onto the American dinner table. Craig followed by talking about how rare breeds are incorporated into the sustainable farming practices of Stone Barns. The class was nearly filled to capacity and was well received by attendees. Craig and I were very pleased to see several familiar faces of friends from the Slow Food USA national office in NYC.

The trek northeast came to an end after NYC and I was very happy to finally make my way back to North Carolina and back to my own farm. My stay in North Carolina wasn’t very long as I had field work in Washington state and Oregon a couple of weeks later. On the road again….

Happy Halloween All!