Why We Raise Heritage Breeds
“What is a heritage breed?”. Simply put, it’s an old-time breed of livestock developed in a particular place for a particular purpose. Today they’re not used so much as these breeds do not adapt well to factory farm operations where mass production and low inputs are of most importance. Because these heritage breeds are no longer popular, they’re in danger of going extinct. You can almost think of heritage breeds as the endangered species of livestock. By raising heritage breeds, we’re working to conserve these breeds for the future. The biodiversity of our food is very limited – it’s crazy to believe but our milk typically comes from one type of cow – the Holstein, chicken from one breed – the cornish-cross, turkey from broad-breasted whites, pork from Yorkshires.
“75% of the world’s meat and eggs come from only 5 animal species! An average of 6 livestock breeds are lost each month!”
Just like with vegetables, there are so many varieties out there when it comes to meat. So why don’t more people raise them? Well, they’re a little more costly to raise, which has led to their decline in popularity with the food production industry. Heritage breeds do not adapt well to small confined spaces where they need space to forage, which in turn leads to increased land cost. Heritage breeds typically take a while longer to fill out than their commercial counterparts, requiring longer feeding periods to get them to an appropriate slaughter weight, which means higher feed costs and more time. But even with the higher production costs associated with these heritage breeds, they make up for it with their richly flavored and nutritious meat ….. and they’re rare – you won’t find meat like this just anywhere.
We decided early on that we wanted to help preserve these heritage breed birds and we understood that may mean spending a little bit extra when compared to your run-of-the-mill Butterball turkey. Just know that by purchasing our heritage breed meat products, like our Bourbon Red turkeys, you’re continuing the demand and intended purpose for these rare livestock breeds to keep them in existence on America’s farms. Not only that, but you’re also getting a more flavorful and nutrient-dense product that you just can’t find in your local grocery store.
Some of our Bourbon Red turkeys enjoying garden scraps.
