Finding a Niche for Heritage Breeds: Preserving Heritage, History & Genes
Stonecroft Highlands
Wednesday, October 6
Petersburg, Huntingdon County
10am – 4pm
$15 PASA and Future Harvest-CASA members, $25 all others; lunch will be provided.
Marilynne Stout, Stonecroft Highlands & Jeannette Beranger, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
Venture to the hills of Huntingdon County to talk history, heritage and science at Stonecroft Highlands, a grass-based operation that is home to a herd of Scottish Highland cattle as well as a commercial herd of crossbred cows. We will spend the day exploring established and new ideas of how to find a “job” or niche for heritage breeds on your farm – and how you can use that niche to generate innovative marketing opportunities. This active use of heritage breeds will help to support the continued diversity of farm animal gene pools around the world.
We will be joined by Jeannette Beranger from the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) as we focus on heritage breeds of all sorts: cows, pigs, sheep, goats, turkeys, you name it. We’ll talk about the importance of heritage breeds, how they might fit into your farming plans, and about the variety of potential marketing opportunities presented by heritage breeds. Among the topics of the day will be the importance of selection for breeding stock, the realities that not all animals should be used for seed stock, and the infrastructure and planning issues that come into play with these consideration.
Marilynne Stout, owner of Stonecroft Highlands, will lead a tour of her farm, highlighting her herd of Heritage cattle, the rotational grazing system that she employs, and sharing her experiences with each. There will be time for questions and answers. After lunch, Jeannette will begin with a presentation, and then facilitate discussion as we delve deeper into the questions, challenges, opportunities and satisfaction that raising heritage breeds brings. This field day is for those who are currently raising heritage breeds as well as for those who are considering incorporating a heritage breed into their farm plan. As with all field days, this event will be held rain or shine, so please come dressed for the weather and for time spent in the fields.
This field day is being held in partnership with Future Harvest-CASA, a network of farmers, agricultural professionals, landowners and consumers living and working in the Chesapeake region. Future Harvest-CASA promotes profitable, environmentally sound and socially acceptable food and farming systems that work to sustain communities. Funds for this event are provided through grant support from National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC).
About the Presenters
Marilynne Stout is the owner of Stonecroft Highlands, located in the Stone Valley of northern Huntingdon County in central Pennsylvania. The rich, rolling hills and quiet surroundings provide an ideal home for Marilynne’s herd of grazing Scottish Highland cattle. Her cows graze on pastures most of the year, and locally produced hay is provided during the winter months. The farm has a well-developed wetland conservation project funded through grant support, and the hills are home to a neighboring beekeeper’s hive. There are plans to begin to cultivate some non-timber forest products on the land as well. Additionally, the farm is a home away from home for many families who use the land for hiking, exploration and camping.
Jeannette Beranger joined the ALBC team in August of 2005, bringing to the organization over twenty years experience working with animals in the non-profit sector. Beginning her career as a veterinary technician, Jeannette progressed to become a head zookeeper at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island. Her responsibilities included managing a wide variety of species, and in particular the animals within the rare breeds farm of the zoo. Jeannette's experience facilitating research, organizing workshops and conferences, applying technology to improve animal husbandry, combined with her skills in outreach and networking make her a welcome fit to research, plan, develop and implement important breed conservation programs for ALBC.
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