June 2021 Microgrants Now Open Equine Webinar 2021 Poultry Census Extended Facebook Lives This Month SE2SE Shawl Challenge Conservation on Ice Grass-Fed Cattle book Share Your Cattle Photos 2021 Microgrants Program Now Open for Applications The Heritage Livestock Microgrant Program is now open and accepting applications. Applications for the National Microgrant and Youth Microgants are due by August 15, 2021. The Emergency Response Fund will continue to accept applications on a rolling basis. For more information, or to submit your application, visit bit.ly/Micro-Grant.For tips on how to write a better grant, watch our video on YouTube. Equine Webinar Series The Livestock Conservancy’s Equine Webinar Series kicks off on Thursday, June 17 at 6 PM EDT with a presentation on Equine Reproductive Technologies. Special guest, Dr. Katrin Hinrichs, will discuss the use of advanced reproductive technologies in conserving equine genetics. Her discussion will be followed by a question and answer session with participants. Dr. Hinrichs is an internationally renowned equine reproduction specialist. She was lead scientist for the first successful cloning of a horse in North America, and she and her team pioneered the use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and in vitro embryo production in horses. Register for the webinar TODAY. (Livestock Conservancy Members receive a $10 discount for the webinar – Check out our MEMBER page for your discount code or email info@livestockconservancy.org) Two additional equine webinars will be offered in this series, including topics on Interpreting DNA Information and Equine Marketing and Promotions. Stay tuned for more details! The Equine Webinar Series is made possible by a grant from the North Carolina Horse Council. Photo of Irish Draught mare and foal, listed as Threatened on the Conservation Priority List, courtesy of Tracy Crossan. Last Chance! 2021 Poultry Census EXTENDED until June 30! The 2021 Poultry Census, sponsored by Murray McMurray Hatchery, is a critically important project focused on breeding populations of domestic poultry (purebred breeds or landraces), including chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys. The census will enable The Livestock Conservancy to understand how poultry populations are faring in North America and guide future conservation efforts. Many heritage breed poultry are historically significant and represent irreplaceable genetics that may be essential to the future of agriculture. Rare and traditional poultry breeds are an important option for small farms, possessing traits such as foraging, maternal ability, disease resistance, and heat- or cold-tolerance that are beneficial to small farmers and backyard hobbyists. Even as backyard poultry keeping becomes more popular, many of the less common or more challenging breeds are in real danger of extinction. We invite you to complete the 2021 Poultry Census. The greater your participation, the more precise the picture of poultry populations in North America. Your responses will remain anonymous, but you may opt to share your contact information with The Livestock Conservancy. This will help identify breeders who hold flocks of high conservation value, which are important to the long-term genetic diversity of endangered poultry breeds. A detailed summary of census results will be shared with you following analysis of collected data. To participate in the 2021 Poultry Census, please fill out the survey online at http://bit.ly/2021PoultryCensus by JUNE 30, 2021. “Murray McMurray Hatchery is proud to support The Livestock Conservancy and sponsor their poultry census. For 104 years, we have remained dedicated to conserving rare poultry breeds and the poultry census is a critical component of that mission. The Crevecoeur is just one example of how the census can help identify a breed that is critically endangered. After much awareness, collaboration and effort, Crevecoeur lines across the U.S. are strengthening and increasing in numbers. While we are thrilled with the progress of that project, there is more work to be done and many more breeds in need of preservation. We urge others to support The Livestock Conservancy’s vital programs like the poultry census, which help to identify heritage breeds in need of protection.” Thomas Watkins, President, Murray McMurray Hatchery Facebook Live Chats with The Livestock Conservancy  Mark your calendar – we’re celebrating cattle this month! We hope you can join us for one of our upcoming chats on Facebook Live. If you missed the livestream, watch an archive of the shows on YouTube or listen to the audio versions on our Podcast. American Milking Devon Cattle Chat with John Hall. Our first species chat this month featured the president of the American Milking Devon Association. Watch an archive of the chat on YouTube or Facebook. Wednesday, June 9, 2pm EST: Wooly Wednesday with Margaret Radcliffe. Get to know the Fiber Artist and author leading our Wrap It Up Shawl Challenge supporting the Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em Initiative. Don’t forget to sign up for the challenge to participate. See more details below. Tuesday, June 15, 2 pm EST: Texas Longhorn Cattle Chat with Debbie Davis and Debbie Adams. Learn more about this critically-endangered breed with the Cattlemen’s Texas Longhorn Registry. ​Tuesday, June 22, 2 pm EST: Guernsey Cattle Chat with microgrant recipients Naturally Golden Family Farms Cooperative. Meet the family farmers using this Watch-listed breed to produce and market cheese. Monday, June 29, 2 pm EST: Marketing Monday with the American Dexter Cattle Association. Kimberly Jepsen and Jim Woehl will join Rhyne Cureton to talk about the business-side of raising cattle on small farms.  Photo of Belted Galloway cattle, listed as Watch on the Conservation Priority List, courtesy of Tori Mason.  Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em Wrap It Up Shawl Challenge   Ready to wrap yourself in a wooly wonder? Do you know the basics of knitting or crochet? Join us for our Wrap It Up Shawl Challenge! Support the Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em (SE2SE) Initiative and The Livestock Conservancy while making a shawl for yourself, friend, loved one, or all of the above! Watch our Facebook page on Wednesday June 9 for a brief overview from our challenge leader, author and fiber artist, Margaret Radcliffe. The Wrap It Up Shawl Challenge kicks off on June 16 and ends on July 14. How Does it Work? Make a shawl using wool from one or more breeds of rare sheep on the Conservation Priority List. You can use wool that is already in your stash, so if you are a current SE2SE Fiber Artist who spun up roving as an official SE2SE project, you can use that yarn for your shawl. If you don’t have any rare breed yarn, you can buy it from SE2SE fiber providers listed in our Breeders and Products Directory. Each Wednesday evening, author and fiber artist, Margaret Radcliffe will guide us through making a shawl! We will provide multiple knitting patterns, including ones for beginners and experts. However, you are free to use another pattern if you prefer. New to this challenge, Margaret will be encouraging you to push your knitting prowess beyond the pattern. Optional of course. Join us in the SE2SE Wrap It Up Shawl Challenge Facebook Group just for Shawl Challenge participants, where Margaret will offer a livestream lesson Wednesday evenings at 7 PM EDT, June  16  – July 14. This is a 4-week challenge with a break the week of June 23. Margaret will lead us through different shawl making topics each week, including selecting yarns and patterns, casting on, fabrics and pattern stitches, knitting from charts, increasing and decreasing while working in pattern, embellishments, borders, binding off & blocking. Bring your questions! *Note: After you register for the challenge, you’ll receive an invitation to be a participant in the Wrap It Up Shawl Challenge Facebook group. Conservation on Ice – A Cryopreservation Safety Net Wondering what to do with semen stored in nitrogen tanks that you no longer need?  The Livestock Conservancy partners with the USDA to save frozen semen, embryos, and tissues as a cryopreservation “safety net” in case genetic diversity is needed in the future. This gene bank includes goats, sheep, swine, cattle, chickens and fish, including breeds not listed on our Conservation Priority List. We are especially interested in donations of older semen reserves from dairy cattle.  The majority of dairy cattle have been artificially inseminated since the 1940s, allowing rapid advances in production traits. Today, many dairy cows are closely related and  older stores of semen are important for genetic diversity. The gene bank is operated by the National Animal Germplasm Program, and it’s easy to donate. For larger collections or to donate equine semen, embryos, or other tissues to the gene bank from breeds on our Conservation Priority List, email The Livestock Conservancy at info@livestockconservancy.org. Photo of critically-endangered Randall Lineback cow and calf courtesy of Melissa Curran.    Grass-Fed Cattle Book By Julius Ruechel | $24.95 buy online As more consumers discover the benefits of grass-fed beef – sustainability, good taste, antibiotic-free – demand continues to grow. For any farmer interested in entering this profitable specialty area, here is the first complete manual on raising, caring for, and marketing grass-fed cattle. Author Julius Ruechel includes advice on herd selection, breeding, pasture management, fencing, winter grazing, diseases, equipment, slaughter, labeling, marketing, and financial planning. Soft cover, 384 pages, Illustrated All purchases from our online store support The Livestock Conservancy. Share your Cattle Photos and Videos to Celebrate Cattle Month We’re celebrating rare breed cattle this month on our social media channels. If you raise heritage breeds, we want to feature you! For your farm and cattle to be highlighted on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages, please send us a photo or two of the animals you are working to protect and share your story. Let us know what breeds do you raise and why, how did you get started, etc. We are also looking for 1-3 minute farm tour videos of farmers and their animals to share. Introduce yourself, your farm, and why you choose to raise heritage breed animals. To participate, email Brittany Sweeney at bsweeney@livestockconservancy.org. Florida Cracker cow named Myakka, listed as Threatened, by John Guiseppi Become a Member Support Monthly Make a Donation   Thank you to our sponsors!   The Livestock Conservancy | PO Box 477, Pittsboro, NC 27312 | (919) 542-5704 LivestockConservancy.org