Heritage Agriculture (from, you guessed it, JB)

Have you ever heard of the Red Milking Devon, the Jacob sheep, or the Tennessee Fainting Goat? Have you ever seen the Dominique chicken or the Cayuga duck? Ever tasted a Newton Pippin apple, seen a purple cauliflower, or smelled a Queen Anne’s Pocket Melon?

For most people in the U.S. the answer to these questions is no; however, the families aboard the Mayflower were probably familiar with many of them.

These are just a sampling of what is known as “heritage” livestock and produce – original breeds or types of plants and animals that offer unique traits not seen in commercially grown agriculture.

With the advent of reliable, refrigerated boxcars in the 1940’s, agricultural producers began to choose products that transported well. Uniform ripening, uniform shape, uniform size. Non-bruising and non-perishing. These were the traits that were sought after. Unfortunately, superior flavor and unique appearances often went by the wayside.

Here are some statistics:

• There are over 250 breeds of cattle in the world. About 90% of the milk in the U.S. comes from just one breed of cattle, the Holstein, and the majority of the beef comes from just three: the Hereford, the Angus, and the Texas Longhorn breeds.
• There are over 70 breeds of chicken in the U.S., and almost all eggs come from one breed, the Leghorn.
• There are well over 4,000 varieties of tomato in the world. It is ridiculous that we typically only see about 10 in the grocery store (if we are lucky!).
• There were over 8,000 varieties of apple at the turn of the century, of that only about 400 still exist. Sadly, only about a dozen are grown commercially where they end up in your produce aisle covered in wax.

So, why should we care about preserving these heritage breeds?

Consider that in 1873 a bug called phylloxera, which attacks roots, destroyed almost all the world’s vineyards. Scientists finally realized that the American wild grape was immune. Wineries were able to take the few remaining wine grape vines and graft them onto the American roots. The world’s wine industry was saved.

Now imagine if a new rare parasite killed our one and only (almost) breed of dairy cow. Also imagine if the breeds of cattle that were naturally immune to the parasite were not preserved. The worldwide dairy industry would be gone, or we would be acquiring a taste for goat cheese.

So here are some of those rare, genetically unique, visually appealing, most often better tasting, connections to the past.

The Jacob Sheep (named after the Biblical story of Jacob and Laban)

The Red Devon, “Red Ruby”, Milking Cow - these cattle came to the Plymouth Colony in 1623 on the ship Charity, believed to be their first cows.

A Highland steer - likely the most hearty of the cattle breeds hails from the Scottish Highlands.

A Dexter cow – full grown!

Tennessee Fainting Goats – they have a muscle disease that cause them to go so stiff when frightened that they fall over (a condition called myotonia).

The Dominique Chicken – probably the first breed to see the “new world”.

The Cayuga Duck – a rare black breed that shimmers green in the light. Originated in 1851 on Lake Cayuga, New York.

The Newton Pippin Apple – George Washington’s favorite apple (introduced to him by Thomas Jefferson). This variety was grown from a seed that traveled from England to New York in 1666. Great for cooking and cider making.

The Esopus Spitzenburg Apple – Thomas Jefferson’s favorite apple which he grew at Monticello. Great for eating fresh.

Purple Cape Cauliflower is actually healthier than the white. Notice the funky green one at the top – it’s a Romanesco Cauliflower.

Queen Anne’s Pocket Melon – the strongest scented melon in the world.

The Moon & Stars Watermelon. It was thought to be extinct, but it was recently rediscovered growing wild behind at an abandoned farmhouse.

The Brandywine Tomato – probably the best tasting tomato in the world (that’s my opinion!)