Announcement from the Livestock Conservancy:

The United States Postal Service is now selling Heritage Breed Stamps! Order yours online through the U.S. Postal Service website or at your local post office. 

“These stamps pay tribute to heritage breeds, pre-industrial farm animals that are enjoying renewed attention for their versatility, adaptability, and unique genetic traits. Heritage breeds of livestock take us back to our agricultural roots – and show the way to a more sustainable future.”

Learn more about the 10 heritage breeds on the stamp:

• American Cream Draft horse (critical)
• American Mammoth Jackstock donkey (critical)
• Barbados Blackbelly sheep (watch)
• Cayuga duck (watch)
• Cotton Patch goose (critical)
• Milking Devon cattle (critical)
• Mulefoot hog (critical)
• Narragansett turkey (watch)
• San Clemente Island goat (critical)
• Wyandotte chicken (graduated from Conservation Priority List in 2016)

 

First Day of Issue Dedication Celebration event

Join The Livestock Conservancy on Monday, May 17 at 11 am EST at George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Virginia as we celebrate the first day of issue of heritage breed stamps with the U.S. Postal Service. We’ll be talking about the history of the breeds on the stamps, listening to George Washington himself, and meeting the breeds in person. Animal ambassadors of each of the 10 breeds will be on site at Mount Vernon for the public to take photos and learn more about their unique traits.

If you plan to attend the dedication celebration, the USPS asks that you please RSVP.

Can’t attend the event? The Livestock Conservancy will be livesteaming the celebration on our Facebook page.

If you’re as excited about heritage breed stamps as we are, share your thoughts, photos, and more on social media using the hashtag #HeritageBreedStamps

 

More About the Stamps

Since the worldwide adoption of industrial farming, a few breeds of livestock have been standardized for maximum productivity. As a result, many other breeds with different traits are now critically endangered. These pre-industrial breeds, known as heritage breeds, possess a priceless genetic diversity that can help farmers and society at large to variable conditions, ranging from consumer tastes to a landscape altered by a changing climate.

Proponents of heritage breeds continue a pre-industrial tradition of raising diverse livestock and poultry to thrive in local environments or under certain types of farming conditions. Breeds like the ten shown on the stamps have proven their ability to adapt to problems, but also unforeseen crises in the future.

Heritage breeds are especially important for small-scale, sustainable farms, which the public can support by purchasing their products, including milk, cheese, eggs, fibers, and meat. Public interest in the products of heritage breeds encourages farmers to continue to raise these breeds to meet demand, which in turn helps ensure their conservation. Heritage livestock and poultry are also valuable cultural resources. Across the country, living-history farms and historic sites are increasingly working with nationwide associations of breeders to acquire and raise heritage breeds, not only to conserve these animals but also to provide a more authentic sense of the past.

The breeds on the stamps were picked by The Livestock Conservancy’s Technical Advisor D. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM. Zack Bryant designed the stamps with photographs by Aliza Eliazarov. Greg Breeding served as art director.

Heritage breed stamps are issued as Forever stamps in panes of 20. Forever stamps will always be equal in value to the current First-Class one-ounce price.