Garfield Farm Inn and Museum

What You'll Find at Garfield Farm Museum

photo of the beautiful Garfield Farms

The museum offers a variety of educational, family, and entertainment events. Seminars are held on such topics as prairie, woodlands, and wetlands management; bat and blue bird box construction; and fruit tree grafting. Specials shows bring rare breed livestock, heirloom garden products and seeds, and collections of antique farm tools. Prairie walks are conducted monthly. And there are social events like barn dances and a candlelight tavern reception at the Inn in December. See the Calendar of Events below for more details. 

ALBC Java Recovery Project

Mottled Java Chick

From Steve Moize  of the ALBC:  

Just wanted to share an update on the ALBC Java Recovery Project, it has been a great 2011 season and we are ready for an even better 2012...

Happy New Year folks,

Java Chicken Recovery Project - complete this survey

Sorry but this survey is no longer active !!!

In 2005, ALBC began the Buckeye Conservation Project to see if a rare breed of chicken could be brought back to historic levels of productivity using time-honored selection methods that had largely been lost.

Over the course of several years, Buckeye chicks were hatched and continuously selected, breeders were engaged, clubs were formed, and awareness of the breed spread. The Buckeye project helped to create a “better Buckeye” that was able to meet historic Standards, making the breed potentially profitable and marketable.

In 2009, ALBC began a similar project with the Java chicken. Again, the goal is to increase the productivity of the Java breed through selective breeding that still meets APA Standards. To help execute this project, ALBC is searching for Java breeders around the country. They are collecting census information and looking for farmers to be involved in the project. If you have questions about the ALBC Java Recovery Project or if you currently raise Javas, please contact Steve Moize at smoize@albc-usa.org. to help us learn more about your flock(s). Please complete the survey. PLEASE READ this survey is longer active but we are leaving this up to show all efforts to save Javas. 

Steven Moize

Research & Technical Programs Manager

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy

PO Box 477

Pittsboro, NC 27312

(919) 542-5704 , Fax (919) 545-0022

smoize@albc-usa.org

www.albc-usa.org 

District #6 Area position filled

More good news today, Duane Urch is our area director for District #6. Welcome aboard Mr. Urch. As you all know Mr. Urch is a District Director in his area for the American Poultry Association and has been breeding Javas for many years.

Also I have the Java Breeders of America poultry club listed at the The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. The Java is listed as a threatened breed on their list. Threatened: means fewer than 1,000 breeding birds in the United States, with seven or fewer primary breeding flocks, and estimated global population less than 5,000.

  

What is the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy? The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy is a clearing-house for information on livestock and genetic diversity. These breeds are threatened because agriculture has changed. Modern food production now favors the use of a few highly specialized breeds selected for maximum output in a controlled environment. Many traditional livestock breeds have lost popularity and are threatened with extinction. These traditional breeds are an essential part of the American agricultural inheritance. Not only do they evoke our past, they are also an important resource for our future.The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, founded in 1977, is the only organization in the U.S. working to conserve rare breeds and genetic diversity in livestock. 

What is their mission? The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy protects genetic diversity in livestock and poultry species through the conservation and promotion of endangered breeds. These rare breeds are part of our national heritage and represent a unique piece of the earth's bio-diversity. The loss of these breeds would impoverish agriculture and diminish the human spirit. We have inherited a rich variety of livestock breeds. For the sake of future generations we must work together to safeguard these treasures.
 
What do they do? The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy's programs include research on breed population size, distribution and genetic health; research on breed characteristics; gene banks to preserve genetic material from endangered breeds; rescues of threatened populations; education about genetic diversity and the role of livestock in sustainable agriculture; and technical support to a network of breeders, breed associations, and farmers. The need for livestock conservation is urgent. Throughout agricultural history, each generation has taken its turn as steward of the genetic trust. Our generation is now in danger of bankrupting this trust and leaving little for the future. Each day, some breeds move closer to extinction. Each extinction reduces the diversity within the livestock species and the biodiversity of the Earth.