Heritage breeds are traditional farm animals raised by our forefathers. They provide people with various products ensuring a more sustainable future. These animals are a valuable agricultural and cultural resource not only in the USA but also in a great variety of other countries. The USPS issued ten great stamps to celebrate the importance of heritage breeds. The philatelic release was designed by Zack Bryant who used photographs made by Aliza Eliazarov. Greg Breeding served as art director.
As industrial farming is becoming more popular nowadays, a few breeds of livestock have been standardized for maximum productivity. Therefore many other breeds with different traits are now critically threatened, and some are extinct.
The stamps show such agricultural animals as the Mulefoot hog, the Wyandotte chicken, the Milking Devon cow, the Narragansett turkey, the American Mammoth Jackstock donkey, (second row) the Cotton Patch goose, the San Clemente Island goat, the American Cream draft horse, the Cayuga duck and the Barbados Blackbelly sheep.
“The stamps beautifully represent the priceless genetic diversity of heritage breeds in the United States,” said dedicating official, Steve Monteith, U.S. Postal Service chief customer and marketing officer. “Understanding the history of heritage breeds and their abilities for survival and self-sufficiency — it’s easy to see their value.”
See also other farm animals stamps.
