Eat it, says Rare Breeds Conservation Society President John Earney.
The first thing you have to get your head around are the words “rare breed". We are not talking about kiwi, black robins or the like; we are talking about farmed livestock, rare breed farmed livestock.
The second thing to get your head around is the word “rare”. Why eat it if it’s so rare? Say Joe Farmer has 25 young purebred stud Dorset horn ewes in lamb to a stud ram. He loves the breed because they can lamb two times in one season, giving him lambs to sell in the off-season, so he would like to run more.
With two lambings a year, Dorset horns average three lambs per year, so he should get 75 lambs under the right conditions; let’s say 40 ram lambs and 35 ewe lambs. If he decides to increase his flock to 40 ewes, he needs to keep 15 ewe lambs and six ram lambs for breeding or swapping. He may be lucky enough to sell the odd stud ram but as there are only seven registered flocks in NZ, this won’t be easy. By retaining 15 selected ewe lambs and six ram lambs, Mr. Joe Farmer has not only increased his flock but improved it. This improvement has come from selection and will compound year after year. What to do with the 54 other lambs?
But remember, they are stud Dorset horn rare breed lamb CULLS. This is why we need to eat rare breeds!
Dorset horns are an easy model to put up as they are a very prolific breed that has gone out of favour due to their horns. But the male stock of any breed, be it pig, cow, sheep or whatever, make up 50% and only a few should be good enough for stud work. Some rare breeds may not have the conformation to suit today's mass market but they make up for it in flavour, succulence and eating quality. Under the commercial system in place, where stock is farmed for export, none of these things are paid for. The buyer/works pay for kilos of lean meat, so the farmer that can force as many kilos out of each hectare by any means can make money regardless.
With modern composite breeds, modern methods, high use of chemicals and antibiotics etc, it is possible to get incredible outputs but the market today is leaning more to more quality, not quantity. Most rare breeds thrive under a more natural organic approach to farming. Most rare breed farmers’ farm in an animal-friendly manner and this in itself will give a better tasting product, giving rare breed meat a good edge. Most rare breed livestock come from small units, crofter-type farmers living in a self-sufficient manner with a handful of stock. If you only have a cow, a few sheep, two pigs and some chooks, you want to be very sure they taste good.
As farms have gotten bigger and bigger, chasing ever more kilos per hectare, breed types and diversity has become less and less. But all it needs is a super bug or a change in climate and many of the modern breeds will collapse. We have to make sure that our rare breed livestock survive to help broaden the genetic base of our farm livestock. The UK Rare Breeds Society was founded in 1973 to conserve British livestock and since then no British breed of livestock has become extinct. This has been greatly helped by the use of meat marketing along with celebrity chefs such as Rick Stein, Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of River Cottage and others promoting rare breed meats .
About Avonstour Rare Breeds Farm
www.avonstour.co.nz
Rare Breeds Conservation Society President John Earney are based on a block near Stratford, in the Taranaki. Their stock includes pigs (Large Black, Tamworth and European), sheep (Dorset Horn, Wiltshire Horn and Arapawa), cattle (Belted Galloway, Sussex and Dutch Belted), Anglo-Nubian goats, donkeys and rare breed poultry.
Great rare breed meat options
Dun Belted Galloway
One of the best breeds for beef, with high marbling and inter-muscular fat with low cholesterol. Low in numbers but rising due to popularity with lifestyle farmers.
Photo:Gouwenaar
Houdan chicken
Very rare in NZ, once a major meat breed overseas but pushed to one side by factory farming.
European Wild Boar
Very few in NZ, much bigger than NZ wild pig, known as wild boar yet farmed and both sexes used. Gourmet pork redder than domestic pork.
Photo: Richard Bartz
Large Black/Devon pig
A breed that has been assisted by the Rare Breeds Society, and perfect for free-range farming, top pork and bacon.
Photo: Amanda Slater
Nadene Hall
NZ Lifestyle Block magazine
With two lambings a year, Dorset horns average three lambs per year, so he should get 75 lambs under the right conditions; let’s say 40 ram lambs and 35 ewe lambs. If he decides to increase his flock to 40 ewes, he needs to keep 15 ewe lambs and six ram lambs for breeding or swapping. He may be lucky enough to sell the odd stud ram but as there are only seven registered flocks in NZ, this won’t be easy. By retaining 15 selected ewe lambs and six ram lambs, Mr. Joe Farmer has not only increased his flock but improved it. This improvement has come from selection and will compound year after year. What to do with the 54 other lambs?
But remember, they are stud Dorset horn rare breed lamb CULLS. This is why we need to eat rare breeds!
Dorset horns are an easy model to put up as they are a very prolific breed that has gone out of favour due to their horns. But the male stock of any breed, be it pig, cow, sheep or whatever, make up 50% and only a few should be good enough for stud work. Some rare breeds may not have the conformation to suit today's mass market but they make up for it in flavour, succulence and eating quality. Under the commercial system in place, where stock is farmed for export, none of these things are paid for. The buyer/works pay for kilos of lean meat, so the farmer that can force as many kilos out of each hectare by any means can make money regardless.
With modern composite breeds, modern methods, high use of chemicals and antibiotics etc, it is possible to get incredible outputs but the market today is leaning more to more quality, not quantity. Most rare breeds thrive under a more natural organic approach to farming. Most rare breed farmers’ farm in an animal-friendly manner and this in itself will give a better tasting product, giving rare breed meat a good edge. Most rare breed livestock come from small units, crofter-type farmers living in a self-sufficient manner with a handful of stock. If you only have a cow, a few sheep, two pigs and some chooks, you want to be very sure they taste good.
As farms have gotten bigger and bigger, chasing ever more kilos per hectare, breed types and diversity has become less and less. But all it needs is a super bug or a change in climate and many of the modern breeds will collapse. We have to make sure that our rare breed livestock survive to help broaden the genetic base of our farm livestock. The UK Rare Breeds Society was founded in 1973 to conserve British livestock and since then no British breed of livestock has become extinct. This has been greatly helped by the use of meat marketing along with celebrity chefs such as Rick Stein, Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of River Cottage and others promoting rare breed meats .
About Avonstour Rare Breeds Farm
www.avonstour.co.nz
Rare Breeds Conservation Society President John Earney are based on a block near Stratford, in the Taranaki. Their stock includes pigs (Large Black, Tamworth and European), sheep (Dorset Horn, Wiltshire Horn and Arapawa), cattle (Belted Galloway, Sussex and Dutch Belted), Anglo-Nubian goats, donkeys and rare breed poultry.
Great rare breed meat options
One of the best breeds for beef, with high marbling and inter-muscular fat with low cholesterol. Low in numbers but rising due to popularity with lifestyle farmers.
Photo:Gouwenaar
Very rare in NZ, once a major meat breed overseas but pushed to one side by factory farming.
Very few in NZ, much bigger than NZ wild pig, known as wild boar yet farmed and both sexes used. Gourmet pork redder than domestic pork.
Photo: Richard Bartz
A breed that has been assisted by the Rare Breeds Society, and perfect for free-range farming, top pork and bacon.
Photo: Amanda Slater
Nadene Hall
NZ Lifestyle Block magazine
