Mission
The Good Shepherd Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to its mission of safeguarding biodiversity through the use of Standardbred poultry and historical purebred lines of livestock for agricultural use. We engage in conservation, education, and research and development in collaboration with farmers, poultry producers, scientists, consumers, and culinary professionals.
Vision
We seek a world where Standardbred poultry has not only been saved from extinction, but also has become wildly popular again. Our wish is for a food system where all consumers have easy access to tasty nutrient-dense poultry that comes from healthy and contented animals. Our prayer is for billions of naturally growing birds to be raised by happy independent farmers each year. Our will is to preserve historical poultry for a better future.
The Looming Extinction
Right before our eyes, dozens of our foundational poultry breeds are on the brink of extinction. These strains’ importance to America’s culture, food safety, and biodiversity is incalculable. Their loss would spell disaster for the future of the sustainable food system and serve as a lasting victory for an industrial poultry industry gone haywire.
While most remain unaware of the looming extinction of Standardbred poultry breeds in the United States, there is a small community working to combat this crisis. One man on the plains of the Kansas Prairie stands out as their greatest champion. Frank Reese, in his seventies, is the sole remaining commercial breeder of Certified Standardbred poultry in the United States.
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Beyond Factory Farming: Frank Reese
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BIRDS OF A FEATHER
At 71 years old, Frank Reese has seen a lot about farming change throughout his lifetime. A fourth-generation Kansas farmer, he remembers a time when family farmers practiced animal husbandry, which he says was as good for the producer as it was for the animals.
“There used to be people known for their animals,” he explains. “There used to be a personal pride and connection to animal husbandry.”
Frank remembers his father and grandfather, for instance, taking great pride in how they raised their chickens, cattle and turkeys. This sort of animal husbandry, he says, is nearly gone today.
Now the factory farming system, which negatively impacts surrounding communities, the environment, and the animals raised in industrial-scale operations, has all but replaced small farmers. “It’s a radical change,” he says. “How we eat has only been in existence for 40 years.”
Frank specializes in raising the oldest continuously bred flock of heritage turkeys on his farmstead, Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch, in Lindsborg, Kansas. These turkeys have been in Kansas for 103 years, and Frank has made it his mission to save the heritage birds from going extinct. Frank raises 12,000 turkeys, 6,000 chickens, 400 ducks, 200 geese and 200 Guineas a year on his 180-acre farm. They’re all pasture raised, free roaming, and antibiotic free.
“My main reason for the farm was to save many of these breeds and lines of poultry from extinction,” he explains. “The only way I knew how to do it was to put them back to work and introduce them back to the market again and to get people to taste them again. There are two to three generations of people who have no idea what real chicken and turkey tastes or even looks like.” Pasture-raised heritage birds, he says, are juicier and more flavorful.
Frank has been raising his heritage birds for the past 20 years, and, in doing so, he says he takes a traditional approach. Frank raises his birds seasonally to coincide with the birds’ natural mating and maturation cycles. In comparison, factory farming does not take the natural cycles of the birds into account, allowing today’s producers to raise birds year-round in huge industrial barns.
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