Bianca Currey of Dixon has received a Youth Microgrant award from The Livestock Conservancy to support her work with Rhinelander rabbits, an endangered breed of agricultural livestock. Photos courtesy of Livestock Conservancy

DIXON, CA (MPG) - Dixon’s own Bianca Currey, has received a microgrant award from The Livestock Conservancy to support her work with Rhinelander rabbits, an endangered agricultural livestock breed. Rhinelander rabbits are listed as “Recovering” on The Livestock Conservancy’s conservation priority list.

Rhinelanders were brought to the United States in 1923 and accepted to the Standards of the National Breeders and Fanciers Association of America in 1924. Today, conservationists are carefully monitoring the Rhinelander population as the breed shows signs of resurgence, with more than 500 Rhinelanders recorded at rabbit shows in the last five years.

Currey, 14, is already a veteran of numerous nationwide small animal breeding competitions and will use the grant funding to expand her Rhinelander rabbit breeding program. She will also create a comprehensive breed education package, including a pictorial guide to demonstrate proper breed characteristics and markings. A new informational display will also be developed and used at events and shows.       

“I work to promote this ‘fancy’ breed by engaging others at school presentations and local, state and national shows,” Currey said.

She is one of 15 Livestock Conservancy Microgrant award winners nationwide, including three awards to aid heritage breed associations and four microgrants for youth such as Currey who are under the age of 18.

The Livestock Conservancy works to preserve and protect more than 180 agricultural breeds, including the St. Croix sheep pictured here

“Farmers, ranchers, and shepherds are aging out of livestock and poultry production across America,” Allison Kincaid, executive director of The Livestock Conservancy, said. “Since 2018, more than 25 percent of our microgrants have invested in youth who are discovering the opportunity to make an impact in conservation. We need these heritage breeders of tomorrow as partners in the fight to save heritage breeds from extinction.”

Since launching the Livestock Conservancy Microgrant program in 2018, nearly $135,000 has been awarded to help each of the 11 species that the organization serves, including cattle, chickens, donkeys, ducks, geese, goats, horses, pigs, rabbits, sheep and turkeys. Microgrants are completely donor- and sponsor-funded.

The microgrants are one of several Livestock Conservancy efforts to promote and protect heritage breeds. Programs include “Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em,” which encourages knitters, weavers and fiber artists to consider using wool from 23 endangered sheep breeds like the Leicester Longwool for their projects.

Applications for the next round of Microgrants opens in May 2025. The Livestock Conservancy is a membership-based organization that promotes, protects and preserves rare-breed livestock and poultry across America. Learn more at www.livestockconservancy.org.