Swiss Village Farm Foundation

Swiss Village Farm Foundation in Newport, Rhode Island is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of rare and endangered livestock breeds, including Canadienne cattle. Operating on a historic 35-acre property on Aquidneck Island — roughly an hour south of Providence — the foundation was established in 1999 and began active operations in 2002 under the direction of founder Dorrance Hill Hamilton.

The program's approach to breed preservation went well beyond maintaining live herds. In collaboration with Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, SVF built an on-site cryopreservation laboratory where germplasm — embryos, semen, and genetic material — was collected and stored from dozens of rare breeds, including Canadienne cattle. Over a 20-year period, the foundation assembled one of the most comprehensive genetic archives of endangered domestic livestock in the United States.

Sarah Bowley served as programme director, overseeing a collection that ultimately spanned more than 35 rare and endangered breeds of cattle, sheep, and goats of American origin. Live animals, including Canadienne cattle for sale, were made available to farmers and ranchers as part of the foundation's broader goal of returning these genetics to working agricultural settings. The foundation has since completed its core conservation mission, with its genetic archive transferred to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.

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