Agriculture

Lithuania does not only take care of its heritage by preserving its authentic architecture but also ancient breeds of animals and birds. In the olden times Lithuanian meadows could not be imagined without the ancient local Lithuanian breed Žemaitukai or Lithuanian heavy draught horses.

At the present time these are disappearing breeds that are to be preserved. Therefore breeders of the ancient Lithuanian disappearing breeds of animals and domesticated birds in Lithuania are supported from the budget of the European Union and the national budget of Lithuania.

Did not disappear from the rural landscape
Farmers of the country are encouraged not only to renew and modernise their farms but also to take care of the heritage. Though it is not a profitable activity, such a small country as Lithuania must preserve its animal breeds.
Animal breeders are convinced that with the help of the funds of the European Union and Lithuania they managed to put a stop to disappearance of the Lithuanian ancient disappearing breeds of animals. The European Union support allocated to preserving the disappearing breeds accounts for 80 per cent, and the remaining part – 20 per cent – comes from the national budget. Keeping Lithuanian disappearing breeds of animals is financed according to the Lithuanian Rural Development Program 2007–2013. Last year as much as LTL 5 million was allocated to preservation of such animals.

It is enough for a Lithuanian farmer to have at least one bird or animal of the ancient breed to receive the European Union support. Some farmers keep the ancient breeds because of their sentiments to childhood; others continue the activity started by their great grandparents.

Foreigners have the opportunity to become acquainted with the Lithuanian ancient breeds of animals in some homesteads of rural tourism. Their owners offer them to have a ride on horseback of exceptional horses or to taste milk of the cows only several hundreds of which have survived in the world.

The gene pool is of great importance
All protected breeds are disappearing because they are unproductive and it is unrewarding for the farmers to keep them. Contrary to the modern breeds, products obtained from the disappearing breeds stopped bringing profit a long time ago. However, Lithuanian farmers do not refuse them seeking to preserve biological diversity in this way.

Each ancient Lithuanian breed has unique inheritable features, qualities and specific genes that are characteristic of them alone and they would be impossible to recreate once the breed has disappeared. Therefore the breeds that are on border of extinction are protected by the state.

“In the majority of countries attempts have been made to protect national genetic resources from disappearance by preserving biological diversity and ensuring the genetic basis for cattle breeding in the future.

The present-day society is already reaping the fruits of the decreased genetic diversity: hereditary diseases manifest themselves, resistance of animals decreases, their vitality weakens, their lifetime becomes shorter, the quality of production deteriorates and other negative factors manifest themselves.

Therefore it is necessary to preserve and improve the Lithuanian breeds of animals and their gene pool”, Gediminas Vagonis, senior specialist of the Veterinary and Livestock Services Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, is convinced. According to the specialist, the fact that seeking to achieve greater productivity the animals of the local breeds were crossed with the breeds of foreign cattle also contributed to indirect disappearance of the ancient breeds. Hence, to make the country’s farmers become more interested in keeping animals and birds of the ancient Lithuanian breeds, they are given support from the European Union and Lithuania.

Acquired 20 years ago
Jonas Šveikys and his wife Onutė who run a farm in the village of Vainikai in Kėdainiai district understand quite well why it is necessary to try to preserve the ancient breeds. Therefore the farmer has already experienced the advantages of the support provided by the European Union and Lithuania.

However, he acquired the first white-backed cow 20 years ago when the independent Lithuanian State was being created, and when nobody spoke about the European Union and Lithuanian support to animal breeders. He purchased that cow because his wife Onutė liked it very much since the cow was different from other cows in its appearance – a while band ran across its back. Cows grazing in Lithuanian fields have no such exceptionalities.

With the passing of years Jonas Šveikys farm expanded, the herd of such cows increased. Since 2008 the spouses have been receiving the European Union support for each cow of this breed – 180 euros for each cow.

“Support is an excellent motivation to increase the herd of cows of the ancient Lithuanian white-backed cattle breed rather than that of cows of ordinary breed, which do not belong to the ancient genotype”, said the farmer’s wife Onutė Šveikienė.

Are distinguished for their character
Nonetheless, the farmer notices differences between ordinary cows and the animals of the ancient Lithuanian breeds. Onutė Šveikienė is convinced that milk of the latter is more delicious and sweeter but is somewhat lower in fat.

“They have only one drawback – they are not so resistant and are susceptible to different diseases and inflammations”, noted the farmer of Kėdainiai district.

Besides, white-backed cows of the ancient Lithuanian breed distinguish themselves from other cows in their peculiar build and whimsical character. For example, they feel and behave like queens in a herd of other cows and always take the position of a leader. They like showing their power and hit other cows with their horns.

“One has to behave very gently with these cows. If you scold the cow severely it stops giving milk. Besides, it can become very aggressive”, went on Onutė Šveikienė.

She recalled the case when one of her neighbours had a narrow escape from that animal.

The fourth generation takes care of horses
Algimantas Kišonas who runs a farm in the village of Kunioniai, in the same Kėdainiai district, also submitted an application for the European Union and Lithuanian support according to the programme of preserving ancient breeds.

Heavy draught horses of the ancient Lithuanian breed graze on his farm. Algimantas Kišonas does not ask himself why he breeds these horses. Horses of the same breed grazed on the farms of his father, his grandfather and even his great-grandfather. They took care of these animals, therefore the farmer’s love of these hoses goes through four generations. “The money allocated is only a drop in the ocean, because to keep a horse costs about one thousand and a half litas per year. This is really unprofitable. The horse is not a cow, it does not give you any milk and it eats a lot of fodder. What is the use of it?”, the farmer asked as if himself.

However, he finds an answer right away: “this is the sight that is beautiful to your eye and pleasant to your heart”.

Ten Lithuanian heavy draught horses graze on Algimantas Kišonas’ farm. The farmer said that he could not refuse them for a very simple reason – breeding them runs in his blood.

Sentiments from one’s childhood
The size of the European Union support depends on the breed and species of the animal. The smallest money is paid for coarse-wool and black-headed sheep – 28 euros per sheep, and the largest compensations are paid to the breeders of the horses of Žemaitukai and the large-type Žemaitukai breeds. They are paid 198 euros for each horse.

Vilma Živatkauskienė who farms together with her family on an organic farm established in the village of Gineitai in Kėdainiai district will soon receive the first support funds for her Žemaitukai horses.

Last year Vilma Živatkauskienė received the first young mare of the Žemaitukai breed as a present from her husband. “I have always wanted to have my own farm and at least one Žemaitukai horse on it. This dream is related to my sentiments about my childhood. My father worked with horses on a collective farm, and there was one Žemaitukai horse among them. I liked it very much and never missed the opportunity to be near it”, said Vilma Živatkauskienė.

The woman breeds the Žemaitukai horses also because her organic farm is surrounded by the picturesque environs. “It is not worth breeding the Žemaitukai horses because of payments. It costs much more to keep them than the support funds received. However, you cannot measure everything in terms of money. Sometimes we all do what is pleasant to us”, said the horse breeder.

Repeated the historical march
Lithuanian horses of the Žemaitukai breed are shrouded in legends and true stories. They were spoken about especially much last year when a group of Lithuanian horsemen set off on a historic march from Lithuania to the Baltic Sea. The horsemen exactly repeated the march made 600 ago. The then Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas and his army rode about 200 kilometres on Žemaitukai horseback as far as the present Ukraine. The then Grand Duchy of Lithuania was that large.

Žemaitukai, whose number currently totals 400 in the world, reached the Black Sea almost without any losses. In the 20th century the large-type Žemaitukai was one of the most common horse breeds in Lithuania. They are unique in their qualities and have a certain genetic potential in which they differ from the breeds created in other countries. At the present time horses of the large-type Žemaitukai breed are entered on the World Watch List for Domestic Animal Diversity.