 Rare breeds of livestock carry valuable and irreplaceable traits such as innate disease resistance, heat tolerance, parasite resistance and mothering ability qualities which may be needed at some time in the future. It is conceivable that a current popular breed may become jeopardized due to a shift in the factors that let to its predominant role, such as industry demand or infectious disease.
SVF Foundation, led by a Board of Trustees, is in collaboration with Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University to help protect the world's food supply by preserving rare and endangered breeds of livestock. The efforts of SVF Foundation are to elevate the rare breeds conservation movement to a new level -- the storing of germplasm in the frozen state for future use.
 Many people are familiar with a similar form of germplasm preservation – seed banks. These collections of plant seed and material are compiled by both national and international organizations. Seed banks are critically important to protect plant genetic diversity and food security.
Although seed banks are now commonly held throughout the world there has been no extensive work in the field of preserving animal germplasm. SVF has chosen to focus on the rare breeds of food and fiber producing livestock (cattle, sheep and goats).With a goal of 200 embryos and 3,000 straws of semen per breed, SVF hopes to be able to reawaken a breed with its full genetic diversity within one generation. See Our Work for more.
 SVF Foundation's "Swiss Village" sits on 35 acres in Newport, Rhode Island with an adjacent 11 acre site which was formerly part of Hammersmith Farm. Among the 15 buildings that comprise the SVF site are exquisitely renovated animal facilities, a procedures laboratory, infirmary, workshops, offices and a large conference room.
Read more about Swiss Village and its history.
 Due to strict biosecurity protocols, SVF is not open to the public. Each animal is thoroughly health tested before being brought on site to help insure against the spread of disease. The biosecurity protocols also protect the collection of germplasm by minimizing any risk of inadvertently cryopreserving pathogens.
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