The Rural Support Service (RSS) continues to provide support for the preservation of local endangered livestock breeds (LDGRS/breeding), inviting farmers to join this important work – to protect and breed Latvia's cultural and historical animal breeds, which are part of our country's national heritage.
Currently, there are several valuable and unique breeds in Latvia that have adapted to our climate and farming conditions over the centuries:
- Latvian Brown and Latvian Blue cows – breeds with a long history and high-quality milk. The Latvian Blue cow is one of the rarest breeds in Europe, with a unique bluish-gray coat color found only in Latvia.
- Latvian Warmblood, Ardennes and Latgale trotting horses – once indispensable helpers in farm work, today they participate in sports competitions and children's training, as these breeds are known for their endurance and good-natured character.
- The Latvian white pig, which is distinguished by its calmness and sociability, is not picky about food and is highly fertile.
- The Latvian local goat is resistant to many diseases, provides high-quality milk and meat, and is fertile with long lifespan.
- The Latvian dark-headed sheep is a breed that has adapted to the climatic conditions of Latvia and is distinguished by the quality of its meat and rapid growth.
The aim of the support is not only to preserve local endangered farm animal breeds in Latvia – cows, pigs, sheep, goats and horses – but also Latvia's identity and cultural heritage.
Anyone who chooses to breed local breeds becomes an ambassador for these values, so we invite you to watch a video* about Jaunsniķeri farm which proudly breeds Latvian blue and brown cows. The farm is engaged in organic dairy farming and has 48 Latvian brown cows and 4 Latvian blue cows.
In total, there are 717 blue cows in Latvia in 2025, most of them in the Cēsis, Dienvidkurzeme, Kuldīga and Tukums regions. The number of Latvian brown cows in 2025 is 21,314.
More information about the support is available on the website "Support for the preservation of local endangered breeds of farm animals (LDGRS/breeding)". For inquiries, please call +371 67095000 (on weekdays from 8:00 to 20:00).
*Video with English subtitles.