Town Hall

At Heifer International, we are looking at transforming food systems for the farmers and communities we work with. It’s about more than just the animal, but how we equip farmers to access markets. Our programs follow a sustainable locally led development approach that responds directly to needs and priorities identified by the farming communities we serve. We invest in locally determined solutions.

No, we secure animals in-country or in the region where they are being given.

When we began in 1944, we did send animals from the United States to the areas we worked. The men and women that accompanied these shipments were called Seagoing Cowboys. They are a significant part of our history, and we are thankful for their contributions. Animals were shipped by sea and air.

Heifer works with strategic partners at all levels to connect smallholder farmers to opportunity, strengthen market systems and achieve sustainable impact at scale. Our partners share our commitment to sustainable and environmentally sound solutions and include farmer organizations, women’s groups, businesses, governments, funders, researchers and more.

Heifer currently works in 19 countries, including the United States. You can learn more about where we work at heifer.org/our-work/where-we-work.html.

Caring for the earth is a major component of our work. Our expert staff work with farmers as they integrate climate-smart agricultural practices on their farms to increase resilience and crop production.

We support biogas plants that provide clean energy to local households, and irrigation projects that use water more efficiently. We also teach farming practices like rotational grazing which prevents soil depletion and helps rejuvenate the land. We also work to reduce farm waste by feeding scraps to animals like chickens and pigs, and we use animal manure as fertilizer in gardens to help grow vegetables and fruit.

We promote agroecology and work with farmers to protect local ecosystems and biodiversity, deploy soil and water conservation techniques, and reduce carbon footprints.

Learn more about the regenerative agricultural practices we’re utilizing at the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas.

You can find information on how to share with others or get your community groups involved at heifer.org/what-you-can-do/get-involved/index.html. We have programs and resources for any community group, including faith communities and school programs.

You can access Heifer photos on Flickr.
You can view videos on Heifer’s YouTube channel and on Vimeo.

We want to highlight as many families as we can because it shows the impact that your support makes.

When we visit projects, our country staff help us identify families that show various aspects of our work, and families across the spectrum of their Heifer involvement, including those just joining a project to those that were part of projects many years ago. The beauty in telling these stories is that it highlights the immediate and long-term transformation of Heifer families.

We had the opportunity to meet Mr. Donat Bigirimana who joined a Heifer project over 20 years ago. He has a thriving farm business that includes cattle, goats, pigs, chickens, a banana tree farm and more. He has passed on animals and training more than 22 times. It is a testament to his commitment to Passing on the Gift® and his joy in helping his entire community succeed.

Since 1944, we’ve helped 46.4 million families move out of hunger and poverty. In FY23, we had 798,406 active households in our projects.