2021 First-Class Forever Stamp,Heritage Breeds: Cotton Patch Goose

US #5588
2021 Cotton Patch Goose – Heritage Breeds

• Pictures a cotton patch goose
• Part of the set which commemorates 10 different heritage breeds known for their versatility, adaptability, and unique genetics

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Heritage Breeds
Value:  55¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  May 17, 2021
First Day City:  Mount Vernon, Virginia
Quantity Issued:  25,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset, Flexographic
Format:  Panes of 20
Tagging:  Phosphor, block tag

Why the stamp was issued:  To recognize heritage breeds and their importance in horticulture over the years.

About the stamp designs:  Pictures a photograph the heritage breed known as the cotton patch goose.  Photograph by Aliza Elizarov.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held in Mount Vernon, Virginia, home of Accokeek Foundation’s Heritage Breed Livestock Conservation Program within the National Colonial Farm at Piscataway Park.  The program is home to a herd of milking Devon cows, one of the breeds pictured on the stamps.

About the Heritage Breeds set:  These 10 stamps were issued to recognize heritage breeds and their importance to horticulture over the years.  The breeds pictured include the mulefoot hog, Wyandotte chicken, milking Devon cow, Narragansett turkey, American mammoth jackstock donkey, cotton patch goose, San Clemente Island goat, American cream draft horse, Cayuga duck, and Barbados blackbelly sheep.

History the stamp represents:  While some heritage breeds are named for the areas in which they were first bred, others are named for the purpose they originally fulfilled.  One such animal is the cotton patch goose.

The cotton patch goose was bred to eat the weeds in cotton and corn fields.  Its exact ancestors are unknown, but it is believed to have descended from European geese brought to America by early colonists.  The cotton patch goose is known as a “sleek” goose and is small to medium sized.  Their smaller size allows them to withstand hotter temperatures better than other larger farm geese.

Cotton patch geese have pink to orange-pink bills and lightweight bodies (females generally weigh 8 to 10 pounds while males weigh 9 to 12).  This has allowed them to retain the ability to fly, making them exceptionally good at escaping predators.  In fact, a cotton patch goose can take flight and clear a five-foot fence without a running start.

Cotton patch geese were common with farmers until the 1950s, when they gradually became less popular.  Today, these geese are extremely rare and may very well disappear altogether without help.  Devoted heritage breeders are doing their best to save these historic geese.  We can only hope more people will step forward and help in the future.