Thomas Lecky

Thomas Phillip Lecky, known as T.P. Lecky (1904-1994), was a Jamaican scientist who developed several new breeds of cattle. Lecky is known as one of Jamaica's earliest environmentalists, and a strong advocate for conservation of hillsides. His research in cattle breeding led to the development of three breeds suited the tropical climate: Jamaica Hope, Jamaica Red, and Jamaica Black. Jamaica Hope was the first breed of cattle indigenous to Jamaica. He is remembered as the Father of the Jamaican Dairy Industry. Lecky received a scholarship to attend the Jamaica School of Agriculture at Hope Farm in Saint Andrew Parish. As a child, Lecky saw his father lose his banana crop as a result of hurricanes three years in a row. This inspired Lecky to research solutions to provide and improve the diet of his community and neighbours by developing the local breed of cattle for milk and beef production.

At the Jamaica School of Agriculture the director of the government stock farm H.H. Cousins involved Lecky in testing European cattle breeds for their suitability to the Jamaican environment. Lecky went on to study agriculture and animal husbandry at McGill University and Ontario Agricultural College in Canada. At university, he focused on researching acclimatizing European breeds to Jamaica's environment. He concluded that the answer was not an acclimatized European breed but a new breed, a completely adapted tropical breed.

Cattle breeds In 1925, after graduating, Lecky worked for the government at Hope, where he assessed the new breeds of cattle being introduced to Jamaica and tested their reaction to local conditions. Lecky learned that the cattle in Jamaica at that time were not well suited to life on hillsides where many small farmers had holdings. He believed that all small farmers should have cattle because besides producing milk, every year a young animal could be sold to help pay for school fees.

The Jamaica Hope was a combination of the British Jersey cow with the Holstein and the Indian Sahiwal breed, and could produce up to an average of 12 litres of milk a day, three times that produced by other cattle on the island. Lecky's work revolutionized the Jamaican dairy industry, and scientists flocked to Jamaica to see his work. In 1952, Lecky had the Jamaica Hope registered and recognised. Lecky's work impacted on the development of cattle in many tropical countries.

Awards and honours 1959 - Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for meritorious and devoted service to agriculture.

1970 - Norman Manley Award for Excellence, first-ever recipient of the award. he was the best

1978 - Order of Merit, for service to the dairy and cattle industries of Jamaica.