….spotted in Cornwall….a politically-correct sentiment.

….way out at the tip of southwest England…in fact, you can just make out the American colonies over the horizon.  That’s my mate….and my other “mayt”…Ivan Rowe at Land’s End.   Ivan’s Goldings farm is home for a number of our Traditional English Devon and Wooz and he are looking at a definite candidate to be next. The trouble is the darn Schmallenburg virus which has clamped a lid on exports of all genetic material.  Right now we have about 25 embryos tied up by the embargo so there’s not much sense in going ahead with more flushes. Ivan is even older than me (ok, by a couple of weeks) but…

….the main herd moving into the pen for preg checks.  With stocking rate just about max, we’re putting more pressure on selection but the cows wouldn’t cooperate.  They’re all pregnant. We used two bulls this year to keep the genetic lines separate:  U2 and Jackpot.  U2 comes out of Rotokawa 974; Jackpot from Rotokawa 688.  Both are now for sale to make room for their sons. The only open Devon was a freemartin (for our non-farm readers, that’s a female who was twinned and they’re often sterile) but we’re saving her for meat.  We understand a freemartin is outstanding in that category. It was a long day…we also had calves to dehorn and,…