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This ain’t Kansas…
So what’s a pure English Devon bull doing in Virginia? He’s the result of the last mating Wooz designed on our final trip to southwest England a few years ago. The dam comes from the famous Tulip line…renowned all over the island. The sire the equally-renowned Cutcombe bull named Jaunty. The resulting embryos from the mating were flown to Thistle Hill for calving. This young guy is now 8.5 months old and destined for great things! David
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Starting second pass…
…after about 45 days rest. Grandson Church says too many weeds though that’s not apparent in the picture. We calculate we have about 54,000 pounds animal weight per acre…just about a quarter of what we really need to see the results off mob grazing. At this level the cows can still afford to be selective. And there’s only limited trampling affect. The obvious answer is to reduce the size of the paddocks but that brings up the question of water and shade. Yes, we could bring in more cows but it’s almost breeding time and again this year we’ll be testing several young bulls after ai-ing. Interesting choices for a…
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Evening sun at Thistle Hill….
Sometimes it seems Heaven is just down the road. David
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Perfect for summer grilling…
…just in time for your family cookout: Thistle Hill steaks, ribs and burgers. For the first time we’re offering individual packages…no longer only bulk sales! You owe it to your family to try delicious, healthful grass fed Devon beef. Our animals are raised and finished without supplements, pesticides, herbicides or antibiotics. Hamburger is wrapped in individual one-pound packages for just $7.50/pound. Steaks start at $15/pound. Yes, and there are bulk discounts! Farm pickup weekends and by appointment. Email ahead and your order will be waiting but we urge you to allow some time to look around. Fun for the kids and you’ll learn why Thistle Hill meat is simply better.…
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Evening at Thistle Hill
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Post graduate work…
As if grandson Church didn’t have enough to do running the farm and studying for an advance degree in biology…he recently took a week to attend the Frank B. Graham Cattleman’s School in Kansas. The week-long program covered every aspect of herd fertility and calving, including artificial insemination, preg checking and delivering a calf. Church, pictured below with his classmates, is second from the right. He aced his final exam with a perfect score; only the fifth attendee to do that in more than 20 years! Not long ago Church was selected by The Grassfed Exchange as one of 12 outstanding young cattlemen in the country. His goal is to…
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Second pass…
…after a 45-day rest period, we’re bringing the main herd to where we started six weeks ago. The clover stand predominates…probably 60-70%. Church took the phrase “overseeding” too literally last winter. We may adjust paddock size this time around. We could use more trampling effect. Again trampled grass is particularly beneficial in the hot weather as a kind of armor coating for bare soil. It also breaks down and is beneficial for carbon sequestration and organic matter. Wanna keep those microbes happy! And all that clover adds nitrogen to the soil…saving tons of fertilizer which keeps the treasury happy! That much clover dominated the regrowth of our grasses…but the cows…