• A gift to us…

    …from us. What Santa left under our tree. A new 24-foot Wilson cattle trailer! Needed with Church increasing our bull leasing and seed stock sales.  Oh, not to mention more frequent trips to the butcher. Our old trailer…16-feet and bumper mounted…had been driven into the ground. A goose-neck with excellent tracking was clearly called for…particularly on some of the mountain roads we have to navigate. So if you’re in the market for animals get in touch with us quickly while delivery comes in a bright new and clean trailer! David

  • Our Christmas child…

    ..on the home page is descended from the historic Cutcombe line in England. In fact, his sire was Thistle Hill Cutcombe…an embryo import. Cutcombe genetics bred by Margaret Elliott played a key role developing our pure traditional English Devon line which now numbers 16 females and 7 males. Ten years ago, after being impressed by several bulls with Cutcombe in their pedigrees, we had to track down their breeder. Margaret did not disappoint! A small powerhouse of a woman, she had made a major impact at a time when cattle breeding was a male-dominated world. When her animals were not in the show ring, she was there herself as a…

  • What were the odds…

    …with four daughters what were the odds they would all marry men who love to cook? I’m a lucky guy and am particularly blessed when Thistle Hill can supply the entree! Son-in-law Curt Humphreys demonstrates what a pork loin should look like: perfectly pink. You won’t find flavor like this at a supermarket. Curt did a simple topping of garlic and rosemary and a few fresh mushrooms. David

  • An alternative view…

    Joel Saladin has been in the forefront of the battle for natural food…particularly pastured meats. His Polyface farm down the nearby Shenandoah Valley is a kind of Mecca for farmers and foodies alike. In a recent blog, Joel opens another controversial topic: why the explosion in Alzheimer’s in our society? The real villain may be: Grain…and Vegan-ism! https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com/blog2/12/12/2019/alzheimers-is-not-genetic David

  • Parade of (baby) bulls…

    …features three of the yearling bulls we’re holding back to see how they develop. The first is the final pairing Wooz selected on her last trip to England. His dam comes from the famous Tulip line. The breeder resisted collecting her and after some to and fro, we bought her outright! Then we had to figure out the complexities of owning a single cow…both physically and legally.  We are greatly indebted to Tilbrook’s Gavin Hunter for providing the umbrella and eventually the transport to the clinic where Tulip was flushed to Cutcombe Jaunty. Gavin also arranged a permanent home for Mom. Too bad we couldn’t have arranged a Thistle Hill…

  • King David on assignment…

    …we’re fortunate to have some cooperative farmers to handle our heifers (and keep them away from the bulls)! But this is NOT that time of year. Here is the King (2nd from right), a half English Devon bull from the old Essington Park herd, and his harem of eight English and American heifers. Between munches he can be heard saying “tough work but somebody’s got to do it”. If you’ve been wondering: yes there’s a plan in our breeding. We start with the heifers and then the artificial insemination before moving to the main herd. That spaces the calving so we are generally watching the right cows at the right…

  • Send me in coach…

    …our pure traditional English bull Essington is ready for his assignment as this year’s cover bull for the main herd. We’ve AI-ed 26 of 40 cows and it will be up to Essington to cover the rest and any of the AI-s that didn’t take. It’s the first time we’ve tested him. His dam was Brian Drake’s Buttercup by Shiamala Comer’s Millennium Falcon…both renowned English breeders who insisted on traditional values. David