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Our bulls…
…have become an increasingly important part of our operation…not only joining herds from Canada to Louisiana but as leased sires to smaller farms that can’t justify a full-time bull. Right now we have eight bulls at work for Thistle Hill…and a dozen more in the development stage. Our bull pen is still headed by Highwayman, sired by the English bull Millennium Falcon. The dam was from the Goldings herd of the legendary cattleman Ivan Rowe. Ivan gave us the pick of his herd and smiled a rare smile when we selected Norah. It was the only pedigree that he had carried in his pocket. Ivan judged many breeds in his…
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A book for Devon lovers….
….Jeremy Engh’s new book—“Devon, Perfect for Pasture, Perfect for Plate” is now available. We just ordered our copy from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=jeremy%20engh Jeremy, of course, is the driving force behind Lakota Ranch, just down the road from us, as well as being the vice-president of the new RedDevon USA. “Devon, Perfect for Pasture, Perfect for Plate” is also perfect as a gift and on your coffee table. Right now it’s available only as a paperback. A hard cover edition should be available later.
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Jerry Engh on the mend….
We thought his many friends in the Devon world would want to know: We saw Jerry Engh at Lakota Ranch today. Jerry suffered a stroke a few weeks ago but he’s not only up….he’s running. And supervising things at Lakota from a 4-wheeler. He does have some mild paralysis but my non-professional diagnosis is that it will pass. The major problem, Jeremy tells us, is holding his Dad down. Jerry says he expects to be on hand for the joint meeting of the two Devon associations in September…a meeting that should heal the breech between the two organizations.
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Roundtable: Can I make money selling grass fed beef?
It’s a question that comes up whenever a new Devon breeder recognizes the gourmet quality of the meat in his pasture: can I sell this animal at a reasonable profit or do I have to settle for the price dictated by the auction barn? That same new Devon breeder also quickly becomes discouraged when he realizes he can’t produce enough meat for the commercial marketplace. Not many Devon breeders have the numbers necessary to supply the needs of just one store much less a major supermarket chain or a wholesaler that buys thousands of steers at a crack. The marketing problem seems insurmountable. Edward Taylor of Vermont wrote us recently…