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Lord of the manor….
….THF Jackpot, (below) winding up this year’s tour of duty. His calves from last fall are far enough along now that we can safely say they’re the best we’ve seen so far. It’s almost as though he was saying “don’t forget about me” in response to all the attention we’ve showered on the English bull, TDA Churchill. Jackpot was sired by Rotokawa 243. It’s going to be fun watching the competition play out! (Picture by Church Matthews)
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What we did on our summer vacation….
….visited Devon farms, of course. And there’s none prettier than John and Patsy Forelle’s “Folly Farm” near Pine Planes, New York. You may remember it as the scene of the glamorous closing banquet of the then-new North American Devon Association. John and I served on the NADA board for several years before finally deciding we could do more for Devon by concentrating on our own herds, and Traditional Devon America, a joint project importing pure English Devon genetics to this country. John has now sold his herd but retains three heifers, sired by the TDA herd bull, Cutcombe Jaunty. And those heifers are now calving. This…
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A Traditional Devon update….
….just back from a trip to South Carolina and Georgia, looking at the latest British imports. This heifer is two weeks old, a product of Essington’s Buttercup and our herd bull, Millennium Falcon. Essington has been closed down now so we’re fortunate to have saved genetics from that grand old herd developed by Brian Drake. She and five sisters and brothers will be raised at Doyle Unruh’s farm in Georgia and will play an important role in our project to save British Devon genetics here in America. For this one, you’ll have to click on the picture. Some of our older British animals were gracing the pastures of our partners Bill…
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Stealing in….
…under cover of darkness. Traditional Devon America’s final calf in this class…TDA 15. She’s a Tillbrook Cashtiller heifer by Cutcombe Jaunty. We did very well we think. All nice, thick calves with deep Ruby Red coats. Three heifers; three bulls.
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Meet TDA 10….
….over at Traditional Devon America we welcomed another excellent Tilbrook Cashtiller daughter over the weekend. Sire was Cutcombe Jaunty. As the number indicates, our English project now has 10 calves: four bulls and six females. It’s been a painfully slow process, dealing with the ramifications of both TB and the Schmallenberg virus which has closed down British exports. But then a little one (well not all that little) comes along and makes it all worth it. This heifer is less than 24 hours old!
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Milestone (continued)….
….we mentioned in the previous post that there are two English heifers being bred in South Carolina (at Walkers Century Farms). This is one, TDA 03. Her dam, Tilbrook Cashtiller….who recently passed away….swept all the English competitions. Her equally outstanding sire, Cutcombe Jaunty, is also no longer with us. So we have, indeed, accomplished a small part of our goal in saving pure, traditional English genetics. It wasn’t so much death we have been concerned with as the increasing practice on both sides of the Atlantic to dilute the purity of the Devon breed, in the search for some elusive “super Devon”. We think they’re super enough and are content to…
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A Traditional Devon milestone….
….readers of this blog know that Thistle Hill, in cooperation with two other American breeders, has been selecting the best of pure English genetics (semen and embryos) and importing them. The project is now 3 years old and our first heifers have finally been delivered to the vet for breeding. The heifers are out of the English champion Tilbrook Cashtiller, who we bred to a great English bull, Cutcombe Jaunty. The embryos were brought here and implanted in recips. We decided to take the heifers to the vet because the early winter weather has been so unreliable we couldn’t be sure the AI process, once started, could be completed. In…
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The Cashtiller legacy….
….we mentioned the passing of Tilbrook Cashtiller the other day but also the fact that Traditional Devon America has some of her calves on the ground. This is TDA3 at Walker Century Farms in South Carolina. (click on picture to enlarge) Her sire is Cutcombe Jaunty….another English great….and the result is a “meatier” animal than Cashtiller. TDA3 and four of her sisters will be bred in just a few days to Ashott Barton Millennium Falcon. Now that’s also something to look forward to!
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Speaking of England….
….Bill Walker weighs in with a recent picture of Traditional Devon’s TDA 3, now exactly two years old and we’re about to breed her. “3” is, of course, out of Tilbrook Cashtiller by Cutcombe Jaunty. Doesn’t get any better than that!