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The butcher’s breed…
…was the name the English gave to the Devon. That was because of the quality of Devon meat. It was about that time that the leading English agriculturalist Robert Bakewell pronounced Devon the perfect cow…in no further need of refinement by crossing with other breeds. At Thistle Hill we have devoted our time and resources duplicating that early English Devon…and by coincidence the other day some of cows lined up demonstrating what we are trying to achieve. I guess the larger one in the center helps demonstrate the uniformity of the rest of the herd. She’s part Senepol bred to a Devon bull, an experiment we tried to demonstrate the…
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The family that works cattle together…
…well gets dirty together if nothing else. Pregnancy checking is a kind of tense moment in the year. Not only do you hope for a high rate of pregnancy…but for matings you’ve invested in embryo transplants and artificial insemination. This year we’re checking a total of 32 cows…a mix of regular Devon plus our pure traditional English Devon. The wranglers are grandson Church, his Dad Curt and his uncle Church. First mamas and calves are called in and then sorted in separate pens. The young will get permanent tags and tattoos and vaccinations. Some of the bulls that don’t meet Thistle Hill standards are also converted to steers. At the…
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What’s the difference…
..between Grassfed and grass-finished beef? From time to time we allude to the benefits of Thistle Hill’s grass-finished beef…but the labels are confusing and the USDA does it’s utmost to confuse the issue to the benefit of Big Ag. So we thought we’d reprint an article that does a fair and balanced treatment of the subject by food writer Nathan Phelps which was recently published in the US Wellness newsletter. David
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Fugitives from our storm…
..for a nice set of Thistle Hill steers. They had just been shipped to Jimmy Acres Farm near Semora, North Carolina when the snows hit. Brother and sister Jake and Anna Tommerdahl originally were going to fatten the steers for us but I guess they fell in love and immediately offered to buy them! That’s the way it is with Devon. Church met the Tommerdahls when they and he were Fellows at a Grassfed Exchange meeting in California. Until now they’ve been farming produce and chicken and pigs. This is their introduction to bigger livestock though Jake had interned in cattle operations before. Perhaps best of all it’s confirmation of…
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A winter wonderland…
…at Thistle Hill captured by MacKenzie Mason.
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A bunch of hams…
…is what we’re raising…not baby beeves! I’d swear whenever Church unlimbers his iPhone our calves “assume the position” and proud mama poses in the background! THF 3 is a young heifer combining four of our pure traditional English Devon bloodlines: Tilbrook Cashtiller, Cutcombe Jaunty, Essington Buttercup and Ashott Barton Falcon. I’ve said before that I think this year’s calf crop may be our finest…and I place this five-month old heifer at the top of the list. My guess is she’s destined for our own herd but we encourage you to talk to Church about the entire group. After all you get to check out our new 4-wheeler! David
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A new arrival…
…and making it easier to check out Thistle Hill Devon…is this Kawasaki Mule four-wheeler. She seats six comfortably and in just a few days we’ll be adding an enclosed cabin and heater! Visiting Thistle Hill has never been more pleasant…year around! David
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It’s a pretty scene…
…we don’t like to see. Thistle Hill has turned into one giant hockey rink following last weekend’s snow storm. The snow was capped off with a combination of sleet and some melting…and the resulting ice cap is the one thing cows can’t graze through. We spotted extra bales of hay throughout our pastures so feed isn’t a problem…and this kind of condition fortunately doesn’t last long in temperate Virginia. The very real danger is the slippery footing. We’ve lost several cows over the years to falls…broken hips and shoulders don’t mend. David
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It’s maybe not the Riviera…
…our pigs don’t know the difference. Here they’re soaking up the rays on an unseasonable winter day at Thistle Hill. Actually pigs do have to worry about sunburn. That’s one of the reason they wallow in the mud! David
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This just in…and I’m bursting with grandfatherly pride…
…Church had just been accepted into the veterinary school at Cornell University! For the past two years, he’s been running Thistle Hill Farm and its herd of purebred Devon. All the while he’s pursed a graduate degree in biology at George Mason University. Before that he was graduated from Denison University in Ohio. If that wasn’t enough, Church also wrangled a few pigs and worked for our local vet at Rose Hill veterinary service. And somehow he’s managed the time to help his uncle at Tolsons Appliance, a longtime family store. Church’s achievements more than justify his grandmother’s belief in him. She was always his biggest booster! And a key…