Devon cattle in England…

Continuing the dialogue from the previous post….

The four cattle-judging events in England each year are very formal events.  The judges, as you can see, wear bowlers and black suits.  All the animal handlers and owners dress in white smocks.  Wouldn’t want a judge looking at my cow that way!

This judge is Gavin Hunter, whose own herd, Tilbrook, is one of the very best in the United Kingdom.  We have now partnered with Gavin to bring embryos from his champion cow Cashtiller here to the States.  For years, Cashtiller won everything in sight (not with Gavin judging) and many consider her the best cow in a generation.

Devon were first developed not far from here centuries ago and breed purity is a hot topic there now with the EU breaking down the barriers for pure pedigrees.  The English are so fussy they actually maintain three separate Devon registeries, just to account for varying levels of absolute purity.

Wooz is the registrar for the North American Devon Association and works closely with Gina Lane, her English counterpart.  No one, not even Prince Charles, would ever try to put one over on either woman.  Unfortunately, both recently announced they are retiring.  They will be very hard to replace and breeders in both countries fear for the future integrity of the registries.

One great treat while visiting England is meeting some of the earlier registrars, whose memory traces Devon back almost 100 years.