"Abby" was our first Devon, registered with the American Milking Devon Association. We purchased her in 1989 as a hobby. We were attracted to Devons after reading an article about the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. As an historian, Anne thought it would be interesting to raise this breed of cattle that was so much a part of early American history. So we added Abby and New Adventure to our herd of 25 angus cross cows, who were the center of our farming operation through the 1990s and early 2000s.
In 2003, we attended the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy meeting held at Hancock Shaker Village in eastern New York. There we heard Ridge Shinn speak about the value of Devon cattle to the developing market for 100% grass finished beef. We also became acquainted with the American Devon Cattle Association and Jeremy Engh of Lakota Ranch. This meeting changed our farming operation.
That fall, we purchased seven heifers from Lakota Ranch to add to the seven milking Devon cows we had at that time. We made the decision to sell the angus herd and turn our attention to Devons. Today we have a herd of 25 Devon cows, descended from Abby, New Adventure and the Lakota cattle. In the past we bred our herd using artificial insemination and most of our cattle were sired by New Zealand Rotokawa Devon bulls.
More recently we have added new genetics to our herd including the sires Tapuwae 635, Lakota King Henry, and Lakota Red Dude. All of our animals are registered through the breed association, Red Devon U.S.A.
In 2003, we attended the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy meeting held at Hancock Shaker Village in eastern New York. There we heard Ridge Shinn speak about the value of Devon cattle to the developing market for 100% grass finished beef. We also became acquainted with the American Devon Cattle Association and Jeremy Engh of Lakota Ranch. This meeting changed our farming operation.
That fall, we purchased seven heifers from Lakota Ranch to add to the seven milking Devon cows we had at that time. We made the decision to sell the angus herd and turn our attention to Devons. Today we have a herd of 25 Devon cows, descended from Abby, New Adventure and the Lakota cattle. In the past we bred our herd using artificial insemination and most of our cattle were sired by New Zealand Rotokawa Devon bulls.
More recently we have added new genetics to our herd including the sires Tapuwae 635, Lakota King Henry, and Lakota Red Dude. All of our animals are registered through the breed association, Red Devon U.S.A.