Potheridge President is arguably one of the most notable North (Red) Devon bulls imported into North America. Sired by Potheridge Ransom and Potheridge Dainty 9th, he was imported from England into the US in 1968 and his seedstock was imported into Canada shortly thereafter. He was the first Devon bull to become a Certified Meat Sire and won every category for production, reproduction, and meat quality in the American ABS trials in the late 1960s. His genetics are highly influential in North American Devon cattle which are known for their efficient growth on grass forage and were known as “the Butcher’s Choice” because of the meat tenderness, taste and juiciness. Although there are few Red Devon pure bred herds in Canada, his genetics have been influential in many commercial crossbred programs.

For more information…

http://www.canadacow.ca/resources/latest-news/7-news-item-one

Note from Jeff Moore:

R5 is one of the best I have ever produced and did great for me here. He is from an embryo that was pulled in NZ by Ken McDowell and sent to me here in the states. I implanted those embryos and got 4 bulls and 6 heifers from those embryos, which was the foundation to my pure Devon herd. He is one of the offspring. I used him extensively on my commercial herd and he did very well. I will include a picture of him when he left here and a couple of shots of his offspring heifers that are now cows that are in my commercial herd and great producers.

The cow with the horns is a great cow and raises a great calf. I didn’t dehorn her and I hate to now because it would set her back and she is so gentle I don’t worry about it.

Note: both the red cow #7 and the white faced #8 next to her are out of your bull

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Reproduction Performance (Butter-fat).    By Gearld Fry, reprinted from Cowboy Wisdom, Jan 2012

Reproduction in our livestock herds is the highest sought after production trait and sadly the most misunderstood and misrepresented of all of them.  Obtaining high reproductive performance is a genetic selection process and the role the bull plays is just as important as the role of the cow.  The overwhelming majority is for a fact, trying to accomplish their reproduction goals using inferior bulls.  James Drayson’s research presented later should help you to understand the different performance levels including the top level of breeder bulls.

A survey taken a few years ago revealed that only 70% of the cows in an average herd produce a live calf in a consistent12-month interval.  The percentage is even lower in the south.

Many producers leave the bull with the cows all the time.  In this scenario the cows conceive when their available energy reaches an adequate level that coincides with the quality of the bull’s semen.  A cow may begin ovulating earlier in her lactation but because of the low quality (germ plasma) sperm of the so-called herd sire the sperm is not strong enough to fertilize the ovum and the cow remains open.  As a result, so many ‘open’ cows are sold when there is really nothing wrong with them reproductively speaking.  While the cow is viewed as the one not being able to conceive, it is more likely, from my experience, that the bull is not strong enough reproductively to get the job done even though a semen test done before breeding season indicated he should have been.

Open cows are always getting the blame when in fact they are only half of the reproduction equation.  Bulls get the blame only when there is an obvious physical problem, but it’s the unseen (microscopic) that I want to address.  A complete semen test takes a number of things into account to fully assess the breeding ability of the bull.  When one or more of these different factors aren’t considered and evaluated there is no way of knowing there’s a lurking problem and thus the reason for most open cows.  I’ll go into more detail in just a bit.

Book review by Ian Brown, Globe and Mail, for book by Mark Schatzker.

“The very interesting thing about human beings from an evolutionary point of view is that if we eat meat that’s too lean, it’ll kill us.” Schatzker believes the human longing for tasty beef is an evolutionary advantage, because deliciousness means survival and smartness. Handy theory! He’s not intellectually macho like too many barbecue writers, but Schatzker’s no vegan: He all but implies vegan mothers are endangering the future mental capacity of their offspring. It will be interesting to witness the public smackdowns sure to happen once the anti-meat crowd read Steak. Schatzker, whose grandfather was shot by the Nazis, enjoys making the point that Hitler was a vegetarian.

Globe and Mail, Updated Thursday, Jul. 21, 2011 5:40PM EDT

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Here are the first pictures taken of the beginning herd – the first herd of Rotokawa Devon in Canada.  Assembled by Gearld Fry, and delivered in two parts, November and December 2011.

December 20, 2011

Gearld Fry drove these five bred heifers and bull from Rosebud, Arkansas to the Old River Farm.  This breed almost disappeared from North America but the genetics was preserved in New Zealand.  Now making a comeback.  These are called “North American Devon“, not to be confused with a different blood line called “South Devon”  

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A couple of different views on the marketing of beef:

Artisan Beef 

How Beef Packaging Can Help with Meal Planning.from

Mary and Ross are taking the Holistic Management training from Tony and Fran McQuail.  Holistic Management is an excellent program for every livestock farmer.  The planning and decisionmaking model is helpful to all farm families who want to think past profit to consider how their efforts will ultimately impact the family’s quality of life, community, environment, and the local economy.  It’s a thirty year program that’s proven and healing grazing lands around the world.

Mary Simpson

Gary Zimmer recently returned to the Shedden community complete to speak about soils. A note from his web-site sums up his talk nicely:

Q: How can I measure success?

A: Many ways. With technology, we can measure the numbers. Soils tests yield measurable numbers. A penetrometer measures soil condition. A refractometer measures plant health. But more important, with your farmer’s common sense and stewardship ethic, you smell it when you work the soil and inhale that earthy aroma resulting from the respiration of more than 1,000 pounds per acre of actinomycetes. You feel it by digging. Healthy soil is crumbly to the touch. Get on your hands and knees and count your “earthworm herd.” Your soil stays in place, rather than wash downstream. You see it in the rich darkness and in the way your soil absorbs up to twice its weight in water. You see fewer weeds, fewer insects, and fewer diseases. You see it in the sheen of your animals’ hair coat, bright eyes, healthy demeanor, high productivity and reproductive efficiency. You stop chasing problems with a needle and a sprayer. You’ll taste the difference in the sweetness of your corn and alfalfa and the flavor of your beef, pork, lamb, poultry or whatever animal you produce. Very important, you see it in your positive cash flow, improved net income, and increasing asset value that means a better retirement. And, lastly, you measure your success in pride and peace of mind — knowing you’ll leave your farm in better condition than when you came; knowing you didn’t exploit your land, but borrowed it for a short time and improved it for the next generation.