Devon FALL 2019 USA NATIONAL SHOW & ANNUAL MEETING WHAT IS A DEVON? NEW REGISTRY SOFTWARE Devon USA Advertising: 1/6 Page: $40 1/4 Page: $80 1/2 Page: $150 Full Page: $250 Devon USA is published twice per year. Our next publication will be Spring 2020. For more information contact Red Devon USA office at (229) 516-0394 or [email protected] Devon USA TABLE of Devon USA is the official publication of Red Devon USA. It exists to inform, CONTENTS educate, and unite Devon breeders across the United States and the world. FALL 2019 3 Letter from the Red Devon USA President Purpose: To maintain an accurate pureblood by Bob Vankirk Devon registry, to preserve the purity of the breed, to disseminate general information to 5 What is a Devon the membership, and to recruit new members by Jeremy Engh through general promotional activities. 9 Making the Hard Decisions Officers by Dustin Heeter PRESIDENT: Bob VanKirk 11 Forage Quantity VICE PRESIDENT: David Fell and Quality by David Hartman TREASURER: Jeremy Engh EXECUTIVE SECRETARY: Anne Derousie 13 New Registry Software 14-16 National Show & Board of Directors Annual Meeting Brad Gibson, Fernando Mendez, Anthony 17 O’Neil, Christian Ramsburg, Steve Rockcastle Devon Cattle Breed Standards ADMINISTRATIVE 19 A Historical Perspective SECRETARY: Becky Miller 24 Fatty Acid Composition REGISTRAR: National Center for Beef Excellence by Jeremy Engh WEB MANAGER: Recharge Web Design 27 Devon in Canada Brad Gibson MAGAZINE DESIGN & LAYOUT: Honey Creek Media LLC 29 From the Archives The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of 38 Red Devon USA RDUSA. RDUSA accepts no responsibility or liability for views, ideas, or opinions expressed in this magazine. Breeders List 2 | SEPTEMBER 2019 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT by Bob Vankirk Devon Breeders and Enthusiasts: Thanks to our Board of Directors, Committee It has been an honor to serve as your Members, and volunteers President over the past year. for making the past year a successful year The future is bright for Red Devon Cattle! The of accomplishments. breed has long been noted for its fertility, calving ease, docility, hardiness and ability to • NCBE Registry: adapt to temperature extremes. Demand for The new online grass-fed beef continues to rise and Devon registrar, National Cattle on forage only diets perform superbly Center for Beef Excellence, has been to produce top gourmet quality beef. up and running with excellent service from our new secretary, Becky Miller. The first Devon cattle reached what is now Reach out to her if you have any the United States in 1623. The ship Charity questions. Contact information brought a consignment of red cattle (one is on RedDevonUSA.com bull and three heifers) from Devonshire to Edward Winslow, the agent for Plymouth • The New and Improved RDUSA website Colony. These red cattle of Devonshire, has been getting a lot of attention; the brought in by the Pilgrims, were probably advertising through Classified and the first purebred cattle to reach North Banner Ads has provided income America. Soon Red Devons will reach the to support the website. milestone of 400 years in America!! • Support by members and the Board We faced several challenges last year. of Directors to try another venue for Smoothly transitioning our registry was a the National Meeting became evident priority. Strong support for a change from through polling. The Keystone CLRC existed from the membership and Livestock Expo, KILE, in Harrisburg PA, Board of Directors. Although this change will provide the opportunity for 50,000 was required, it levied extra expense to people to gain exposure to Red Devon complete the transition. In addition, the Cattle. KILE is the largest livestock expo National meetings, with show and sale, in the eastern USA! This will provide have been costly to the organization. tremendous exposure to the breed With the tremendous growth of the grass as well as save the organization the finished beef market, competition has many expenditures involved in having also increased from other breeds of cattle an event on our own. including composite breeds. Maintaining financial viability while promoting Red • Financials year to date through June Devon Cattle advantages has been vital. have yielded a positive net income for the organization; this accomplishment is impressive considering the transfer DEVON USA | 3 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT of registry, upcoming national to ensure clarity on registration. More event, and advertising undertaken information will be coming soon. to market the advantages of Red Devons. • A.J. O’Neil has been working with Jeremy Engh and Penn State on • Hybrid Registrations - We have had various methods of beef carcass requests for a crossbred program such analysis of Red Devon Cattle. as many other breeds of cattle offer. They are meeting at the university Red Devon has lost membership in later this month to complete the the past due to lack of availability of a evaluation of grassfed beef carcasses crossbred registry. The Board is with the staff there. Watch the website exploring this possibility. A Devon for updated information or better Hybrid Registry would be designed to yet come to this year’s annual record Red Devon influenced cattle conference where data as well as with the goal of improving the value video of the process will be available. and demand for Red Devon crossbred breeding females and feeder cattle • The next DEVON USA magazine and increasing the demand for will be available prior to the national purebred registered Red Devon event to highlight Red Devon bulls in commercial herds or registered advantages. herds of a different breed. It would not be a pathway for entry into the Feel free to reach out to myself or the Board existing Red Devon Herd book registry of Directors with any questions or if we can of purebred Devons which shall remain be of assistance. Visit RedDevonUSA.com open only to animals with a proven for Board of Directors contact information pedigree and who meet the breed or to learn more about Devon Cattle. • standard. We will reach out to members soon with more information. Bob VanKirk, President RDUSA 4 Seasons Farm • The Registry and DNA Committee has 305 Pacanowski Lane worked relentlessly to ensure the Tyrone, PA smooth transition to NCBE. In addition, 814-937-6919 the bylaws have been reviewed 4SeasonsCattle.com [email protected] Rancho Deluxe Redux Registered Red Devon Open Heifer For Sale Winnsboro, Texas 817-430-1955 [email protected] 4 | SEPTEMBER 2019 WHAT IS A DEVON? by Jeremy Engh Definition and history in US pasture, milking ability, and value as a draft animal, hence the term, triple purpose. What is a Devon? How about a North Devon, South Devon, Ruby Red Devon, The 1868 American Devon Herd Book, Beef Devon, Dairy Devon, etc .. ? Vol. 2, was published in Springfield, Massachusetts. This herd book contains Well as breeders and buyers you should a perfect description of Devon Cattle. know the differences and similarities. The pro’s and con’s of each, and how they fit “The late experience of the breeders of into the market you are try ing to capture. Devons only confirms their former opinion of the excellent quali ties of the breed, for the A Dairy Devon is just as pure as a beef Devon three grand objects for which neat stock are be cause they come from the same genetic kept, namely, milk, work, or beef, and their pool. In 1952, the ADCA, then known as adaptation to many sections of our country, in the American Dev on Cattle Club, decided preference to any other breed; also that they that the breed had to move into a specialist will produce as much milk, work, or beef, from beef market in order to survive. At that the food consumed, or on a given quantity of time, a small group of breeders decided land, as any other breed .. .The only objection to form a separate association for dairy ever present ed to the breed, is “they are cattle and maintain triple-purpose stock. small;” but we can keep more of them, and that on shorter pastures and coarser food.” The AMDA represents a gene pool of Devon Cattle selected for purity and This description is accurate and shows milking ability. The Devon has always why these cattle do so well in grass based excelled in the areas of; quality beef from environments as well as dairy operations. DEVON USA | 5 WHAT IS A DEVON? The South Devon brought to this country in 1969 originated from the counties of Devon and Cornwall in Southwest England where they have been a dis tinct and separate breed since the 16th Century. They are the largest of the British breeds and are more brown than red. They have quite a different look and different attributes. All cattle were originally identified by Carolus Lin naeus as three separate species. These were Bos tau rus, the European cattle, including similar types from Africa and Asia; Bos indicus, the zebu; and the extinct Bos primigenius containing the axtant spe cies including longifrons. The axtant species or au rochs is ancestral to both zebu and European cattle. More recently these three have increasingly been grouped as one species, with Bos primigenius tau rus, Bos primigenius indicus and Bos primigenius primigenius as the subspecies. Bos is the genus of both wild and domestic cattle. Complicating the matter is the ability of cattle to in terbreed with other closely related species. Hybrid individuals and even breeds exist, not only between European cattle and zebu but also with yaks, ban- teng, gaur, and bison, a cross-genera hybrid.