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Waiting for breakfast….
….the main herd watched this morning as we put a new, huge water tank in the Eastern pasture. They’ve been patiently waiting….and watching that succulent stand of Italian rye on the other side of the wire. Our chief-of-everything, Duane Ard, noticed the advance guard on the horizon while filling the tank. A few minutes later we were surrounded!
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Time out….
….no blogging for the next week as Wooz and I head for the annual Devon meeting in Lexington at Jacob Owens’ farm. If you’re looking for Devon females…and can’t wait for the Thistle Hill listing…there’ll be some good-looking females at the sale. There’s also a good-looking candidate for the board and I hope Wooz gets your vote! No one has worked harder or put in longer hours for the Devon breed…and no one cares more the pure Devon cow. Details about the meeting, the sale and the election are at the association website: www.reddevonusa.com
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Ladies in Beef….
….is an organization in England which promotes beef consumption…and our very own Juliet Cleave is right in the center of things (as usual). Right now they’re doing a television campaign plugging roasts as an easy mid-week meal. What could be better than a roast in the crockpot….toss in whatever you find in the refrigerator and bins and…voila!
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Made in the USA….
….Traditional Devon America™ reached another milestone with the birth of this little bull calf. TDA is a partnership of three American breeders focused on importing traditional English Red Devon genetics to the United States. The dam of this calf….one of the first English embryos conceived at a clinic in Oxford and the daughter of two British Devon champions….was Tilbrook Castiller. Cashtiller was particularly note-worthy for the great bulls she produced. The AI sire of this little guy was Ashott Barton Millennium Falcon, but we’ll do him a favor and call him Falcon, for short. He’s just over 12 hours old in these photos but we’re hopeful. We calve our heifers…
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Thistle Hill goes global…Part Three….
We mentioned the other day the number of overseas visitors to this website and checked again today to find we have added three more countries to the list: Nepal Nigeria Madagascar Welcome friends! As we say in Virginia: “Y’all come back, y’hear!?”
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How good is Thistle Hill pork???
Well, modesty has not been one of my more noticeable traits. But even I had to blush reading this rave review we received about our most recent pork from Brooke Henley of Middletown, Maryland. The pork is heavenly! What an animal! And the processing is amazing too! So far we’ve sampled two cuts of bacon (definitely will be the first thing we run out of!), pork chops, and a ham steak. Photographic evidence attached! This is one of the 2″ thick chops and yes, we’ve just sliced it open. You’re looking at it from the end. One chop was enough for both of us and we had a little bit leftover.…
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Thistle Hill goes “global”…Part Two….
….by coincidence, the same day of our South Africans visit, (see Global Part One below) we received an email from all the way around the globe in New Zealand. We’re always surprised at the readership this blog receives in far-away places….and gratified when we hear from afar. Frankly, it makes me a bit ashamed that I don’t devote more time to our Blog to make it more deserving of your attention. But here’s the note we received from Helena Barrio: Although originally from Devon, I now live with my family in New Zealand. We farm a small stud in the north island. I love Devon cattle, and I too am…
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Thistle Hill goes “global”….
….we really enjoy entertaining visitors at Thistle Hill. We always learn more from our guests than they ever learn from us. Just a fresh set of eyes makes us see things we just never focused on. This week we hosted a delegation of cattle and dairymen and women from South Africa and they brought with them an agronomist from Australia, Christine Jones. The group had skipped breakfast and arrived from Washington torn between our pastures and our buffet. Food won out! I haven’t had beer for breakfast, much less burgers and brats, since I was flying for SAC, but Thistle Hill meats are perfect any time. Stomachs satisfied, they set out…
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Round-up (glysophate) is just about everywhere…
….we’ve made the point here that genetically-modified foods may or may not pose a health risk, but there’s no doubt that the wide-spread use of Monsanto’s Round-up in raising GMO crops certainly does. It’s also true that wheat farmers apply heavy doses of Round-up in their fields….and right before harvest….though wheat is not a GMO crop. And Dr. Joseph Mercola believes the increased use of Round-up is linked to the increased incidence of celiac disease. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/09/14/glyphosate-celiac-disease-connection.aspx
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Commercial Devon herd for sale…
….Bill Roberts of 12 Stones Grasslands Farm tells us he’s been asked to market a herd of part-Devon cows and a Devon bull. There are 26 1/2 and 3/4 Devon in the group (part Angus) and 15 young 7/8s heifers calved earlier this year. Bill has marketed feeders from this herd and seen tremendous cut-out and carcass quality. This sounds like a good opportunity if you’ve been wanting to get in the grass fed business. Contact Bill at 12stonesgrasslandbeef@gmail.com.