….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

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!?”

….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.    

….continuing my occasional posting of links that I just like, there’s this:  “10 things to love about Italy”.  At least it’s about food.  Turn up the sound.  (thanks to our friend, Don Kunnard, for letting us know about it) http://player.vimeo.com/video/70776419

….most farms (not the big corporate ones) are a mix of a number of small enterprises.  In our case, that includes selling heifers and cows to those starting out or upgrading their herds, selling bulls to the commercial cattlemen, meat to our own customers, and steers (pictured here) to other meat operations.  And all have to be kept in balance. We have several very good steer customers.  Sometimes we deliver to their farms….sometimes straight to the butcher for their own label.  But since steers take just over two years to reach “finish” weight, we have to track a number of things, including keeping enough in the pipeline for almost three years….enough…

….on rare occasion I post something that has nothing to do with the usual topics of this website….not about food or cows or even our English partners….but…. This is not one of those times!  This is about Food and England…..and Music!  Opera, which I enjoy almost as much as Bacon!  (thanks to Don Kunnard for the link)