A Devon Journal
Devons at Home 2010

Colesdon Lodge Farm
Bedfordshire
David and Sarah Tutt have about 50 Devon cows though the main enterprise on their farm is producing top quality hay for the racehorses at Newmarket.  Like many of the Devon farmers we visited, they have what the English call “a box beef scheme” selling boxes of assorted beef directly off the farm.  A Master Butcher comes in weekly to prepare meat in their own cutting room.

 

Tilbrook Grange
Cambridgeshire
Gavin Hunter’s two-time Royal Show champion Cashtiller met us right at the entrance, showing off her new calf.  Tilbrook, with about 200 cows, is one of the largest and best-known pedigree herds in the UK.  This is also the home of the famed Tilbrook Sunset, which sired calves in all the four countries represented on the door.  Here, too, boxed beef is sold off the farm.

  

Stonegrove Livestock
Worcester
Dick Dorrell, his son Richard and Ann Granger have swept just about every award British Devon have to offer: breeder of the year twice, female of the year five times and bull and junior bull four times.  Stonegrove has placed bulls in several other herds we were to see on the tour and again the farm has an aggressive boxed beef scheme.

 

Swell Wold
Tracy Spragg
With 1400 acres, Swell Wold was one of the largest farms on the tour.  The farm was set up in 2007, was awarded full organic status in 2008 and is on its way to having a herd of 80 cows.  In addition to the Devon herd, Swell Wold grazes 2000 lambs.  With the building phase underway, no seedstock or beef is being sold at the moment.

          

Hansnett Farm
Herfordshire
Sue Fahrquhar’s farm is well-known in British Devon circles even though she has just 14 cows.  A dedication to producing quality animals has paid off in the show ring and at the butcher’s market.  In 2008, Sue won the Breeders Award and Bull of the Year with her Hansnett Hamilton.

 

Berners-Allsopp Estate
Oxon
The Coxwell herd, which was launched in 2001, already has built to 55 cows.  Until now, most of the males have been sold in a boxed beef scheme, but the plan now is to begin some heifers.  A turning point for Coxwell was the purchase, in 2005, of Whitefield Casanova.

Northmoor
Oxford
Robert and Mary Ann Florey’s Northmoor herd at Rectory Farm traces back to a gift from Mary Ann’s uncle of six Devon cows.  That was in 1994.  Today, they’re expecting their herd to produce 40 calves, boosting the number of candidates for the show ring where they’ve had considerable success.

Knoll
Somerset
Vicky Jones, the president-elect of the British Devon Society, started small in 1986, but with quality heifers from two great herds:  the Drakes of Essington and the Darts of Champson.  She credits her current success to herd bull Champson Chieftain who has sired two champions.
           

Knowstone
Devon
The Knowstone herd is proof that “pluck” is still part of the British character.  John Stanbury’s farm lost everything to foot and mouth disease but has come back strong since restarting in 2001.  Starting with Thorndale Fitzroy 4th, the Stanbury’s have had a string a triumphs in the show ring.

Goldings
Cornwall
One look at Ivan and Joan Rowe’s herd at Lands End and the Americans just about got off the tour and took up residence. Ivan’s traditional Devon herd is based on Clampit foundation females and his 60 cows and bulls came as close as we saw to what the British call “bomb proof”….without flaws.
    

Bollowal
Cornwall
Just a mile down the hedge-rowed lane and you come to Jeff Thomas’ Bollowal Farm.  But Jeff’s approach couldn’t be farther from Ivan’s though he has had excellent show results for the past 20 years.  In fact, we saw him take a number of ribbons at the Royal Cornwall just the day before.
          

Wellshead
Somerset
Mike and Sue Lanz have the good fortune to raise Devon right where Devon were born: on the windswept pastures of Exmoor.  Their 80 cows thrive on 1200 acres of unimproved grasslands, steep valleys and woods.  They have been winning major herd competitions for a number of years.

 

Champson
Devon
If there is a farm more linked to the history of Devon than Champson, we can’t think of it.  Great Champson, Molland has been renowned for Devon since the early days of pedigree recording.  It nestles on the southern foothills of Exmoor.  The herd, under the Darts, has won all of the championships the major shows have to offer.

 

Red Down
Devon    
The Red Down herd, quartered at West Yeo Farm, was one of the highlights of the tour.  Robert James and his partner, Kate Palmer, went to great lengths to entertain their guests.  West Yeo is now home to Champson Defender, the highest priced Devon bull in the United Kingdom.  We also watched a “hands on” butchery demonstration and had a delightful supper of beef and local produce.

Orswell
Devon            
Mike and Mella Wright have been breeding Devon for the past 15 years.  Their herd now numbers 30 cows plus younger stock.  Despite the modest numbers, the Wrights have been very successful on the British show circuit.  Or as Mella modestly puts it:  “we’ve had the occasional rosette!”  
           

                                                     

Little Dart Raffe
Devon
As you move deeper into Devon you sense the increasing concern of farmers over the threat of Mad Cow disease which so devastated herds a few years back.  The use of foot baths and disinfectant foot pads were used many places though the scare seems safely past.  Angus and Joy Cottey are an attractive and enthusiastic young couple of Devon breeders, starting their herd 15 years ago with a wedding present of two Devon.  Today they have close to 100 and have made a mark in show circles as well as marketing their beef across England.  For many years, Little Dart Raffee was home to the great Devon bull, Cutcombe Jaunty.

 

Colleton Manor
Devon
It would be hard to conceive of a setting that more illustrates the perfect marriage of Devonshire and Devon cows than Grania and Simon Phillips Colleton Manor.  Even a light rain seemed to compliment the perfect scene, and it certainly didn’t deter our hardy band of international explorers.  The Phillips, too, have a thriving boxed beef business and credit the quality and taste to Devon grass and Devon cows.  Colleton animals have also distinguished themselves in the show ring.

Bagnell Farm
Somerset
Philip and Caroline Gay are comparatively new to the Devon breed but in the six years since they began they’ve already established a name for themselves.  While the herd is new, the farm traces back to at least 1758 and the ancient pastures house a herd that is consistently ranked Biobest ‘Elite Herd Status’ for its high standards.  Caroline also raises pedigree Jacob sheep and sacrificed one of her flock to feed the constantly hungry travelers.

Forde Abbey
Somerset
Lisa Roper’s herd at historic Forde Abbey traces back to the 1920s.  After a period in the wilderness, the herd was reconstituted in 1981, primarily as an attraction for the many tourists who visit the Abbey every year.  But the cows have become Lisa Roper’s particular passion and her work has placed her in the forefront of England’s Devon breeders.  The herd is intentional kept small, about 30 breeding cows, but finishes near the top of all the major shows.

Kingston Lacy
Dorset
The last stop on the tour was a herd founded in the 1890s by the Bankes family.  The Estate, and the herd, was passed to the National Trust in 1981 following the death of J.J.R. Bankes.  Today, breeding cows number 55 to 60.  Male calves are finished on the farm and marketed through local butchers.  Kingston Lacy is particularly proud of its record in the Devon Society’s annual herd competition.