Pedigree breeders from across the South West have triumphed in the judging of the Devon Cattle Breeders’ Society (DCBS) herd competition 2023. Red Rubies of all ages and grazing on a wide variety of pastures, from the tip of Cornwall to Cambridgeshire, battled it out for the top honours in a number of classes.
Tasked with judging this year’s competition were Andy Lane and Geoff Jones, who said they were “humbled by all of the competitor’s generosity with their time, hospitality and their willingness to share their knowledge and inner workings”.
“We have both widened our knowledge of the breed, breeding and current farming trends whilst being comforted by knowing that we all face the same challenges on a day-to-day basis,” Mr Lane said. “We would also like to thank everyone for the great effort they put in prior to our visit separating and segregating groups and individuals to ensure that our inspection made the best use of the time we were able to spend on each farm.
“We saw the most fantastic array of Devon cattle excelling on a wide variety of pastures under many differing management and production systems from the bull breeders / show herds to the strictest commercial herds. One thing that struck us most, as it has judges of past competitions, is the flexibility of our amazing breed to adapt and thrive in any situation - something we must shout more loudly about.”
Emerging as the overall winners were Jim and Joe Dufosee for their first-placed large Blackhill herd, established in 2008 and based at Farnicombe Farm in Upton Scudamore, Wiltshire.
As is tradition, the champion herd must open their gates for members and the obligatory visit to see the Dufosee’s breeding and production system in operation is set to take place on Saturday, October 7.
Mr Lane continued: “The breed is a broadchurch when it comes to ‘type’. The most successful breeders have blended the very best of genetics to produce animals of true to Devon breed character with tremendous length, natural fleshing, plentiful milk, quiet temperament and adaptability. These must be the goals we all strive to achieve, neither the smallest or tallest animals are producing the best economic returns, it’s the medium sized, milkiest cows of sound functional type and forage converting ability that are ‘paying the rent’, and Geoff and I have seen these animals by the bucket load. This must surely bode well for the future of the breed.
“We have seen that the Devon is more than capable of calving at two years old with no detriment to her mature weight or ‘ideal’ stature or importantly, her longevity (profitability). This will clearly be seen when we visit the Blackhill herd. Congratulations to all the prize winners.”
DEVON CATTLE BREEDERS' SOCIETY HERD COMPETITION RESULTS 2023:
