Devon Cattle History

“Devons finish too fast,” was the refrain from feedlot owners in the mid 20th century. The recenlty established grain cabal, brought about by subsidies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture¹, wanted animals that were late maturing and growthy (they grow tall and long), rather than early maturing and soggy (they grow out). These “growthy steers” would continue to put on muscle without getting fat, allowing them to sell more “yardage” (grain). It didn’t matter that the farmer lost feed efficiency, maternal and paternal traits, and good temperment. Or that the customer lost what has been described in prior times as “noticeably better beef.”
 
The longer the cattle were in the feedlot, the more money the cabal made. Consequently, the Devon breed–which had garnered much praise for its superior traits since the Ag writing renessaince of the 18th century and a breed that Robert Bakewell had stated “could not benefit from any alien cross”²–was shunned, exiled.

A remarkable occurence given the breed’s history.

Origin

During Caesar’s conquest of Britain starting in 55 BC, he found a small, fine-boned breed of cattle known only by its latin name: Bos longifrons.³ This breed was not native to the island. They were possibly brought by the Phoenicians, around four hundred years earlier, to trade for Cornish tin. The placename, where they landed, pays homage to the “Red Ox”.⁴

The Island’s bovine history is murky after the Roman conquest. It is thought that the Longifrons lived until the 5th century in Britain, eventually dying out or being replaced by the development of new breeds. These new breeds were likely developed by mingling the Longifrons with the stock brought by invading armies⁵, and the occasional commercial importation from the continent⁶. The Devon is thought to have developed early on in this process,⁷ and may have influenced breeds as diverse as the Hereford and Kerry.⁸

From the Saxon era, we find written records describing their meticulous care and management of their livestock, but little was said of the composition and history of cattle breeds. Descriptions of mass diseases, that happened from time to time, indicate that cattle were being brought in.⁹

Few other specifics are known until livestock literature became prevalent in the 18th and 19th century. In these writings, the cattle from North Devon are praised for their ability to finish on forage, their value at market, and for their vastly superior beef among other traits. This did not happen by accident since their keepers were held in equal esteem for their attention to detail and their devotion.^{7 2 10}

As a result, the breed was in demand in places as far away as the West Indies and were already in the Colonies.⁷

Coming to America

While it is unlikely that the Mayflower brought any Devon to Plymouth, they arrived soon thereafter in 1623 aboard the ship Charity: one bull and three heifers, the first American Devons.¹¹

Not much has been recorded about this period in American Devon history between 1623 and 1800. The breeder that had the most influence on 19th century herds was a Mr. Patterson.

Since then, the breed has remained remarkably pure, considering the rapid denigration of other noted breeds on our Continent during the grain years following World War II. It has maintained its noted excellence of traits which include meat quality, cut-out percentage, reproductive ability, early maturity, calving ease, consitency, and prepotency.Devon were not only wanted for their meat and reproductive qualities. On the Oregon trail they were the sought after as Oxen.

New England Farmers of the Civil War era, were said to pass on the improved English breeds and stick with their reliable Devons. The first American Devon Herd Book in 1855, was followed by the formation of the American Devon Cattle Club in 1884. New England would remain a Devon stronghold in the years to come, even when many other areas of the country started to adopt the Shorthorn and other breeds starting around 1900.

This was the high water mark of Devon in America—until their resurgence in the early 21st century. Devon cattle have become in high demand due to their superb performance on grass to produce top quality beef. Click here to see what separates Devons from other American Cattle Breeds.

References