| 37 Red Devons a quieter cattle breed Waipukurau farmer and Association Chairman Heughan Gordon says the breed is renowned for its temperament. Red Devon was originally a horned breed. Richard Loader The well-mannered and placid Red Devon cattle breed was once common during New Zealand’s pioneering days, with bullocks often used to haul logs out of Northland’s forests. Today, there are just under 1000 registered Red Devon cows throughout the country, and the Red Devon Cattle Breeders Association has a membership of about 45, many of them lifestylers favouring a quieter cattle breed. Waipukurau farmer and Association Chairman Heughan Gordon says the breed is renowned for its temperament. “They’re a very placid animal, which is why they are favoured by lifestylers — they just make you feel safe and they’re a nice animal to handle in the yard. They’re also a smaller breed and ideally suited for steeper hill country. On the maternal side, they are second only to jersey in milkfat I believe, so they do their calves well. Red Devon cows are also renowned for their longevity in the herd, and generally small birth weights.” Passionate about the breed, Heughan has farmed numerous other breeds in the past including Herefords, Angus and Shorthorns, but got his first pure breed Red Devon Cows in 2009. Today Heughan farms between 90 – 120 registered cows, selling a number of bulls each year to other breeders, beef farmers looking for hybrid vigour, and into the dairy industry. “The breed has great appeal to the dairy industry, and our members struggle to keep up with demand for bulls. The beef progeny are pretty sought after and with the way dairy is going in terms of bobby calves the breed’s very suitable for heifer mating. You can use a Red Devon bull where you would have used a jersey in the past, and get a marketable calf instead of a bobby. You also get a good solid coloured and well-marked calf, and that is part of the reason for the appeal. Over Friesian cows they tend to produce a solid black calf, and over anything that has a bit of Jersey they tend to produce a more red calf.” Heughan DNA tests all male progeny. Red Devon was originally a horned breed but with DNA testing homozygous polled animals can be identified, which won’t throw a horned calf, even over a horned cow. Complementing their quiet temperament, Red Devons are also one of the top eating breeds, says Heughan. “They are slower maturing but the flavour of the meat is fantastic. RURAL PEOPLE » Millstone Red Devons New Zealand THE QUIET ACHIEVER THE DEF I N I T I VE MEAT, MI LK AND MUSCLE POWER FIND A RED DEVON BREEDER NEAR YOU, VISIT www.reddevoncattle.co.nz Try a DOCILE RED DEVON BULL once and never look back. Better beef - fewer calving problems! • Bred for ease of calving • Suitable for heifer or cow mating • Placid in the cowshed and yards • Docile calves with solid colours • Early maturing quality beef • Renowned hardiness and longevity • Poll genetics now available There’s lovely white fat and quite a lot of intramuscular fat.” With Red Devon’s increasing appeal to the dairy industry, the Association is very keen to grow its membership, and the national herd. While membership has traditionally had a bias to the top half of the North Island, in the last twelve months four new registration have been received from the South Island, a clear sign that the breed is starting to make a presence there. For breeders, Heughan says there is currently a good supply of Red Devon semen either locally sourced or from Australia, with very limited stock from the UK at the moment. He says any enquiries for semen, breeders and livestock can be directed to the Association website – www. reddevoncattle.co.nz.
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