NADA RESCUE AND RECOVERY REGISTRY
2007-2009
Index
Overview
Case Study: 12 Stones Farm
Case Study: Watson Farm
Case Study: 5M Farm
Protocol
Article: History of Rescue and Recovery Registry
Article: What’s Wrong with Devon
Photo Album: Recovery Registry Cows
Sample Recovery Registry animal certificate
List of Animals currently listed in the RR
Overview
Just 8 years ago, the Devon breed was in serious danger of extinction. What had once been considered “the American cow” had declined to the point were there were only a few hundred registered animals. An annual meeting of the American Devon Cattle Club attracted just four attendees.
Devon had succumbed to the feedlot mania and Devon was listed as “critical” on the list of endangered species. That meant the breed was in immediate danger of disappearing.
Again, that was the grim picture just eight years ago. But then two things happened to change Devon’s fortunes. First, the American consumer became health conscious and began demanding food that was natural, safe and nutritious. Grass fed beef soon became the rage. And that triggered Devon’s second lucky break: Massachusetts breeder Ridge Shinn, of the New England Livestock Alliance was researching breeds, looking for the best grass fed genetics, and brought veteran cattleman Gearld Fry on board. Together they focused on the dwindling number of Devon in the northeast. For Fry, it was love at first sight. He began singing the praises of the rare animals at his many speaking appearances around the country.
In 2006, Fry, Shinn and a small group of cattlemen formed the North American Devon Association (NADA) and one of the first acts of the of the new association was to identify Devon cattle that, in a sense, had fallen by the wayside. Over the years, with the decline in Devon fortunes, most Devon breeders had given up registering their cattle.
A few, however, loved Devon and had kept their herds intact and pure simply out of devotion to the breed. And now, they were looking for a way to re-establish their herds to take part in the Devon renaissance Fry had sparked with his speeches, articles and books. That was the genesis of the NADA Rescue and Recovery Registry.
A protocol was established (click to read the protocol) with rules to regulate the search; rules to ensure that only true Devon were registered, rules that meant that even many deserving animals would have to be rejected.
In brief, to even be considered, candidate animals had to have demonstrated provenance. The applicant had to have a way of demonstrating his cows’ background and connection to earlier registered Devon and known herds. Owners of cattle that had passed through several hands since last registration found it almost impossible to establish a connection.
An inspection of the animal was required to be sure there were no physical characteristics that suggested its ancestors had once been crossed with another breed. Then, it was monitored through two calf crops to be sure it bred true. Those calves were monitored as well. DNA was used in cases in which the original dam and sire were still available. Following that procedure, the candidate was accepted into the Recovery Registry but with a registration certificate would always bear the letters “RR” plus either an “A, B or C” reflecting the generation. It’s provisional status was underscored by the use of green-bordered registry paper rather than the usual deep red. (click to see a Recovery Registry sample certificate)
The protocol required that cows in the registry must be bred only to registered Devon bulls. Three generations of females were required to complete the Recovery Registry process. Only then could earlier bull calves be registered.
Again, it’s important to understand that the owner of the animal in the first instance had to prove a link to a known Devon animal or herd. NADA representatives did not drive down country roads standing on the back of a pickup looking for red cows. Owners had to come forward with a verifiable provenance or the process of Recovery did not begin. That first hurdle eliminated almost all potential candidates.
There was a strict time deadline for the program---December 31, 2008, later amended to state that if a breeder had contacted NADA by the end of 2008, he/she could receive an extension until December 31, 2009 to register the first female.. Just 6 cattlemen had enrolled in the program and one of those had dropped out because of the burden of meeting the requirements of the protocol.
A total of 38 cows “A” cows had been entered into the Registry, each one tracked and researched by NADA. They and their progeny continue to be identified and tracked. They can be found in NADA’s on-line registry, their status highlighted by the letters “RRA” before their registration number; their progeny identified by the letters “RRB or RRC”, denoting the generation.
Because of the research involved in qualifying for registration, it is safe to say that Recovery Registry cattle are the equal of most of the Devon in America’s pastures. With the research into their ancestry and monitoring of their development, it is also safe to say that as a group, Recovery Registry cattle are almost certainly more pure than the average Devon in any registry in the world.
Sadly, in recent years, when Devon numbers could not keep up with demand,, some cattlemen bred their Devon to other breeds. In our research, and farm visits, we have become aware of pedigrees that do not reflect actual parentage at every step of the way. NADA inspectors have spotted animals in well-known Devon herds that would seem to be the result of breeding (un-intentionally or otherwise) to animals of questionable purity. The opportunity for unintentional error is great even with a breeder of the highest integrity.
It is for that reason that NADA is proud of the animals in its Recovery Registry; proud that these outstanding Devon have been put to work improving the breed. We particularly salute the breeders who have devoted effort, time and money to rescue Devon of the highest quality and ensure that important genetics are not lost.
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Case Study: 12 Stones Farm
Robert and Sally Womack of Crooked Tree Farm in Louisiana were long-time respected Devon breeders. “Bobbie” Womack was a member of the board of the American Devon Cattle Association (ADCA) and some of the genetics in the Womack herd were based on cattle owned by another Louisiana Devon breeder, Leo Parker. Parker, too, was a member of ADCA and in fact served as president of the Devon association.
Womack, Parker and a third Devon breeder in Louisiana, Lea Vern Sims worked closely together, sharing cattle and knowledge. Sims was a story in his own right. An African-American, Sims didn’t bother registering his cattle because, he said, no one was going to pay a lot of money for a Black man’s cows no matter how good they were.
Sims was a high school coach and enjoyed traveling the area with Parker, and he watched as the Parker herd garnered awards in shows at LSU and Mississippi State. Sims remembered a time, decades earlier, when there were thousands of Devon in the Bayou country of Louisiana and Mississippi. Their thick hide protected them from flies and mosquitos and their ability to forage and mother calves permitted a once-a-year roundup to wean the calves and turn the cows back into the swamps for another year.
In 2005, Bobbie Womack heard through the ADCA board that there was a breeder in Tennessee who was looking for Devon for his gourmet beef operation. That breeder, Bill Roberts of Brentwood, TN, remembers talking to Bobbie by phone and buying a Sims cow in the Womack herd sight unseen based on a photo and on the recommendation of then-ADCA president Jeremy Engh. Engh had previously told Roberts he considered the Womack/Sims’ herd one of the best in the country.
That was the beginning of a friendship between the Womacks and Roberts that was, sadly, destined to be all too short. Womack died unexpectedly a year later, leaving Sally with the burden of managing the herd. Roberts told her he would help in any way he could but Sally said she would carry on.
Sixteen months later, however, the burden of caring for the animals and handling all the paperwork became too much and Sally called on Roberts for help. Roberts moved the Womack cows to fresh pasture, put out a top quality mineral array, wormed and vaccinated the animals, and patiently restored their condition. After a time, Sally offered to sell her herd but she wanted very much to keep it together, as Bobby would have wanted.
Roberts, still thinking of his meat business, made an offer, Sally agreed, and Roberts trucked the Womack and Sims cows back to Tennessee. Some months later, when a discussion of the Rescue and Recovery Registry came up before the board of the new North American Devon Association, Roberts realized his Womack/Sims cows would make good candidates for the program.
To complete the record, we should add a fourth name to Womack, Sims and Parker:
Bernard Mayeux, who bred the famed bull, Bayou Farms Mr. Mayeux, was also very active in ADCA. Mayeux sold Mr. Mayeux to Sims, who used him for a number of years. Eventually, Lakota Farms was to purchase the bull from Sims and rename him “Bernie”. Linear measurements showed him to be one of the very best bulls in Devon history but, sadly, he became sterile after arriving in Virginia. Mayeux genetics were prominent in all three of the Louisiana herds, and when Bernard Mayeux dispersed his herd, most went to ADCA board member Preston Carlson in Texas.
But back to Roberts new cows. Of the original group he brought up from Louisiana, 14 passed the screening process and were classified “RRA”. For some, it was a simple matter of confirming earlier registrations with ADCA, and the pairing of 4 heifers with dams using DNA. For the rest, NADA president Gearld Fry, a member of the Standards and Registry Committee, came to Roberts’ 12 Stones Farm and made thorough evaluations and, since their progeny had remained in the herd, DNA could quickly identify some of the animals as “RRB”.
The first “RC” calves have been confirmed and that puts all three generations in the “registered” category. But the designations “RRA, RRB, RRC” remain on their certifications and are carried through to the certificates of their offspring and are maintained in the annual Herd Books of the NADA registry in perpetuity.
Today, Bill Roberts has 17 Recovery Registry animals in his herd and has sold 23 others, helping a number of farms to start their own Devon herds. NADA tracks the transfers, as it does with all animals and as this is being written is scheduling follow-on inspections.
Roberts, like other RR breeders, consider their RR animals the cream of his herd. Bill would say the “proof is in the eating” but it does not hurt that he has received top dollar for cows that have not even completed the Recovery Registry process. Meanwhile, the years of work by the ADCA’s Bobbie Womack, Leo Parker and Bernard Mayeux lives on in herds across the South thanks in large measure to NADA’s Recovery Registry and Bill Roberts.
And all Devon breeders today owe a special debt to Lea Vern Sims, the breeder who felt he could not register his cows because he knew an African-American man would never receive fair payment for his achievements. Sims’ herd now finally has achieved permanent recognition and a place in the history of Devon.
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Case Study: Watson Farm
Heather and Don Minto’s stewardship of historic Watson Farm in Jamestown, Rhode Island included the charter to operate the property in a land and animal-friendly manner. They were particularly aware of the need to produce high quality animals that could thrive on a grass-based diet. Situated on the banks of beautiful Narragansett Bay, Watson Farm seemed meant for the even more historic Devon cattle.
The Minto’s search led them to a meeting of the American Devon Association in 2002 which only increased their appetite for the elusive Devon cattle. Finally, a year later, they discovered Tom Wilde’s “Wilde Acres Red Devon Farm” in Westport, Massachusetts. As a start, the Mintos leased Wilde’s registered herd bull (Lakota L44) to breed their Angus-cross herd. They also purchased three Devon heifers.
Fortunately for the Mintos, in 2004 Wilde decided to dispose of his entire herd. The problem was that while Wilde was sure every cow had been registered at the time of purchase, his crew had developed their own unique way of record-keeping. Every cow had a name and there was a master list of each animal on the place. The problem was there was no clue as to how the paperwork could be linked to those valuable Devon in the pasture.
Still, they were all beautiful animals and the Mintos wanted them, registered or not. Fast forward two years and the NADA board hears Gearld Fry’s presentation of a proposed Recovery Registry. An excited Don and Heather Minto knew it was a perfect opportunity for their new herd.
Watson Farm was among the first to enter candidates in the new program. The first step was to collect DNA samples of the herd. Later, NADA registrar Wooz Matthews was to painstakingly compare the DNA reports and confirm there were relationships among many of the cows. Working with the DNA lab at the University of California (Davis), she was able to confirm that several of the older cows were actually mothers of other cows in the herd.
DNA cannot, of course, confirm that an animal is indeed a Devon. But matching a Recovery Registry heifer to a known registered cow and bull does confirm the off-spring is a Devon. And finding a mother-daughter combination speeds up the time required to complete the Recovery process.
The Mintos went on to prepare applications for each of their candidates, including new heifers from the Wilde Acres herd…matching names, tattoos, old records and DNA and submitting their package to the Recovery Registry program. It was a time-consuming process, but one that all applicants have to go through. Finally, inspections were ordered and today only one of the original families is awaiting final verification.
For Don, there was never any doubt. He considers the three-dozen Recovery animals he and Heather own to be the equal of any in the Watson herd, which is saying a good deal since that herd boasts genetics from Rotokawa’s star bulls as well as the fabled Potheridge President.
Thanks to the Mintos and the Recovery Registry, Tom Wilde’s herd now is not only preserved but has the opportunity to contribute to the on-going story of the Devon breed. Historic Watson Farm, over-looking Narragansett Bay, the site of some critical Revolutionary War maritime battles, is now writing a history of its own.
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Case Study: 5M Farm
Cam and Deb Manahan of Fairfield, Texas have entered several cows from two sources into the Recovery Registry that were later traced back to the same herd. In this case, the credit can be shared by NADA registrars Wooz Matthews and Allison White, ADCA registrar Martha Trantham, and NADA’s Ridge Shinn, Gearld Fry and Tom Cope.
The common starting point was the Harold and Helen Moore herd in Maine. Cope, from Bath, New Hampshire, purchased cows from the Moores and eventually sent three on to Texas without known registration. The Manahans finally spotted a tattoo in the ear of one and confirmed she was registered with ADCA. Then, using DNA, Wooz Matthews was able to establish that the other two cows were in fact daughters of the first.
But that’s when the Manahans’ luck ran out. The week before the Maine herd was discovered by Ridge Shinn and Gearld Fry on one of their northeast tours, Mr. Moore had sent the bull to a slaughter house. No chance for DNA. So while the first could receive immediate registration with NADA, the daughters and now heifers of the second two had to go through the Recovery Registry process.
Enter the second set of cows in the 5M file at the Recovery Registry. They were from embryos purchased from Tim Henderson, a Massachusetts breeder. Henderson purchased the donor of the embryos from that same Moore herd but, unfortunately, she died before tail hair could be pulled for a DNA test. With the provenance established, the Henderson embryo calves that were born in Texas qualified for the Recovery Registry.
Deb Manahan’s conclusion: “These cattle are short, deep-bodied animals that you immediately spot in our herd. They have the look and quality that we are trying to duplicate in all of our cattle.” The NADA Recovery Registry is pleased to have played its part in protecting the genetics of the Moore herd form Maine.
Index
Overview
Case Study: 12 Stones Farm
Case Study: Watson Farm
Case Study: 5M Farm
Protocol
Article: History of Rescue and Recovery Registry
Article: What’s Wrong with Devon
Photo Album: Recovery Registry Cows
Sample Recovery Registry animal certificate
List of Animals currently listed in the RR
