DENVER, Colo. — Jordan Vander Molen proposed to his future wife at the National Western Stock Show after winning the South Devon female championship four years ago.
They were standing at the picture backdrop and while his partner, Tayler, squealed with delight as he went down on one knee, the cow never flinched. For Vander Molen, that calmness was indicative of how quiet his cattle are.
Based at Pella, Iowa, JVM Cattle Co. raises about 120 purebred and crossbred South Devons. The crossbreds are called Poundmakers and have 74.9 percent or less South Devon in their pedigree. Animals at 75 percent or more are registered as purebred.
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The North American South Devon Association breed registry documents purebred and South Devon-influenced cattle.
Vander Molen‘s grandfather imported the first purebreds from England more than 30 years ago because he was looking for good mother cows with a strong maternal instinct.
The family has maintained the breed ever since, looking for the same characteristics of docility, good mothering ability and high meat quality.
The imports were straight red and over time Vander Molen added black to the mix. By also raising Poundmakers, he wanted to show how well the breed works in a crossbreeding program.
The Denver show is the largest event for the breed. People tend to recognize the breed but want to know what they can contribute in a crossbreeding program to build hybrid vigour
“We try to show some half bloods to show people what they can do on different breeds,” Vander Molen said.
“The South Devon cattle have very good maternal traits that can influence anybody’s herd in a positive manner,” he said.
The Denver event was especially good to the Vander Molen family this year.
They won grand champion female with a six-year-old cow and the calf at side went on to become grand champion bull. They also won the reserve champion Poundmaker female.
The South Devon came from the English counties of Devon and Cornwall and have been a distinct breed for 500 years. Some arrived on the Mayflower in 1620 but the first big exports to North America occurred in the 20th century.
The South Devon herd book was established in 1891. The cattle were raised for milk and beef.
The North American breed society, which was established in 1972, said the first U.S. imports were in 1969 and more started arriving in Canada in the early 1970s.
