If you want docile and exceptionally easy to manage cattle with high and rapid growth rates, look no further than South Devon, who have earned the title of ‘Gentle Giants.’
The biggest of all the English beef breeds, South Devon cattle originate from the southwest of England and date back to the 16th Century. By 1800 they were established as a breed and in 1891 the South Devon herd book was established.
Originally bred for milking, beef and draught work, South Devon began to achieve greater world-wide recognition as a meat producer during the 1960’s, when weight-gain recording became popular.
This distinctive copper red colour breed with its strong curly coat, can now be found all over the world, including New Zealand where it was first introduced in 1969 and since then their role in cross breeding for beef improvement has been firmly established.
I caught up with South Devon breeders, Christine, and Sven at their 30ha property on the outskirts of Feilding (sold to by Sallan Realty in 2020). Christine showed me over their property and after learning how docile and friendly these creatures are, it was no surprise to me when we got up close to a bull in a paddock with the cows.
Christine has grown up with the breed after her father, Kevin established Rosewood Stud in 1973, and has worked with them all of her life. At the time they were a new breed in New Zealand. After reading all about the attributes, including how easy South Devon are to handle, they sounded perfect, and Kevin began breeding and crossing them up to a sizeable herd of purebreds by the 1980’s. In 1994, the first time South Devons were in the National bull sale, Rosewood Stud won the title of Champion bull with Rosewood Magic.
Christine always had great fun showing cattle. “I remember taking the calves to calf club each year and winning all the beef classes,” she said.
Christine and Sven now run the Rosewood stud, a continuation on from Kevin.
They are calving 40 cows this season, keeping the best heifer calves for replacements, selling bull calves to breeders in the Hawkes Bay and fattening the rest. Their ideal calf birthweight is between 40-50kgs. South Devons are known for their high growth rates and over the past year, their weaner bulls have averaged 360kgs and yearling bulls, 594kgs. The weaner heifers on average weighed 307kgs and at 18 months they were 612kgs.
“We get really good money for them before the second winter,” said Sven. “South Devon grow fast compared to other breeds and are always heavier than they look. They are very good foragers, are easy calving with a reasonable sized calf and give a very good return.”
Amongst the great traits of the South Devon is their longevity. “One of my calf club calves lived until the age of 21,” said Christine. “Fifteen is the age that we look at starting to replace our cows.”
South Devon is known as a breed that produce premium, tender, low fat, denser meat that is sweet to eat and in 2011 a South Devon/Friesian cross won the title Steak of Origin Competition, the award for the nation’s most tender and tasty steak. One of the bulls that Christine and Sven have stored semen of, has a rating of 10/10 for the tenderness gene.
Add to the list their hardiness, adaptability, and tolerance to all climates along with their natural muscling, excellent milk production, great mothering qualities and high fertility. And with their docile nature, they produce cattle that are flexible and easy to manage.
In 2023 Christine and Sven hosted a visit of the World South Devon Conference as breeders from South Africa, England, Canada, USA, and Australia came to their property to look at their cattle.
Sven believes that people don’t get to know South Devons very well because the breeders who have got them, take them through and finish them and not many go through the sale yards. “They are a fantastic breed and are so under rated,’’ said Sven. “They grow fast compared to other breeds and it is a pity that they are not used more across the industry as they are fantastic for cross breeding.”
