Meet the Upper Midwest Devon Exchange Host Farms

Abiding Acres Farm

The Fell family owns and operates Abiding Acres Farm in Southeast Wisconsin. The farm is a diverse grass-based operation that offers a variety of products including pastured poultry and pork, grass-fed lamb and beef, and Katahdin hair sheep. However, our primary focus is on Red Devon cattle. Our herd consists of both crossbred (used for the production of grass-fed beef) and purebred, registered animals.

We assembled our herd with animals from some of the best breeders from around the country. In addition, we have continued to improve our herd with some of the best genetics from around the world using AI and ET. As a part of our AI and ET program we have been blessed to work with some of the old American genetics, which we think are among the best.

We offer high quality bulls, females, embryos and semen for grass-fed beef and seed stock producers. All our animals are selected for consistent, efficient production of gourmet grass-fed beef. Our cows are selected for longevity, fertility, sound feet, functional udders and wide, deep bodies. We strive to create bulls that are masculine, fertile, docile and genetically dense.

Please visit our website for more information about our farm.

Rolling Meadows Farm

Hello Everyone! My wife, our nine children, and I manage 300+ acres of rolling hill country approximately four miles west of the Mississippi River near the small town of Bellevue, IA. We purchased part of this farm in the summer of 2010 and took it out of traditional row crop corn production that over the decades had lost lots of topsoil and organic matter and put it back into grass and forages hence the farm name: “Rolling Meadows.”

Our farm is made up of approximately one hundred Devon or Devon cross cows which the greater share of these are Devon cross cows that we use as a source for our 100% grass-fed beef program.

Starting in 2008 we have toured many Devon farms and ranches across the USA in search for some of the best Devon stock we could find and have been blessed with a group of pure bred Devons that we have used as our foundation to build our herd with. We are utilizing some of the best of the American Devon genetics from the USA, Rotokawa from New Zealand, and Tiranna from Australia. We utilize a breed improvement program that allows us to concentrate the best of these genetics and are now marketing purebred Devon stock to foundation seed-stock producers as well as conventional and grass-fed producers all over the country.

We focus on deep bodied, wide flanked cows that have great grass to meat conversions as well as high butter fat milk that will ensure good calf growth and choice marbling when it comes to steak time. It is also important to us to have cows around a long time. A couple of the foundation cows we started with came from a Devon herd that has been intact since the middle 1800’s and have tremendous longevity in their blood lines.

Our bulls are the most important animals on the farm as they impact the whole herd more than any one other animal. Bulls that are deep, wide shouldered, masculine and are genetically dense are our mission! Bulls that are genetically dense produce a much more consistent progeny than those that have nothing but outcrosses in their pedigree.

Most importantly, selling you cattle is not nearly as important to me as being there to provide you the information you need to thrive on your farm or ranch. Whether you are new at regenerative grazing or marketing grass-fed beef or you simply want to take your farm or herd to the next level we are here to help you.

May God Bless you!
Jamie & Lana Hostetler and family

Eckstein Devons

When we started producing grass fed beef in 2006, we were looking for a breed that efficiently produces tasty, tender beef on grass. We were introduced to Gerald Fry who was promoting the Devon breed. So we decided to give it a try and were very impressed with well marbled, tender beef that we got from our Devon crossbreds.

In 2008 we made the decision to go into the purebred business because we wanted better control of our genetics. We started with a heifer named Mary who later became the 2014 Grand Champion Female. We did quite a bit of flushing with her and also another cow from Lenoir Creek X304. We also bought some embryos from Lenoir Creek. With them we built the foundation for our herd.

Since then we have bought some more females to broaden our genetic base. Primarily we used Rotokawa and Tirranna bulls along with Guardsman F142. Since then we have closed our herd and implemented a parental line breeding program using only our own bulls.

Our goal is to produce bulls that will consistently produce grass fed steers that finish between 18-24 months and weigh 1200-1300 pounds. Also replacement heifers with good feet and udders and that wean a calf that weighs at least 50% of her body weight. And one that lasts well into her teen years.

If you have any questions or we can help you, please let us know.

Sheldon and Yvonne Headings and family
815-499-1332
Email Us

Hillside Pastures

The great herd of top quality Red Devon cattle assembled and bred by Daniel and Linda Marquardt of Hillside pastures was dispersed in 2021 after 12 years of breeding and improvement. Daniel and Linda were the original founding members of the Upper Midwest Devon Exchange, hosting the first field day in 2014. Without the initiative and hard work of the Marquardts, the UMDE would not have been possible.

The legacy of Hillside cattle continues to live on throughout the US and Canada through the top quality Bulls, Semen and Females that Daniel and Linda produced.

 

 

 

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