 The Red Devons have their last Lincoln meal before heading west (click to enlarge). |
 The cattle truck leaves Page Farm Road in Lincoln (click to enlarge). |
Some of the purebred Red Devon cows that have been part of the Lincoln agricultural scene for over 25 years now have a new forwarding address in Wisconsin, where they should feel right at home.
The cattle, which are owned jointly by Codman Farm along with Ken Bassett and his wife Mary Helen Lorenz, have been gazing on public fields around town since the first handful came from a herd in Maine in the late 1980s. The herd eventually grew to number more than 40. Earlier this month, eight yearling heifers, four adult cows and three calves were sold to a Red Devon farm in Spring Green, Wis., to expand its breeding program.
Though some of the Lincoln cows are now Midwesterners, the Red Devons have deep New England roots—their ancestors came here from England in the 1600s close on the heels of the pilgrims. Examples of the breed can be seen as oxen pairs at historic sites such as Mt. Vernon and Sturbridge Village, Bassett said. As a breed, they’re known for their gentle disposition, ease in calving, and ability to thrive on grass without supplemental grain or other diet supplements, so they are an excellent source of grass-fed beef.
One might wonder if the cows will miss the architectural as well as agricultural atmosphere in Lincoln, which boasts the Gropius House among its stock of historic homes. Not to worry, though—the relocated bovines are now grazing on idyllic Lincoln-like pastures that happen to abut the farm/estate know as Taliesin East, the home and studio of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
(Perhaps in the future, some adventurous Lincoln cows will make a longer trip in a rocket rather than a truck, all the way into Earth orbit… which would make them the herd shot ’round the world.)
Gazing and grazing… the Lincoln Red Devons joined this herd in Wisconsin, who are admired by the grandchildren of their new owner. Photos courtesy Ken Bassett