10/02/08 Old breed, old job

History has a way of repeating itself but sometimes it takes a long time. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back right after this with a little history and a repeat. In the history of cattle breeds brought to America you would have to look back to the 18th century to find when the last Devon cattle were imported to the United States. Well the repeat of Devon imports happened just recently as a herd of 66 females and three bulls were imported from New Zealand. Gerald Fry, longtime cattleman and a group of partner investors, brought the cattle here. In reading the Beef magazine article by Loretta Sorensen I realized there are two repeats of history in Mr. Fry's endeavor. First is the importation of the Devon cattle and second these cattle were brought here to help repeat another annal of American cattle production  grass fed beef. Right now, Gerald Fry is raising gourmet beef finished on grass. The herd he and his partners are developing have graded 87 percent choice or better, have an excellent Omega 6 Omega 3 ratio and tested even more tender than what is considered acceptable by 98 percent of taste analyzers. Fry expects even higher standards from this imported herd, which has been genetically selected for thirty years to finish on grass. For everyone who enjoys grass-fed beef, it looks like quality just took a major leap back to the future. I'm Jeff Keane. Beef September 2008