GOF Ralph
GOF Ralph 21R was our original herd sire, purchased in 1986 from David and Nancy Pease in Shelburne, Ontario. Ralph was a typically "Scottish" style bull, with thick, short legs and a long, deep body. Not really surprising, considering his bloodlines, that went straight back to Exhibit of Strathallan on the top of the sire's side. Ralph produced some exceptional daughters for us, and was retired at age 13. In the 10 years that we owned him, he never failed to produce a better calf than the dam that calf was out of. He put heavy milk production into his daughters, and improved udder conformation to a remarkable degree.
A very large proportion of our brood cows trace back to this outstanding bull. He is the sire of LEA Kittery, the finest cow we have bred to date. Many of our animals are equal to Kittery, but none have surpassed her. His color was a medium red, with the distinctive black muzzle pattern known in Scotland as Bus Dubh. He passed this black muzzle on to many of his daughter, and it still shows up with some regularity for many generations.
His pedigree traced directly back to a number of Scottish and English imported cattle, including Leodhas of Douneside, sired by Exhibit of Strathallan, and Deidre of Dibden.
Ralph had an incredible disposition and attended many exhibitions of rare breeds with us, despite the fact that he had never been formally halter broken. Ralph tends to impart excellent milk production in his daughters, as well as improve udder conformation. Ralph’s semen is available both at the farm and at Hawkeye Breeders in Adel, Iowa.