Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation
Bull of the Century
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Charles Hope next to Elevation Grave at Select Sires Corporation, 1978
Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum Archives |
In 1942, Charles Hope and his son Ronald decided to improve their Holstein herd by incorporating several bulls and cows of the renowned Canadian "Rag Apple" bloodlines. Over bigger and more productive cattle, leading to the mating of a promising bull, "Tidy Burke Elevation," and a highly rated cow, "Osborndale Ivanhoe Eve," which gave birth to Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation on August 30, 1965. By that time, artificial insemination had become an accepted breeding method, and Elevation entered an A. I. program in 1966.
Over his lifetime, Elevation "artificially" fathered some 60,000 daughters and 10,000 sons, with thousands becoming prize winners. Of the world's fifty million Holstein dairy cattle, about five million are descended from one sire, "Elevation.
in Loudoun County Virginia
Elevation: Bull of the Century
With a twinkle in his eyes, a Virginia dairyman will take you to the calf barn and show you his new generation of Elevations. The question is often ask "Do people make history or does history make people", so in I would turn it around and ask, "Did Ronald Hope make Elevation or did Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation make Ronald Hope?"
Elevation and Virginia, by Walter V. McClure, Sr., Holstein Friesian World: The newspaper of the breed, April 10, 1978
History
1976 The United States celebrates its Bicentennial
Economy 1970
Total population: 204,335,000
Farm population: 9,712,000 (estimated)
Farmers made up4.6 % of labor force
Number of farms:2,780,000
Average acres: 390
90% of all farms had phones
98.6% had electricity
Virginia
Total Population: 4,651,448
Loudoun
1973: 42,000
1971: Farmers 312
1971: Farm Labors: 765 |
Science
Biotechnology became a viable technique for improving crop and livestock products.
World's first cloned sheep is born in Scotland.
