OUR PHILOSOPHY & MISSION
The herd at Thistle Farms is high-marbling and true, superior Aberdeen Angus.
Thistle Farms offers rare, valuable, and endangered Native Aberdeen Angus seed stock to registered and commercial cattlemen throughout the world. This genetic treasure incorporates traits of economic importance, including efficiency, superior carcass quality, calving ease, excellent disposition and outcross potential. Become a part of this unique legacy.
Lillian Yontz | Proprietor
“My grandfather gave me a horse and a cow before I was born.”
The story of Thistle Farms began generations ago in the Valley of the Cauca River in Colombia, South America. Lillian’s illustrious and highly regarded grandfather, Alfredo Orozco, was a farmer and a rancher. His love of the land and the animals he raised on it was passed on to Lillian and then later, her daughters, Jennifer Yontz-Orlando and Mariclaire Yontz.
Lillian is fascinated by biology. As a young woman, she traveled to the United States in the 1960s to go to college in Columbus, Ohio…
What I Do
- Genetics Marketing
- Transport
- Export Consulting
- Breeding
- Quality Auditing
- Genetics Sourcing
Continued…
While there, she earned her undergraduate degree in Biology at Ohio Dominican College and researched at Ohio State University. At that time, Lillian also met a young farmer and cattleman named Phillip Yontz, and after a few years, they married.
Lillian and Phil eventually settled on a farm in Ohio. After Phil passed, Lillian and their daughters decided to continue farming and raising cattle.
To gain a competitive advantage, Lillian utilized her contacts in South
America to expand the operation there, and for a time, Thistle Farms owned a working cattle farm in Colombia. Also, Lillian traveled to the UK and began to select and collect the few remaining live Native Aberdeen Angus cattle in the world.
Today, Thistle Farms continues to blossom. The farm has been moved to Keswick, Virginia, and remains steadfast in its mission to raise and promote the endangered Native Aberdeen Angus breed.
Matt Good
Cattle Rancher
“I used 2 bulls on 32 first-calf heifers and had NO complications at calving. The calves are growing well and I still retain ownership of them. I’m planning on using the bulls again on heifers this year.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpHQ_9aRgUM
Let Thistle Farm’s experience work for you.
We make it easy to source, verify and transport the finest cattle genetics on Earth. How long did it take to breed our way into perfection - about 40 years. Our reputation precedes us. We make the decision to contract with Thistle Farms easy.
A Map of Industry Success
Finding the Perfect Angus Cattle is a Global Effort
Colombia
Colombian by birth, Lillian Yontz emirgrated to the United States when she was 19 years old. She has since been responsible for exporting the finest Angus cattle to Colombia and ensuring their care and proliferation.
Ohio
Lillian’s primary commercial farm in southeast Ohio was once home to 1000 head of cattle. She oversaw all operations and marketing with her husband until 1995. Between 1995 and 2016 she managed the ranch by herself, overseeing a staff of 25.
Scotland
In search of the best cattle in the world, she traveled to, and consulted in Aberdeen, Scotland where she sourced and exported the genetic material that would make her American farm a success for decades.
Virginia
Yontz now owns and operates Thistle Farms in Keswick, Virginia. She keeps a small herd of cattle and focuses on raising the highest quality beef in the United States – the culmination of a career that has been a labor of love.