The plight of the American Milking Devon was the reason behind the formation of the American Livestock Conservancy. Pilgrims originally brought the breed to New England from their ancestral home in Devonshire, England, and over the centuries Milking Devons spread as far south as Florida, and into the west along the Oregon Trail. Beginning in the 1800s, the breed slowly began to be replaced by the Shorthorn, and by the 20th century many Milking Devons had been bred for beef production. A small subset of traditional Milking Devons raised for dairy production survived, and since the 1970s farmers have made a distinct effort to preserve this historic breed. Today, more than 500 indivual cattle are registered.