The Rise and Fall of my Dexter herd

[Sylvia]

Well, that is that then. End of a dream really.

My cherished Dexter herd should by now be settling into their new home and I am left with just a few who will be going to new homes soon or for beef over the next year or two.

So what went wrong?

Quite a lot of things, and I will list them so others can avoid my mistakes.

I believed Dexter beef was so good that I could find outlets for as much as I could produce. Wrong. Up against the more patriotic Welsh Black and living in a sparsely populated area I then tried to set up links to more successful producers who did need more. Most were too far away to make it viable but I had everything set up for an ongoing situation, photos sent and accepted and everything ready to go when the results of the pre movement TB test showed most of the steers (tested only a few months before) were reactors. So all of those steers went with TB 'compensation' (not so much compensation as a token gesture as I didn't bother to register steers and birth notifying wasn't accepted as proof that they were purebred) and there followed the dire procedure of testing to get the herd 'clean' again. So no chance of setting up anything after that.

I decided I'd have to reduce the herd somehow so sent all my unregistered animals to auction in January. This was the earliest it could be done because of single IRs which held everything up again and again. The auctioneer advertised this sale and did everything he could to make it a success and it wasn't the disaster it could have been (top cow and heifer calf -£220) but clearly not figures to make it worthwhile going this route on a regular basis.

Meanwhile the abbatoir/butcher I use decided they would no longer buy in Dexters.

With a large herd, feed, straw and labour costs are significant and there is just so much you can continue to pay to support a non-profit making business

We have always taken great care with breeding animals and have been successful but have an aversion to showing and self promotion, so promoting the herd on the show circuit or talking them up by other means was never going to be an option.

And breeding Dexters has a peculiarity not found in other breeds. Most of the short Dexters which everyone recognises as a Dexter and could be considered the ideal are carriers. While non shorts are not. Does one follow one's heart (shorts) or one's head (non-shorts) ? Now I find there ARE short non-carriers but I really fear for the breed if the gene pool is reduced because everyone concentrates on these rare creatures. It is good to have a goal when breeding stock, in Dexters it is dreadfully difficult to decide what that goal should be. Much is made of the diversity of Dexters enabling them to appeal to everyone but I sense some scorn by some people for the types they are not concentrating on. Very early on I asked if Dexters were a breed or a concept. It certainly seems more difficult to promote such a wide diversity as a breed.

Anyway, my plan was to keep a few favourites and reduce the herd right down, but this proved impossible. When I listed my favourites it amounted to half the herd and I really couldn't choose which to keep and which I could bear to let go so when the opportunity arose to sell all my registered Dexters I bit the bullet and decided to let them all go.

Despite everything I am still very fond of Dexters but you will be hearing a lot less from me in future.

Take care, everyone, and I send you my best wishes.

Sylvia

[redhill]

Sylvia, for goodness (and the Dexter breeds) sake dont give up contributing to the discussion board!!, every thing that you have been through,we have been with you, through your postings, You have valuable information to give, especially to newcomers to the breed, Bill and Sue Osborne,

[John C]

You've got some good friends here Sylvia, I fel very sad at what you have endured.

[Broomcroft]

Hope you stay with it Sylvia because we really enjoy your contribution. I don't think anyone does any good in Wales with Dexter, and we have no-one listed on DBO for Wales now at all. And yet, I am just miles from the border and we do good business.

Get a Welsh Black bull and put him to your Dexters, sell the meat as Welsh Black and everyone will be marvelling at how you have the best Welsh Black beef in Wales



Edited By Broomcroft on 1211297414

[Louisa Gidney]

Sylvia, I too have followed your trials and tribulations and when I've been down realised it could have been worse. I agree your experience is invaluable and you should continue to contribute to the forum. I don't post much but I read a lot more.
You do make a very valid point of the Dexter being a concept rather than a breed. Until the mid C18th ALL breeds were like this. We should be looking down our noses at these recent interlopers who threw away literally thousands of years of breeding in our native Dexter like cattle for large imported rubbish. The Dexter is unique in being a survival of a lot of people keeping a few cattle of the same general genotype but with a range of phenotypes to suit both the local terrain and individual producer's requirements. We lose this diversity at our peril.
Other rare breeds, such as Hebridean sheep, started going down the almost commercial "peas in a pod" phenotype but have now realised that this is not in the best interests of conservation.
While I'm having a rant, I may as well put in a counter argument to Duncan's rather elitist view of the National Show & Sale. When I joined RBST in the dim & distant past, I understood the whole ethos was to faciltate the national exchange of bloodlines as part of the overall conservation exercise. I hope I'm not the only one to expect to find affordable stock at a national sale, rather than highly priced show animals from a clique of breeders.
Sorry for taking over your topic Sylvia!

[happy hollidays]

I have learnt so much from this forum, so many lovely,kind, knowledgeable people with all different aspirations. My heart goes out to you Sylvia, I hope you have a more peaceful time now. It was nice to see your picture from Saffy's visit. Wishing you all the best, it would be great if you could still partake in this forum as you have so much to give. Estelle

[Nikola Thompson]

Silvia, I can understand exactly what you are saying about selling and marketing Dexters. With the cost of slaughter and marketing, I am finding that the Dexters are simply not viable. We are very close to Broomcroft (further towards the Midlands) but are finding it difficult to sell the meat. We are too small to be a constsistant supplier and when doing the figures it just doesn't add up to go larger. It is still the best beef I have tasted and be choose Dexters after trying all sorts of breeds (including the welsh).

We are now going sell all our steers. If they don't fetch much of a price we may have to think again.

Nikola

[Chris Downward]

Sylvia, sorry you have had such a bad time--and there but for fate go all of us!!
The market for dexters has to be a small one and because of that it has to be niche. I've gone down the organic route for the whole farm and this works to a certain extent but getting organic certified abattoirs, butchers and packing systems on line is a nightmare.
I don't believe that we can compete in the general market with the larger beasts, no matter how much better our meat tastes. The problem will always be large sells easily and small sells with difficulty.
My market for the farm is self generated and I try to sell the "product" months before the slaughter/hanging date--this gives the customer the anticipation of getting something special. I make no bones about it, it's bloody hard work but I think it is the only way for small producers to go.
I would suggest that if you ever return to keeping Dexters --and I'm sure you will--keep small, go organic and sell mail order.
Many thanks for all your posts, they have helped me a lot.
Chris Downward