Sell more beef...

[Rob R]

Perhaps we should pack up the idea of trying to be superman/woman and focus on finding outlets for the majority of breeders.

That would be exactly where I'm coming from, yes.

[Saffy]

We don't all have the same talents:

Some of us are really good organisers.

Some are really good at judging a dexter.

Others know which ones will breed well together and improve.

Some can look at a thin poorly presented animal and see that given a good home it had show potential.

There are those that know pasture management, cattle mineral requirements and the veterinary side inside out.

And then there are those that can sell.

It is a rare flower that has ALL the above qualities.

Stephanie

[Mark Bowles]

I think that sums things up nicely Stephanie, i know i am lacking in some points......well the selling bit really, its something i find hard to do, dont know why!

[Mkay]

Rob on your point of buying up all surplus stock and beefing it.. how many animals do you think there are in the country?

It doesn't really matter how many there are exactly.

Indeed it doesnt matter exactly how many there are. So how about approximately?

[Rob R]

Rob on your point of buying up all surplus stock and beefing it.. how many animals do you think there are in the country?

It doesn't really matter how many there are exactly.

Indeed it doesnt matter exactly how many there are. So how about approximately?

How many of which animals specifically? Cattle? Dexters? I'm not exactly sure what you are asking.

[Rob R]

I think that sums things up nicely Stephanie, i know i am lacking in some points......well the selling bit really, its something i find hard to do, dont know why!

Yet you run Dexter Cattle For Sale

I think that I have very few of those skills that Stephanie mentions. That is what is important, knowing what you can/can't do and where someone else can do it better/cheaper/faster/all three.

[Tim Watson]

The RADAR Cattle Book of 2008 gives the following stats as of 1st June 2008
Dexters 26,587
of a total herd of 8,868,469
(Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 090804.pdf)

Latest stats, although I cant find a figure for Dexters, shows that the national herd total stayed almost level through 2012 - 2014 at 5.374m
(Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 8sep14.pdf)

Although unsafe, as it is not based on anything other than total herd trend, if the same reduction shown above in the total herd numbers were applied to the above 2008 Dexter numbers, the 2014 figure would be in the region of 16,110.

[Duncan MacIntyre]

Even for the more densely dextered areas of the UK I think the problem of beef marketing is logistics. Most herds are micro in terms of supply continuity, and the transport of animals between herds or of carcases between slaughterhouses and cutting plants to scale up to continuous supply on a wider scale would just suck out all the money to be made.

So we are faced with micro marketing with many herds doing their own thing in their own area. The existing beef scheme is a start in that it provides for some gaurantee of purity, and should, if monitored effectively, protect us against impostors or purveyors of Dexter Cross beef which is not the same. However if we pay our sub to the scheme in August, do not get labels till questioning the delay a month later, and three weeks on from that our name does not appear on DCS website as a shceme member let alone a member with beef for sale then it does not help us much. These delays and omissions need to be corrected.

What could be done would be, and I did suggest it while on DCS Council, is a website specifically to help individual breeders to sell their beef online, together with links to approved couriers for delivery and help with sourcing packaging materials etc.

We badly need to get some outward looking people on Council to drive change.

Duncan

[Jac]

There were one or two outward looking people unfortunately the rug was pulled from under them.

If anything of worth is ever going to be achieved then it is going to have to be done through private organisation and funding.

[Rob R]

If anything of worth is ever going to be achieved then it is going to have to be done through private organisation and funding.

Yes, I agree, there's nothing wrong with a few vested interests. The main issue with small herds is that they can (mostly) afford to lose a bit of money so they can either price too low to get rid, or too high (for live animals) and hold onto them longer.

[cairnhill]

Just an idea, but perhaps a need to make money and a living is lacking. I think the thought of making money from Dexters is very low on the priority of many owners. Most people enjoy it as a hobby and will never make money as they want to enjoy it, when I see larger scale farmers in area, many of them will do whatever it takes to make money. If they think it will make money they are happy with massive continental calves can't stand up at birth and that will not suck naturally, doing embryo transfer on most stock, having large sheds filled with cattle on slatted floors.
I personally don't like way modern farming has developed and wouldn't want any of the above methods, however they have a requirement to make a living. The question that is worth asking is if you had to make a living off Dexter cattle would you do things differently.
Being honest I think Dexter cattle have some fine qualities, however my views would probably differ from most:
1. The publicity around Dexter beef ( I think it is a very good quality beef, however the publicity is worth more than the difference between it and say Angus).
2. The hardiness, these are tough cattle, many farmers have told me there cattle are as hardy yet where are they now, in the sheds! These are tough cattle that seem to prefer and thrive being outside and in my opinion not far off the Highland.
3. Easy calving, as long as you are sensible then they will easily calve to larger bulls. We have some calves that are nearly as big as their mothers at 9 months.
4. Fantastic at grazing. Put on top quality grazing and they are the same as any other cow they will eat the grass. Put them on rough heathland and they will seek out the best grazing in my opinion better than the Highland cattle.
5. Temperament. Yes they are intelligent and stubborn, however they are interested in people, friendly and on the whole easy to work with, I always go in the pen when working with them, half are horned and I've not been injured yet (except for my toes). I would not consider doing this with the Highlands or many other breeds so it takes me half as long to work with the Dexter cattle.
6. Price. Many people cannot afford to start out with a herd of cattle as the initial cost is just too high, Dexters have the lowest price and enable farmers and smallholders to start up.

In my opinion for these reasons the Dexter is a good breed that has its place in British farming and should be used more widely within mainstream agriculture.

[Jac]

The question that is worth asking is if you had to make a living off Dexter cattle would you do things differently.

I wouldn't even go there.

[Rob R]

If they think it will make money they are happy with massive continental calves can't stand up at birth and that will not suck naturally

That one's always puzzled me - how is it worth it when so many man-hours seem to go into doing the job that a cow is supposed to do on her own!

I pretty much agree with every word of your post with the added point that, in addition to the lack of need to make money, at the other end of the scale, there is an unrealistic expectation for them to make the same £ per head as other cattle. At the end of the day margins aren't huge in the beef world and Dexters are much smaller animals so you have to keep more of them.

Like the rest of the beef world we have to do anything we can to shave a few pence off the production costs. For other breeds that might mean feeding them barley on a slatted floor but you can keep Dexters outside year round, if you have the ground for it, and they don't respond to the same degree when kept intensively. If you've done all that though it's silly to throw away what little profit you have on inefficient ways of marketing and distribution when there might, just might, be someone up the road duplicating those same inefficienies.