What have 2 good legs, 4 even better ones and 2 tails in common???
Answer: Penny Hodgson
Why?: She now has 2 new hips, has just become the Best Taste of Yorkshire Meat Producer 2006 (sponsored and judged by Harvey Nicks, who will now be her customer), and I'll leave you to work the 2 tails bit out.
Question?
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Mark Bowles
- Site Admin
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- Location: Leicestershire England
Thanks for the comments. As you say, Mark, it is good promotion of the breed itself. I feel a bit embarrassed about any personal promotion. The more the public become aware of the superb quality of dexter beef, the more demand increases and then, of course, demand for the breed itself for those that wish to produce it themselves or increase their present business. With the huge current "for sale" lists at the moment, this is vital for the breed.
However, I do hope that attention is paid to quality, and producers realise that the only way to have top quality beef is for an animal to be fed on quality food ( and of course I would say good grass/hay/haylage) and finished correctly. Sadly, I have seen many a dexter/dexter carcass where the owners have assumed that just because it is a dexter, the beef will be good, and have not taken any care on the nutrition. Results? 30 month old non-shorts only weighing 300kg or oppositely, extremely fatty ( in the wrong places) due to feeding grains/concentrates. If you only have poor silage, why not buy in good, rather than spending money on hard feed?!
I have had many discussions recently with someone high up in agricultural circles, who has pointed out that there is a big risk of people "jumping on the bandwagon" with dexter beef, but not doing a proper job. Now I know that most who look at this website will think that I am preaching to the converted, and you produce excellent steers, , Mark. I do think the time has come for a more proactive stance from the Society regarding the beef. We are not all going to agree on nutrition, I know, and there will always be those who look at crossing as they want a bigger carcass rather than cashing in on the excellence of pure dexter beef . However, I am so sad that people like Sylvia feel that they are having to downsize when there could be so much potential.
Sylvia, we must have a chat again!
Penny
ps new legs starting to work, at last. No chance of losing a contract due to dodgy legs, I have action plans in place! I would like to thank all those that have helped me recently, particularly Rod and Mary Metcalfe, Graham and Sam Hunt and June Douse. Thanks so much for your help and support.
However, I do hope that attention is paid to quality, and producers realise that the only way to have top quality beef is for an animal to be fed on quality food ( and of course I would say good grass/hay/haylage) and finished correctly. Sadly, I have seen many a dexter/dexter carcass where the owners have assumed that just because it is a dexter, the beef will be good, and have not taken any care on the nutrition. Results? 30 month old non-shorts only weighing 300kg or oppositely, extremely fatty ( in the wrong places) due to feeding grains/concentrates. If you only have poor silage, why not buy in good, rather than spending money on hard feed?!
I have had many discussions recently with someone high up in agricultural circles, who has pointed out that there is a big risk of people "jumping on the bandwagon" with dexter beef, but not doing a proper job. Now I know that most who look at this website will think that I am preaching to the converted, and you produce excellent steers, , Mark. I do think the time has come for a more proactive stance from the Society regarding the beef. We are not all going to agree on nutrition, I know, and there will always be those who look at crossing as they want a bigger carcass rather than cashing in on the excellence of pure dexter beef . However, I am so sad that people like Sylvia feel that they are having to downsize when there could be so much potential.
Sylvia, we must have a chat again!
Penny
ps new legs starting to work, at last. No chance of losing a contract due to dodgy legs, I have action plans in place! I would like to thank all those that have helped me recently, particularly Rod and Mary Metcalfe, Graham and Sam Hunt and June Douse. Thanks so much for your help and support.
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Kathy Millar
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- Location: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
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Rob & Alison Kirk
- Posts: 86
- Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2005 8:59 pm
Without doubt a Dexter properly reared on mother's milk, then grass fed and finished on good quality forage/grassland is superb and there is no other beef to beat it. At the beginning of this year Rob and I were invited to a seminar on suckler cow management. Correct feeding regime was essential: basically, continental beef animals needed concentrates to fatten. The traditional breeds produce better beef without concentrates - they gave examples as Angus, Welsh Black, Hereford, and the Dexter would come into that category. Consistency of beef for private customers and pub/restaurants is a high priority for us - we need to have repeat orders from everyone, whether it be monthly or twice a year. All beef from the Boram herd is consistent and that is why we only sell home bred and reared beef.
A recent enquiry from a local Italian pub/restaurant for a sample of Dexter beef for their English menu, which was delivered fresh from the abattoir. Chef said he had never tasted such beautiful beef - it was nothing like the beef they had been buying from elsewhere! Could they have some more sirloin, but fillet and rump as well. I explained I could not slaughter a Dexter just for the steaks and left it at that, they were soon in contact again.........their first bulk beef order is hanging at the abattoir, for delivery beginning of August.
Dexter beef will sell itself and that is certainly true!
A recent enquiry from a local Italian pub/restaurant for a sample of Dexter beef for their English menu, which was delivered fresh from the abattoir. Chef said he had never tasted such beautiful beef - it was nothing like the beef they had been buying from elsewhere! Could they have some more sirloin, but fillet and rump as well. I explained I could not slaughter a Dexter just for the steaks and left it at that, they were soon in contact again.........their first bulk beef order is hanging at the abattoir, for delivery beginning of August.
Dexter beef will sell itself and that is certainly true!
Well said, Alison.
We, and many others, follow the magic formula of keeping the calves suckling from their mothers until the mother naturally weans them, normally at approx 10 months. Rarely do we need to intervene with this. If the cow is given good, natural, nutrition her condition will be fine and the calf will get the best start to life. From then on, access to good grass (ours has a lot of clover, to give the fields nitrogen as well) and good hay is all that is needed except for the obvious care against diseases and parasites.
Keeping stress to a minimum is also important. I am currently doing a small trial keeping some steers in with their mothers/this year's calves/extended family, and others in groups of steers of a certain age group. It is impossible to keep grazing conditions identical, as well as the genetics, but it will be interesting to see if the weight gain is any different between the 2 groups.
For ongoing business, consistent quality is vital, and I never sell any beef until I have tried a bit, to be sure that the succulence and flavour is there. Hence the increasing waistline, with the turnover we now have!
I supply a restaurant that takes briskets to make its own corned beef, and tongues etc, and this is the type of trade that is really beneficial.
You say that Dexter beef sells itself, which is certainly true, but as I said, there is poor quality, poorly reared dexter beef out there too, that can have a negative effect on the trade of you and I. There was a farmshop a few miles away from here that decided to cash in on our trade in dexter beef. They sourced a dexter bull that had been kept in a barn all its life and fed concentrates. Over the following few months I had people coming to me saying that they had bought the beef and how tough and tasteless it was. Now it is fine that they knew that it could be much better. But what of those people who tried it for the first time? The chances are that they thought it was not all it was it was cracked up to be, and did not bother buying it again, and probably told other people this too.
Dexter owners differ on what they think is a good dexter, and they also differ on how they should be reared/fed. I am sure there will be a few daggers in my back for yet agin saying that grass fed beef is best!
We, and many others, follow the magic formula of keeping the calves suckling from their mothers until the mother naturally weans them, normally at approx 10 months. Rarely do we need to intervene with this. If the cow is given good, natural, nutrition her condition will be fine and the calf will get the best start to life. From then on, access to good grass (ours has a lot of clover, to give the fields nitrogen as well) and good hay is all that is needed except for the obvious care against diseases and parasites.
Keeping stress to a minimum is also important. I am currently doing a small trial keeping some steers in with their mothers/this year's calves/extended family, and others in groups of steers of a certain age group. It is impossible to keep grazing conditions identical, as well as the genetics, but it will be interesting to see if the weight gain is any different between the 2 groups.
For ongoing business, consistent quality is vital, and I never sell any beef until I have tried a bit, to be sure that the succulence and flavour is there. Hence the increasing waistline, with the turnover we now have!
I supply a restaurant that takes briskets to make its own corned beef, and tongues etc, and this is the type of trade that is really beneficial.
You say that Dexter beef sells itself, which is certainly true, but as I said, there is poor quality, poorly reared dexter beef out there too, that can have a negative effect on the trade of you and I. There was a farmshop a few miles away from here that decided to cash in on our trade in dexter beef. They sourced a dexter bull that had been kept in a barn all its life and fed concentrates. Over the following few months I had people coming to me saying that they had bought the beef and how tough and tasteless it was. Now it is fine that they knew that it could be much better. But what of those people who tried it for the first time? The chances are that they thought it was not all it was it was cracked up to be, and did not bother buying it again, and probably told other people this too.
Dexter owners differ on what they think is a good dexter, and they also differ on how they should be reared/fed. I am sure there will be a few daggers in my back for yet agin saying that grass fed beef is best!
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Mark Bowles
- Site Admin
- Posts: 1290
- Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 6:03 pm
- Location: Leicestershire England
I was very interested in the information on rearing for beef. I am aware of my own ignorance on the subject, since I have no experience. I have buyers who come back regularly for my weaners, which I never take on beyond weaning. I was surprised to hear the advice to leave them to wean naturally, I suspect most of my cows would carry on until they calved again. Since they have to be housed in cubicles during winter, with the calves suckled twice daily, I usually wean at about 7 months when winter chores are building up. I certainly would not want to be still at it in March.
I do hear of steers half finished, and it is certainly a bad advert for the breed, I think the Society should be making more efforts to educate newcomers. What has appeared in this column could usefully be submitted to the bulletin, not everybody is on computer, and it must be in everybody’s interests to improve standards. I would like to suggest that a few of you experts took some animals to Smithfield and showed the outside world what they can look like.
Could we have a note on your photo’ on the web site, Mark, I noticed the very good picture, but an explanation would make it an even better advert.
I do hear of steers half finished, and it is certainly a bad advert for the breed, I think the Society should be making more efforts to educate newcomers. What has appeared in this column could usefully be submitted to the bulletin, not everybody is on computer, and it must be in everybody’s interests to improve standards. I would like to suggest that a few of you experts took some animals to Smithfield and showed the outside world what they can look like.
Could we have a note on your photo’ on the web site, Mark, I noticed the very good picture, but an explanation would make it an even better advert.
Beryl,
I can quite see that my system of letting the cows wean the calves themselves would not work easily if they were all housed in cubicles. My herd are kept in groups and unless the weather is extreme, the barns are kept open so they can wander in and out. The only ones who stay in are the winter calvers. I am lucky with the land I have.
However, I can assure you that left to "act like a herd", the vast majority of cows do decide when to wean their calves, and it is wonderful to watch! All of a sudden, they start making it clear that they feel the calf is quite old enough, and won't tolerate any more. It is all over, with little or no noise, because they continue to be together, in a very short length of time. The only ones that occassionally need a bit of intervention are the new mums, and rarely do I have to show them what to do the following year. I suspect the "old girls" have a quiet whisper in their ear!
PLease do not take this "standing back" approach as neglect. I spend a huge amount of time with my herd and have great affection for them. I would never leave a cow to continue suckling a calf up to calving. I just think that my cows, if left to their own devices, know exactly what they are doing and life gets complicated if I try to impose my ideas on them.
I was told to wean calves at 6 months old, when I first started, did so religiously and endured endless sleepless nights and odd escapees. Result? stressed owner, restless calf and fat cow!!
Since this time, and getting to know my girls, I realised that I really did not give them enough credit. I was advised by another longtime Dexter owner that the stock I was buying off him would wean their own calves. Not only was he correct, but also all my others showed that they too could do this and were happy this way.
"Weaning" is now almost a job of the past in this herd, and my goodness, I am glad of that!
Mastitis isn't a problem either, maybe because the cow is naturally reducing her milk supply?
Please, before all the messages come, I know this is not for everyone, and I am not implying this is what I think all should do, but it does result in strong youngstock that have been given an excellent start to life - months of delicious dexter milk!
Penny
ps Sorry everyone that I have written a lot recently! You will all be glad when I am mobile again and have not time to respond!!
I can quite see that my system of letting the cows wean the calves themselves would not work easily if they were all housed in cubicles. My herd are kept in groups and unless the weather is extreme, the barns are kept open so they can wander in and out. The only ones who stay in are the winter calvers. I am lucky with the land I have.
However, I can assure you that left to "act like a herd", the vast majority of cows do decide when to wean their calves, and it is wonderful to watch! All of a sudden, they start making it clear that they feel the calf is quite old enough, and won't tolerate any more. It is all over, with little or no noise, because they continue to be together, in a very short length of time. The only ones that occassionally need a bit of intervention are the new mums, and rarely do I have to show them what to do the following year. I suspect the "old girls" have a quiet whisper in their ear!
PLease do not take this "standing back" approach as neglect. I spend a huge amount of time with my herd and have great affection for them. I would never leave a cow to continue suckling a calf up to calving. I just think that my cows, if left to their own devices, know exactly what they are doing and life gets complicated if I try to impose my ideas on them.
I was told to wean calves at 6 months old, when I first started, did so religiously and endured endless sleepless nights and odd escapees. Result? stressed owner, restless calf and fat cow!!
Since this time, and getting to know my girls, I realised that I really did not give them enough credit. I was advised by another longtime Dexter owner that the stock I was buying off him would wean their own calves. Not only was he correct, but also all my others showed that they too could do this and were happy this way.
"Weaning" is now almost a job of the past in this herd, and my goodness, I am glad of that!
Mastitis isn't a problem either, maybe because the cow is naturally reducing her milk supply?
Please, before all the messages come, I know this is not for everyone, and I am not implying this is what I think all should do, but it does result in strong youngstock that have been given an excellent start to life - months of delicious dexter milk!
Penny
ps Sorry everyone that I have written a lot recently! You will all be glad when I am mobile again and have not time to respond!!
Penny, I certainly would not accuse you of neglecting your stock; I was fascinated with your story of weaning. I am a great believer in letting my cows take charge as far as is reasonable. Unfortunately, it would not be feasible for me to experiment. My ground becomes too wet usually in October, and although they run out with access during the day, they have to be housed at night.
If the calves were left to run with their dams they would be sinking up to their middles in mud, could finish up in the slurry pit, and would be sitting in the mangers. The cubicles are a godsend with the present price of straw, but they do have their disadvantages. .
I would be wary of a novice leaving cows to wean themselves, because I am not convinced there would not be problems on occasion, which they might not be aware of. I have always said of Dexters, that their persistence in milking was one of their strong points.
Far from being tired of reading your contributions, I am sure we shall miss them, and hope you will continue to find some time to educate us all.
If the calves were left to run with their dams they would be sinking up to their middles in mud, could finish up in the slurry pit, and would be sitting in the mangers. The cubicles are a godsend with the present price of straw, but they do have their disadvantages. .
I would be wary of a novice leaving cows to wean themselves, because I am not convinced there would not be problems on occasion, which they might not be aware of. I have always said of Dexters, that their persistence in milking was one of their strong points.
Far from being tired of reading your contributions, I am sure we shall miss them, and hope you will continue to find some time to educate us all.
Cattle are ready for market when they are ready. There is no hard and fast weight or age, finish is what is important. You have to assess the amount of 'finish' on any animal it could be not quite there this week, perfect next week and over finished the week after!
Bone is not edible, so don't kill too early.
Too much fat is not good for you, so don't over 'finish'.
Just right is just right.
Experience is something required when assessing the amount of finish on an animal, my advice would be to let the animal be over rather than under, lean carcasses don't hang well and that is where your tenderness and flavour comes from.
Bone is not edible, so don't kill too early.
Too much fat is not good for you, so don't over 'finish'.
Just right is just right.
Experience is something required when assessing the amount of finish on an animal, my advice would be to let the animal be over rather than under, lean carcasses don't hang well and that is where your tenderness and flavour comes from.
Martin.
Maidstone
Kent
Maidstone
Kent
I took Pennys advice and let a dexter wean her calf naturally and it was indeed quite stress free. They were yarded at the time and when I felt the time was right I simply moved the calf into the adjoining pen where she could see Mum but not suckle and as the cow was about dry by then there was no upset at all. I will certainly continue to do this as it was a completely stress free experience for us all.