Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 1:08 pm
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
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
