It's a bit of a longshot but would anyone be interested in buying in properly hung Dexter Beef either in halves or primal cuts for butchering as required? It would have to be significant numbers at a time to make it a reasonable financial proposition, because it is £100 to take them to the abbatoir, then costs there plus the cost of hiring a refrigerated van etc.
Alternately can anyone suggest how else I reduce my stock from the 80+ I now have. The IR will be tested next week and I expect she will be OK, but I'll have to have anyone else who is going tested again and although they were all OK last time who knows what the readings will be if they are tested again.
Dexter Beef
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welshdexterboy
- Posts: 230
- Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:11 pm
- Location: Pembrokeshire
Carmarthenshire
I keep trying to making arrangements to sell some via other means but every time I have I get an IR which messes everything up. That is why we have such a large herd. I made enquiries about having a sale locally but that was stopped by, guess what, one IR. I had her slaughtered which meant the whole herd had to be tested again. And that test threw up another 1 IR. As she is a real favourite I have kept her to be tested again (next week) but by the time I have organised a retest of the ones i want to sell (and assuming they are all clear) it will be too late in the year to do it before the winter.
I have plenty of very nice cows here most with calves at foot, also steers and heifers who will be ready to be finished throughout next year but I have absolutely no confidence left that any sales plans will not be screwed up by an IR when they are tested.
I keep trying to making arrangements to sell some via other means but every time I have I get an IR which messes everything up. That is why we have such a large herd. I made enquiries about having a sale locally but that was stopped by, guess what, one IR. I had her slaughtered which meant the whole herd had to be tested again. And that test threw up another 1 IR. As she is a real favourite I have kept her to be tested again (next week) but by the time I have organised a retest of the ones i want to sell (and assuming they are all clear) it will be too late in the year to do it before the winter.
I have plenty of very nice cows here most with calves at foot, also steers and heifers who will be ready to be finished throughout next year but I have absolutely no confidence left that any sales plans will not be screwed up by an IR when they are tested.
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Broomcroft
- Posts: 3005
- Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2006 4:42 am
- Location: Shropshire, England
- Contact:
Sylvia
Have you tried all the local pubs, restaurants etc? Could you do a little mailing to them? Most of the effort goes to waste, but just every now and again you pick up a new customer that might take a carcass a week!
Offer to give them samples to taste, just one steak and some mince maybe. If you aren't able to put together a leaflet, I've got stuff here that could be used to pull something together quite easily no probs.
Excuse me if I'm teaching you to suck eggs!
I do know a chef down in Carmarthenshire. I've emailed him to see if he has any requirements or knows of any. He doesn't use Dexter but saw the pie program and commented, but I bet he'll just want fillet and steak. Maybe you could sell to people like that just the fillet and steaks, and then mince the rest, or find a pie maker who wants to improve the flavour of their pies to increase their sales? Use the Britain's Best Dish material to tempt them.
Just ideas.
Have you tried all the local pubs, restaurants etc? Could you do a little mailing to them? Most of the effort goes to waste, but just every now and again you pick up a new customer that might take a carcass a week!
Offer to give them samples to taste, just one steak and some mince maybe. If you aren't able to put together a leaflet, I've got stuff here that could be used to pull something together quite easily no probs.
Excuse me if I'm teaching you to suck eggs!
I do know a chef down in Carmarthenshire. I've emailed him to see if he has any requirements or knows of any. He doesn't use Dexter but saw the pie program and commented, but I bet he'll just want fillet and steak. Maybe you could sell to people like that just the fillet and steaks, and then mince the rest, or find a pie maker who wants to improve the flavour of their pies to increase their sales? Use the Britain's Best Dish material to tempt them.
Just ideas.
Clive
Hello Clive, I have to admit I'm the world's most useless salesperson, but I did put an advert in the local newsletter (delivered free to everyone in the area) and did some leaflets (I can design those) which were delivered down the lane. Neither had any response. I do have some loyal customers but not enough to warrant the number of cattle I have. Of course I could ask the abbatoir to just buy the beef in (and may have to) but the prices offered do not cover the cost of taking them down there. A significant problem in this area, I think, is that Welsh Black is the offer of choice for restaurants trying for patriotic support. But I admit I'm not pushy enough to go and challenge that, so my fault really.
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Broomcroft
- Posts: 3005
- Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2006 4:42 am
- Location: Shropshire, England
- Contact:
OK, tell them it's Welsh Black (they're in Wales so they are Welsh, and they're black aren't they?), then customer's will come back for more saying, wow this is the best Welsh Black I've ever tasted. 
Only joking!
Have you tried viral marketing. Getting your loyal customers to get other customers. You might give them a free box when they get a whole animal sold for you!
If you're continuing, and beef is the issue not Dexters as such, maybe a WB bull would be good. Then sell the beef as WBX. I think Ann said it was a very good cross and you got small calves born that grew well afterwards and the beef was yummy.
I get enquiries in every day for lists of suppliers, but I've not had one for Wales, yet.
One of my viral marketing partners, if I can call her that, will go up to people in the supermarket when they're looking at beef and ask them why they're buying that rubbish when they can buy direct from the farm, and she'll give them a "lecture" on animal welfare at the same time! And I'm not joking. I couldn't do it.
Edited By Broomcroft on 1194614937
Only joking!Have you tried viral marketing. Getting your loyal customers to get other customers. You might give them a free box when they get a whole animal sold for you!
If you're continuing, and beef is the issue not Dexters as such, maybe a WB bull would be good. Then sell the beef as WBX. I think Ann said it was a very good cross and you got small calves born that grew well afterwards and the beef was yummy.
I get enquiries in every day for lists of suppliers, but I've not had one for Wales, yet.
One of my viral marketing partners, if I can call her that, will go up to people in the supermarket when they're looking at beef and ask them why they're buying that rubbish when they can buy direct from the farm, and she'll give them a "lecture" on animal welfare at the same time! And I'm not joking. I couldn't do it.
Edited By Broomcroft on 1194614937
Clive
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AlisonKirk
- Posts: 122
- Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:16 pm
Sylvia - I'm not a very good salesperson, but we had so much beef I had to go out and get more (big) business. Visit your local pub/restaurants (out of busy hours) and see if you can make an appointment to see their Head Chef, explain about your beef and take some literature (I provide brief info about how we farm our Dexters with a nice picture of grazing cattle). Once they've tasted Dexter beef, chefs will want more. Give them an idea of your prices and tempt them with something they want at a reasonable price/offer them a joint of topside or whatever. Make sure they know that you want payment upon delivery.
The chefs I have spoken to have always ordered some beef on the first visit. Two chefs I visited, both ordered a whole carcass (cut/packed) within 5 minutes. If they don't order on the first visit and say they will contact you - from experience they don't, so just move on. Having said that one chef did. When I attended for pre-arranged visit I took a small joint of topside (frozen from my freezer). I met him some two weeks later, he hadn't tried the beef & had placed it in his freezer. I told him to try it & I would ring within two weeks. He tried the beef and we now supply him a whole carcass on a very regular basis.
Look out for pubs with new owners / chef - I had two successes in this way. Be business like and don't go dressed in your old farming clothes.
Locally produced fresh produce is the 'in thing' and with Dexter beef ideal for filling a niche market we're half way there.
You will read of many breeders successfully selling their own beef. They too have probably had reservations about going out and selling their produce initially, but you've got two options - sink or swim. If you've got Dexter beef you CAN swim, it will literally sell itself!!
Good luck
Alison Kirk
Boram Dexters
The chefs I have spoken to have always ordered some beef on the first visit. Two chefs I visited, both ordered a whole carcass (cut/packed) within 5 minutes. If they don't order on the first visit and say they will contact you - from experience they don't, so just move on. Having said that one chef did. When I attended for pre-arranged visit I took a small joint of topside (frozen from my freezer). I met him some two weeks later, he hadn't tried the beef & had placed it in his freezer. I told him to try it & I would ring within two weeks. He tried the beef and we now supply him a whole carcass on a very regular basis.
Look out for pubs with new owners / chef - I had two successes in this way. Be business like and don't go dressed in your old farming clothes.
Locally produced fresh produce is the 'in thing' and with Dexter beef ideal for filling a niche market we're half way there.
You will read of many breeders successfully selling their own beef. They too have probably had reservations about going out and selling their produce initially, but you've got two options - sink or swim. If you've got Dexter beef you CAN swim, it will literally sell itself!!
Good luck
Alison Kirk
Boram Dexters