Dexter export is a first

[Rob R]

Dexter export is a first

[Jac]

Very interesting to find people who are selling beef on the list of suppliers if everything in the garden is as rosy as it seems.

[Mkay]

They were after young cows and Heifers and were willing to pay premium prices, nothing wrong with that even if you ha e a healthy trade at home.

[LISA]

Would they like another 10,000 - 20,000 Dexters? And then the U.K garden would be a whole lot rosier!

[Jac]

They were after young cows and Heifers and were willing to pay premium prices, nothing wrong with that even if you ha e a healthy trade at home.

It depends what you intend to supply your existing beef customers with. Finding good quality replacements to kill is not that simple assuming of course that they do beef females and had people willing to buy in the first place???

[Rob R]

Did I miss the memo about all news being bad news?

[Rob R]

Would they like another 10,000 - 20,000 Dexters?

I'm always up for a challenge.

[Jac]

Did I miss the memo about all news being bad news?

It's a marvellous thing to set up a beef enterprise and produce more stock than you can use yourself. The world is getting smaller in time we will have the Dexter back on our shores but this time in vacuum bags labelled 'British'. Who knows what opportunities there might be when they expand the market in this country for Dexter beef?

[Rob R]

I'm just pleased that the Irish didn't share your concerns in the 1800's.

[Jac]

On reflection, I bet they're not. They really would have a niche market.

[Saffy]

I'm not sure they would Jac from what I can tell they didn't have many left - to carry on with, the Dexter was pretty much extinct in its home country if I'm not mistaken. By sending them here back then, they could get back what they had "lost"now when it suits their farming.

I clearly remember in the late 60s early 70s there being a few very nice Kerry herds still around when I used to travel around Southern Ireland with my father but saw no Dexters, I'm sure there must have been a few on smallholdings somewhere but all the smallholders we met had - usually 2, red and white cows that appeared to be derived from Moiled, some were crossing with Friesian and there were a mix of ordinary beef breeds and dairy if anything out on the hills.

Stephanie

[Jac]

Sorry Stephanie, being facetious.

[Rob R]

Farming never has been & probably never should be an industry where you can protect your genetics as you need a significant sized pool to choose from to maintain diversity, strength & vigour. However there's so much more management input that influences the end product that we don't need to protect the market, just do what we do well & some will prosper where others struggle. That said, it's not easy, by any stretch.

[Jac]

Farming never has been & probably never should be an industry where you can protect your genetics as you need a significant sized pool to choose from to maintain diversity, strength & vigour.

Remind those that wish to inspect all bulls before registration about that.

some will prosper where others struggle. That said, it's not easy, by any stretch

We shouldn't be in that situation, they are a great breed and the beef a brilliant product all that is lacking is some collective direction.

[Rob R]

Some individual direction wouldn't go amiss, for a start.

By significant sized I meant the population size, not the animal.