Is there cause for concern?

Sylvia · Post by **Sylvia** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:27 pm

I have just been looking through the for sale list and was interested to see how many herd reduction/dispersal adverts there are. Add to these people who are reducing by slaughtering, as I will probably have to this summer, and this does not seem to add up to a thriving, bouyant Dexter scene.

It is thus particularly surprising that more people have not signed up for the Dexter Beef Online site. Surely if this takes off (and it has made an excellent start) it would help those who are overstocked and encourage those with more capacity to increase their herds. This can only benefit Dexters and would seem to definitely be the way to go.

Or are there a lot of Dexter owners who are keeping 'pets' who they couldn't bear to turn into beef.

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:04 pm

I don't have any statistics to back this, but such sales will occur much more frequently than they did just because there are more Dexter herds about, so what would have seemed like an avalanche of sales a few years ago may just be the norm for the dynamics of the breed at the size we are now.

Duncan, not certain, just making a suggestion

Rob R · Post by **Rob R** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:51 pm

Well I would have signed up for the beef site if it weren't for the fact that my order books fill up the year before, shortly after the beef has all gone. I think too that Duncan's suggestion could be right.

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 8:27 am

Hi Sylvia,
Quantity of animals for sale is not really a problem in my opinion, I think price is more important and people seem to be almost giving animals away. I cannot understand why people do not go for the best price option and have some of these heifers butchered. It would result in less animals for sale and may push the price up for the better animals for breeding.
Martin

Rob R · Post by **Rob R** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 1:51 pm

As regards female registration, are the society fee scales not encouraging rushing to register what may turn out to be a lesser quality animal; £12 in the first 30 days, £40 31 days - 12 months? Many of the animals may not be worth the best prices, but because they have gone through the process & cost of registration (as well as the pychology of thinking 'that animal is for breeding'), they may feel the need to sell them as pedigree.

Penny · Post by **Penny** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:48 pm

Rob, you mention that you have not joined the dexter beef website because you have orders well ahead of production. However, you previously have mentioned that you intend to increase the size of your herd to make it more viable.

The purpose of the Dexterbeefonline website is not just for producers to sell their beef. Most of those listed so far already have excellent trade. Its intention is to promote the beef to the public and trade alike, which is good news for everyone whether they sell beef or breeding stock because it will raise the profile of the breed. If your demand for beef outstrips supply, then prices can go up for beef and both stores and breeding stock.
Not only does the site list producers, but also outlets such as restaurants and farmshops, which get a free entry. So if anyone has a good Dexter meal somewhere, they can then look to see where their nearest supplier is.
I have referred many people over the years to breeders with stock for sale because they have eaten some of my Dexter beef and enjoyed it so much that they have decided to get a few Dexters of their own.
Publicity and promotion like this can only be good for the breed as a whole, but only if people support it and participate.

Rob R · Post by **Rob R** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:17 pm

In that case I'll get it online :;):

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:14 am

Funnily enough, most but not all people I have spoken to who sell beef, including myself, are sold out most of the time, so we totally understand the sentiment that has been expressed by more than one person. But I do not see being sold out as a reason for not doing anything because you do not know what the situation will be like in a few years time. It has to be better if you do something than if you don't.

If we can make Dexter Beef more sought after, it will be the breeders, whether they do beef or not, that will benefit. It may also have the effect of pursuading more people not actually to buy the beef, but to produce their own, again benefitting breeders.

Apparently, I am told, quite a lot of people have in the past few years, like myself, set up substantial herds, so there is going to be a larger supply than there has ever been.

When you're buying into Dexter Beef Onlne, you're not doing it to get a few more orders this year; you're buying into a long-term improvement in the outlook for Dexters. We will be posting a special web page telling producers what DBO is all about soon.

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:34 pm

Our Food Service (March) magazine has two pages dedicated to beef. One is a Meat & Live stock ad, How To Cook A Steak.
The other is a CAAB ad. Certified Australian Angus Beef. It says, "The first batch of cattle processed for sale under the CAAB brand was only 12 animals, whereas this year 100,000 steers will be processed, and around 6,000 tonnes of product marketed."
That took 10 and a half years, and that is about equal to the extent of our drought, so they haven't all had it easy.
The article says that about 80% of CAAB product is exported, and within the domestic market, 60% goes to food service. Dexter Beef Online could be the start of something big for British breeders, but I imagine it would need to be consistent, continuable, and Dexter, not half of something else.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 1:46 pm

Hi Margaret

What do you mean by "it should not be half of something else." Is it that you feel it should be pure Dexter only, i.e. no crosses?

wagra dexters · Post by **wagra dexters** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 3:57 am

Clive,
Aside from all my previous arguments under another topic, wouldn't you agree, if meat is to be advertised as Dexter, that it should be Dexter, not part-bred?
Larger sizes can easily be found within the Dexter herd, where size is a commercial consideration, but our few customers do not want larger cuts, any more than diluted flavour.
You will better know your market, it may be totally different to mine.
Margaret.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:58 am

Morning Margaret

From a personal point of view, I have tried dexter-crossed beef and what I have had was excellent but the Dexter flavour, where it is a 50-50 cross at least, was watered down. The actual facts are that my wife Caroline and I tried 4 steaks between us last week that were 50% Dexter, and all were very good, but in terms of the "type of flavour", my wife thought it was Dexter but I couldn't taste any Dexter at all with the first steak, and the second I could just about taste it.

I have never tried 75% Dexter but am told it is more Dextery still, obviously I suppose. With pure Dexter, I have never, ever, not even once, had a disappointment, even with cheaper cuts.

Our thoughts have been that some people who do 100% Dexters, also do Dexter crosses. But it is also worrying that we may inadvertently get people on board selling cross as Dexter and that customer may be disappointed. But, on the other hand, we could get that even if we did stipulate pure Dexter only, if someone really wanted to. So, we have just said that openness and clarity is paramount and that the final customers should check what they are buying, and that the beef should be clearly labelled, and that using the term Dexter in isolation when it is a cross, is out of the question. This seems to be what other breeds have done to tackle the same problem.

It's a difficult area and we are very open to opinions. We will have a page of questions and answer, and our rules, shortly.

Rob R · Post by **Rob R** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 3:57 pm

I think you find the same problem with grass fed as you do Dexter, I personally don't agree with advertising crosses as 'Dexter beef', though I would agree with 'Dexter x whatever beef', where the Dexter is the sire & vice versa for the dam.

Reading through websites selling grass fed beef, I see a lot stating GRASS FED in the title, then explaining how they cereal finish in smaller letters, I think clarity & accuracy in these matters is paramount, then the public can make up their own mind. I remember one site advertising grass fed Angus beef, but as it turned out, if you read it all, they were Angus x dairy bred animals grazed in the summer & cereal fed over winter

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 4:20 pm

We will be asking people, like the one on the DBO site, for clarity and making it clear that the word Dexter means 100% Dexter unless specifially qualified. Thing is though, that many do all, 50%, 75% and 100%. We will also make it clear that customers should enquire about specific details of what they are purchasing. You are absolutely right Rob, Angus beef for example, is very often Angus-sired, but the -sired bit either gets very, very small or forgotten altogther! Oh dear, where's it gone? But at the end of the day, it will be up to the honesty of the producer.

The grassfed is also open to interpretation but we've got to start somewhere and I hope in time things will become clearer. One thing is that with Dexter's, they are far more likely than any other breed to be grass fed or mainly grass fed because of their small size. Playing with words maybe but true I think. I've got nothing against grain-fed, I eat it, as long as there's clarity and people know what they're eating as far as possible.

Kathy Millar · Post by **Kathy Millar** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 7:06 am

Grass -fed; an animal that has been fed grass but may have been fed grains too. Grass-finished; an animal that has not been finished with grain (but I suppose it might have been fed grain in its yonger days?). How about "grain-free?

???