Background

If you have got this far, it is obvious that you are interested in good beef, so I would like to let you know why we consider our beef to be as good as it gets!

Dexter cattle are a minority breed of cattle and until fairly recently, were in fact considered as a Rare Breed. They are the smallest native breed, and originated in the West of Ireland in the 1800's as an ideal "cottagers cow", producing plenty of milk for the house and a calf to be reared for beef each year. The animals vary in size, but are about half the size of a traditional Hereford and probably 1/3rd the size of something like a black and white Fresian milking cow. We call them "Freezer Friendly"!

Dexters are a slow maturing breed and in all honesty, best reared on a purely grass diet to about 3 yrs of age. However, as a result of the BSE scares, the Govt. introduced legislation effectively banning the sale and use of animals over 30 months in age. This has meant that in some cases, Steers (male Cattle) may need some supplement feeding to "finish" them before the 30 months are up. An animal that is not properly "finished" tends to not have enough fat on the carcase.

The Beef produced by Dexters is a "traditional" type, with a greater level of fat "marbling" than is seen is supermarket type of beef. It also tends to be darker, partially as result of the breed and partly as the carcase is properly hung to produce a tender and better flavoured meat. Those with better tastebuds than mine say that Dexter beef is "sweeter" than other beef. I would be reluctant to comment other than it tastes very good to me!! Dexter stew does not need anything other than itself and a few vegs to taste great! I still cherish the comment passed on from one customer who offered some to a friend, "dunno if I like it really, it tastes so...beefy!" Can't do any better I say.

About 5 years ago I decided to setup a small Suckler Cow beef herd using Dexters to produce high quality Beef for a select market. The main outlets being either to specialist butchers, or direct to the customer who can freeze the beef themselves. The aim behind the use of Dexters was twofold, firstly it makes good economic sense on our small Farm, and secondly, I wanted to produce a premium product that could be sold direct to the customer. So far, we have been fortunate enought to be able to sell almost all of our production directly to you, the Customer.

As a result of the continuing steady growth of our customer base I have recently had to start to consider the sourcing of additional young animals to meet the demand. As a result, I will be looking into aquiring a small number of male youngstock of a suitable quality off bona fide Dexter breeders. These animals will all come from smaller operations and then be raised in exactly the same high standard with the rest of our young cattle until they are "finished". All the animals purchased will have been reared on their Mothers for 6 months plus in the same manner that we rear our calves!

All my Dexters are kept on a grass based diet, with the calves remaining with their Mother throughout the first Summer. The young stock are then housed for the Winter and fed on a grass silage/hay diet, supplemented with fodder/sugar beet and barley or wheat meal. We also sometimes use spuds, grown here or on aneighbouring farm, however, our feedstuffs are grown on the farm wherever possible, the only exception being feeding to boost the protein or sugar levels in a grass based diet in the Autumn. I do not use any animal or fishmeal based feedstuffs in the ration whatsoever. I do not use any medicated feedstuffs in the feed ration either. No Hormones or Growth Promoters are used in the production of our animals. Our cattle are allowed to grow naturally!

I do not use any medicines on a routine basis in my herd other than a maximum twice yearly wormer. Any animal going for slaughter will be given at least twice the statutary withdrawal period before leaving the farm. ie.56 days. I attempt wherever possible, to avoid worming animals that are due for slaughter in the following few months anyway. Antibiotics are used only when recommended by my Vet or when needed to control an infection. My animal medicines record book is available to be seen by any potential customer.

I always use a local Abbatoir for my animals, and I am at present using one about 25 minutes away. This is I believe, preferable to the common tendency these days, for animals to be transported long distances before reaching an abbatoir. The quarters of beef are then delivered to my Butcher who then hangs each quarter for a minimum of 14 days to produce properly matured beef. In actual fact, we usually hang for 21+ days!!