Our Dexter Cattle

We established our Dexter herd in 2003. The smallest of the traditional breeds, the Dexter is perhaps best known as a small black cow, but they can also be red or dun. We have both red as well as black cattle and, as our two breeding bulls (Nettle Stanley and Wains Sam) carry the genes for both colours, offspring can be either.

About half the size of modern commercial cattle the breed’s small stature and hardy nature means they are well suited to grazing our fell-side farm’s heavier wet ground and permanent natural pasture. The breed is often used for conservation grazing upland pastures.

Short or non-short?
There are two types of Dexter - shorts and non-shorts. Shorts are popular in the show ring at agricultural shows and on the smallholding; while non-shorts, with their slightly longer leg and bigger carcase are we think a better option for our meat business.

Rearing and calves
The Dexter is a dual-purpose breed, producing good meat and, most importantly, for a suckler cow, good quantities of quality milk to rear calves. The cows usually produce a single calf once every 12 months; they are good mums and rarely need assistance when calving. Because our management system is not intensive, the cows may continue rearing calves into their late teens, possibly longer. We have 28 breeding cows ranging in age from 2 – 14. One of our older cows Eagleridge Ginger Cream, born in 1995, has already reared 11 calves and 4 of them are members of the herd.

Calves are at least 6 months old when we wean; still taking some milk but with most of the calf’s daily intake coming from grazing. The breed matures early and the young stock can be sexually mature before weaning so we have to manage things carefully to avoid teenage pregnancies!

Grown slowly, our cattle are finished between 24-30 months, slaughtered at a local abattoir and traditionally hung. The resulting meat is beef like it used to taste, with a fine marbling of fat and wonderful flavour.

Not just beef
In the past the breed was used as a dairy cow but today, with milk prices so low, few milking herds have been retained. But Dexter’s are still popular with those looking for a house cow as milk volumes produced are more manageable at 2500-3500 litres per annum rather than the 5-6500 litres produced by commercial dairy cows. The milk is very good with high butterfat and protein levels, ideal for cheese-making.

Now not so rare
Our breeding cattle are all pedigree registered with the Dexter Cattle Society , which means they have names and family trees as well as the passports all cattle must now hold. A native or traditional breed, typical of the type of cattle the Celts and Romans would have used, the breed’s history is well documented.

A breed society was set up in England in the late 19th century and a year book recording pedigree stock was established. During much of the mid 20th century, as demands grew for increased yields and cheaper food , Dexter's fell out of favour. When the Rare Breeds register was first set up the breed was included.

No doubt partly due to a growing appreciation of well-marbled, flavoursome Dexter beef, the popularity of the breed has now grown to such a level that it is no longer considered an endangered breed.