Author: Eliena Bodtke
-

DEXTER OR JERSEY? CHOOSING THE RIGHT COW FOR YOUR HOMESTEAD.
Interesting joint video on the merits of the two breeds.
-

Zoetis to Acquire Animal Genomics Business from Neogen®
Here are two articles about the recent announcement in the animal testing world. Wonder what these changes will mean for our breed? https://investors.neogen.com/news/news-details/2026/Neogen-Announces-Sale-of-Genomics-Business-to-Zoetis/default.aspx https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20260227496705/zoetis-to-acquire-animal-genomics-business-from-neogen-accelerating-precision-animal-health-innovation
-

HAVE YOU TRIED THE IRISH DEXTER CATTLEMEN MARKETPLACE…MAYBE YOU SHOULD
WEBSITE WEDNESDAY This We are happy to report that there are lot of blue SOLD banners on the listings in the marketplace. Check them out and notice the first screen shot where you can post your first ad for free. Feedback from seller and buyers has been great. Write the ad once and then share…
-

BEEF TALLOW PRODUCTS….Don’t forget your skillet maintenance products!
We have always purchased this kind of product for our pans. Well not anymore.
-

CALF SHARING
Here is an interesting approach to calf sharing. We do a much similar approach, which works really well for us and our Dexters.
-

BREED COMPARISON….DEXTER VS MINATURE HEREFORD
Who wins the crown? An interesting and fair comparison. I think you know who takes the crown!
-

Importance Of Horns In Dairy
This is an interesting read about horns and their possible importance to the dairy cow. Wonder if this holds true in our Dexters that we milk? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377750796_Importance_of_horns_in_dairy_cattle
-

-

-

TECHNOLOGY creates a fence without A physical Fence
Nofence creates invisible boundaries that safely contain livestock without physical fences. Each mature animal wears a GPS collar that tracks its location and guides it within the virtual pastures you define in the Nofence app. The system combines GPS positioning, cellular connectivity, escalating audio cues, and gentle electric pulses to form a reliable and flexible…
-

Cameras built specifically for farms and ranches
Technology continues to improve the way we can do things on our homesteads, farms and ranches giving us advancements in how we can monitor our precious Dexters. Here is a company that offers a solution. https://anywhere.cam/pages/solutions/farm-and-ranch
-

PRICE OF GOLD AND THE PRICE OF CATTLE
Here is a good video that gives you some food for thought. Interesting history on the price relationship. Are we valuing our Dexters herds like history has valued the cattle market? Another thing to think about is we produce a dual purpose animal. There’s value in both the milk and the meat!! This video is…
-

COULD THIS BE TRUE FOR DEXTERS?
The study below show that there are differences in the milk produced for boys and girls. Could this be true for our Dexters we are miking…and note what it says if there are two girls in a row! This could be very interesting to study. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/boys-and-girls-may-get-different-breast-milk
-

Ask the butcher!
The Wranglers at Irish Dexter Cattlemen are pleased to announce that we have a butcher on our team now! The folks at PipeDreams Butchery, located near Memphis TN, will be writing articles, doing videos and more. They are familiar with Dexters, as they used own them, milk them and breed them. They are active on…
-

9 reasons for Dexters on your Homestead
Dexter owners should check out #5,6,7,8,13,19,27,28,30 all have to do with products from our wonderful breed!
-

There is a lot more history in the Irish Dexter Cattlemen flipboards, located in the Gazette
If you looking for more information on our wonderful breed, scroll down past the digital magazines to the flipboard section. There are several of the Dexter Registry Magazines that have been converted into easy to view flipboards. So much history at your fingertips in one place, the IDC Gazette.
-

Clean up with a simple pulse machine
This was part of the reason I purchased a simple pulse machine. Clean up is this easy!
-

What a Dexter family gathering!
Here is what a Dexter family gathering looked like in the 1800s. Notice that the cottage cow is handled pretty much like the family horse. This photo was taken from the Facebook group DexterCattle Historical with the permission of Judy Spongaule. Judy has a wealth knowledge about our wonderful breed.
-

Milk Fever – Prevention and treatment By Juliette Albrecht
Juliette Albrecht is a contributing member of the Irish Dexter Cattlemen, who was born and raised in the dairy industry. She has helped a fellow IDC member save their cow. Look for her articles each month and for past articles in the Gazette. Juliette also runs two Facebook groups. One is under her name. The…
-

LET’S TALK CREAM AND DEXTERS
Here is an interesting article from a fellow Dexter milker, Michele Parsley. Real facts about how it varies and why. Don’t forget, some of our cream stays behind and never completely separates, making two incredible products, cream and still some pretty creamy milk for drinking or making something else. Celebrate your Dexter milk and cream!…
-

Is Your Dexter Udder Hairy?
Let’s face facts. Some of our Dexter gals have some pretty hairy udders. All that hair is not something we want if we are trying to milk them and provide a clean product. I use these handy dandy scissors pictured below, but some folks also use electric clippers, as in the short video below. What…
-

A little help from TECHNOLOGY can help with calving…
After many nights of interrupted sleep, due to monitoring a heifer and her first calving, I decided to let technology given it a try. I purchased a Moo Call device. Of course it arrived and she went into labor, but I decided to given it a try on my Dexter due. It was pretty simple.…
-

-

The Irish Dexter Cattlemen Marketplace..have you tried a free ad?
Did you know that we have given everyone a free ad to try out the Irish Dexter Cattlemen Marketplace? That’s right! Give it a try! I have found it a great place to produce a professional looking ad that can be shared anywhere. Recently, we have tweaked some of the features to make it easier…
-

Top Homesteading Breed!
Too bad the photo of the top pick wasn’t used! Milk, meat and oxen….none of the other breeds listed are known for all three!
-

We can help you sell your Dexters and farm products
Are you struggling to sell your Irish Dexters? Their Beef? Farm made products? I think one of the hardest things for the Dexter owner is to sell their products. I have a background in marketing, sales and science, which seems to have helped us find our niche. The Irish Dexter dairy and beef are…
-

Pasteurization …The History Behind it.
Pasteurization is a personal choice! This history behind is interesting. Seems like the movement now is for smaller homestead dairies, selling to local folks. Give a listen, she gives many perspectives!
-

What is Dexter Beef?
”With the rise of farm-to-table eating and artisanal meats many diners are seeking out flavorful beef from non-commercial cattle breeds. One such breed gaining popularity is Dexter beef a tender, succulent meat from small, hardy cows native to Ireland.” https://redtablemeats.com/fresh-meat/beef/what-is-dexter-beef
-

Cutting up The Beef podcast
This podcast covers some of the questions we all have when starting out with cuts from our Dexters. The cuts will be the same…just different overall yields. They have some interesting ideas for selling to your customer base.
-

Need Help Pricing Your Dairy Products? By Sunstone Orchard & Rabbitry.
Knowing the value of your milk, can help you value the products you make from your milk. Here is one person’s breakdown. There is a wide range of raw milk dairy prices across the board, but how do you know your prices make sense based off a gallon of milk? Here is a simple breakdown…