dexter cattle

IDC Anniversary

Hello to all our IDC Newsletter subscribers and members.
With the February Newsletter release coming up this weekend, we mark two years of providing informative & educational information to our followers.
What started with a genuine love for the breed, a desire to help others & their Dexters, plus a goal to bring more breeders together and promote the breed, IDC has grown beyond our expectations.
Our small team of Eliena Bodtke, Janelle Soja and myself, along with our website & Newsletter producer Bob Curlee have made it our mission. Not to mention our many contributors who have all committed countless hours to researching, writing and providing valuable information for you. All the while building the Gazette, our huge library that stores all of our past Newsletters. These Newsletters can be accessed & searched at any time by our members.

We often mentor and help others with ideas, advice etc. when contacted. If we hear of a concerning topic or a seasonal issue, we try and address those in the Newsletters.
We are grateful that many knowledgeable contributors have chosen to come alongside us in providing valuable informational articles in the Newsletter. Many are Dexter owners from different parts of the Country, with different viewpoints, from different associations, but all coming together for the good of the breed we all love. We cover countless topics like history, health, dairy, beef, farm management, homesteading and more. We often share cheese, soap making or bread making in our homestead section, as well as stories written by new owners. We also have contributors who are not Dexter owners, but they have experience with diary, beef or homesteading. Our team feels that if we can encourage and support new breeders, they stay longer and succeed in the Dexter breed. This not only helps them, it helps the breed.
We hope you will join us as a member of the IDC soon. Members get more perks than just the Newsletter. If you belong to one of the associations or an affiliate then you will receive a discount on your membership with IDC. Please contact the affiliates for your discount membership code or reach out to one of us.
We can even help you set up your own storefront for whatever you may have to sell from the farm. You are not limited to just Dexters.
Thank you for being part of the Irish Dexter Cattlemen community…where we are helping Farmers & Ranchers grow, innovate, build, manage, regenerate, produce and above all promote, market and sell your Dexters.

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General

Building a Solid Foundation

This podcast sent me into a few fits of laughter with the speaker’s dry humor. Obviously this experienced vet has been around, and has seen a few things. And while Dexter cattle (including the bulls) tend to be smaller and easier to handle, I highly recommend implementing the recommendations in this podcast. Not only will it make handling your animals easier, it will set you up for a more successful relationship with your vet and your neighbors. 

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Farm Management

Slow is Fast

“Slow is fast”, this is the phrase my dad says at least once or twice every time we work cattle. There are some things you just can’t rush, and cattle are one of them. While we have found our Dexters are easy to move and work with, here are some tips to become more proficient in handling cattle.

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Farm Management

Willow for Grazing

Are cows that eat willow better for the planet? A Queens University research project aims to find out if Willow can make farming more carbon neutral.

One aspect of Agroforestry uses trees as forage for livestock, and is gaining in popularity. Willow contain anti-parasitic compounds, they can be a great buffer around water sources, and have other great benefit to livestock and pasture. Do you graze Willow trees, or would you give it a try?

https://theorkneynews.scot/2021/10/12/willow-as-a-feed-for-livestock-pioneering-research/

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Farm Management
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