A Deep Dive Podcast, brought to you by Irish Dexter Cattlemen, on topics of interest to all farmers and ranchers. Subscribe to the free, monthly Irish Dexter Cattlemen Tips & Tricks Guide to get early access.
Cattle Marketing Podcast – Reach Your Target Market and Boost Profits Read More »
Podcasts
An Educational Resource for New Dexter Owners
Dexter cattle have a well-earned reputation for being hardy, efficient, and capable of handling conditions that challenge many larger beef breeds. That reputation draws new owners in. It can also quietly set them up for trouble if it leads to the belief that winter preparedness is optional.
It is rarely the Dexter cattle that fail in severe cold.
It is systems.
And occasionally, knees, fingers, and judgment before the second cup of coffee.
This article is written as an educational resource for farm organizations, breed associations, and new Dexter owners who want to build operations that function reliably when winter conditions are at their worst. It blends research-based guidance with practical, on-the-ground experience, because winter does not care how things looked on paper in July.
Understanding Dexter Cattle and Cold Stress
Dexter cattle tolerate cold well due to their dense winter coats, efficient metabolism, and generally lower maintenance requirements. Cold tolerance, however, is not immunity.
Research consistently shows that cattle experience cold stress when environmental conditions force them to burn additional energy to maintain normal body temperature. Wind, moisture, inadequate calories, poor body condition, and limited access to water all accelerate this process. Over time, cold stress can lead to weight loss, suppressed immunity, and reproductive impacts.
Dexters can handle winter.
Winter still has rules.
Preparedness Starts With Farm Design, Not the Forecast
The most difficult winter situations occur when chores become reactive instead of routine. A well-designed farm reduces emergency labor. A poorly designed one forces risky decisions during storms.
Preparedness begins with infrastructure choices made long before the first weather advisory.
Water Infrastructure: Design for Failure, Not Convenience
Water systems are the most common winter failure point on livestock farms.
Water lines do not fail politely, during daylight, or when conditions are mild.
Water lines
Hydrants and valves
Heated water troughs
Solar water systems can work well when designed properly, but winter realities must be considered. Battery capacity must account for short daylight hours, panels must shed snow, and output will be reduced during prolonged storms.
A water system that works flawlessly nine months of the year can still become a liability if it requires wrestling frozen hardware in the dark while livestock observe quietly and reconsider their respect for you.
Power Systems: Assume the Grid Will Fail
Winter storms routinely knock out power for days. Generators should be considered core farm safety equipment, not optional upgrades.
They are rarely purchased because everything is going well.
A generator should be capable of supporting:
Fuel storage should cover multiple days of operation. Electrical layouts should prioritize critical systems and protect wiring and outlets from moisture, snow, and rodents.
Electric Fencing in Winter Conditions
Electric fencing behaves differently in cold weather.
Solar chargers provide valuable redundancy but must be sized for winter conditions and maintained during snow events.
Frozen ground has very little respect for even the most carefully installed grounding systems.
Redundancy matters more than strength.
Farm Layout and Human Safety
Dexter cattle generally move through snow with impressive confidence.
The person carrying feed across ice often does not, even when wearing boots marketed as “winter rated.”
A winter-ready farm layout:
Farm layouts designed on pleasant spring afternoons tend to reveal their weaknesses during January wind events.
Feeding and Watering During Extreme Cold
Cold increases energy requirements. Research indicates cattle may require 7–10% more energy for each degree below their lower critical temperature, particularly when wind and moisture are present.
Preparedness includes:
Water intake must be monitored closely. Frozen or inaccessible water leads directly to reduced feed intake and increased cold stress.
Human Safety Is Herd Health
Human safety is often discussed last, despite being the single point of failure that immediately compromises animal care.
Dexter cattle may be perfectly comfortable standing in a snowstorm.
The person doing chores is the variable.
Most winter injuries occur due to slips near water sources, fatigue, rushing, or poor visibility. Clothing, lighting, rest, and task consolidation are safety requirements, not luxuries.
Knowing When to Pause
Preparedness includes restraint.
No routine chore improves outcomes when visibility is poor, footing is unsafe, and the operator is one misstep away from becoming the emergency. Calm, consistent care is safer and more effective than heroic effort.
Dexter Cattle Cold Stress Checklist (Quick Reference)
Before the Storm
During the Storm
After the Storm
Dexter cattle are resilient. Winter preparedness is not about proving toughness. It is about designing systems that still work when conditions degrade and the person doing the chores is already tired.
Final Perspective
Dexter cattle are resilient. Farms must be designed to match that resilience.
Extreme winter weather does not test commitment. It tests whether systems were built to function when conditions deteriorate. Preparedness is not bravado. It is making sure that when winter does what winter does, both cattle and caretakers come through it intact.
And preferably upright.
Michele DeVinney Schmoll is a Virginia farm owner at DeVine Farms Quality Dexters. She raises Irish Dexter Cattle and writes from firsthand experience, because farms don’t read instruction manuals. http://www.devinefarms.net/
Author’s Note
This article is written from a practical livestock-owner perspective, informed by university extension research and shaped by real-world experience managing animals during prolonged cold, power outages, and severe winter storms. The intent is not to present idealized systems, but to encourage farm designs and management decisions that reduce risk for both cattle and the people responsible for their care. Preparedness is most effective when it reflects what winter actually demands on the ground.
REFERENCE LITERATURE (CLICKABLE LINKS)
Cold stress basics, winter readiness, and management
1) University of Minnesota Extension — Preparing your cattle for severe winter weather
2) University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) — Feeding Cows for Cold Weather (energy needs vs wind chill; lower critical temp)
3) Virginia Tech / Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) — The Cow-Calf Manager: Extra Energy Needed During Cold Weather (archived newsletter)
4) UNL BeefWatch — Winterizing your cowherd: Managing cows through cold stress
Calves and high-risk groups
5) Virginia Tech / VCE — The Cow-Calf Manager: Cold stress on calves (archived newsletter)
Emergency preparedness and disaster planning resources
6) UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine — Emergency Preparedness and Response (hub)
7) UC Davis Emergency Preparedness & Response — Resources page (includes livestock disaster preparedness links) https://response.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/resources
Optional (useful supporting reading for farm org audiences)
8) West Virginia University Extension — Lingering effects of cold stress (weather + animal factors) https://extension.wvu.edu/agriculture/livestock/beef-cattle/lingering-effects-of-cold-stress
Designing a Dexter Cattle Operation for Extreme Winter Weather Read More »
Farm Management
From Judy Sponaugle
THE AMERICAN KERRY AND DEXTER CATTLE CLUB BULLETIN FOUR Read More »
Historical
Buy the cattle. How often in life do you just do something that you later think, what the heck did I do? Roll the dice and see what comes up. That wasn’t me. I thought it over. I had a plan. When you have a plan, it always works. At least I try to convince myself of that.
I had the land. 40 acres of woods and pasture. My dream come true. A small turnout attached to the horse stables within spitting distance of a 3 acre pasture. The turnout has 4 rail iron fencing and the pasture has 3 strands of electric wire. The perfect place, in my mind, for my new Dexter cattle.
I had read, multiple times, that Dexter cattle are easy on the land. Smaller, lighter, and easy grazers. A cow per acre, I should be golden. Start small and grow.
Electric fencing, for me, was a nonstarter. I get it. The cattle respect it when trained. It is cheaper than other alternatives and easy to install. One small problem. I don’t like getting shocked. If I don’t like it, my cattle sure as heck won’t.
As a teenager, my cousin, Kevin, and I were raccoon hunting in my Pappy’s woods. Let me amend that. We were chasing our coon dogs through the woods who were chasing deer. The raccoons were very safe.
Kevin announced that he had to take a potty break. It was dark and I pointed my head lamp on anything but Kevin. I heard him yell and fall backwards directly into several thorn bushes. Not knowing what to think I shined my light on him seeing laying down with his pants at his ankles. Kevin was yelling, “I got shocked! I got shocked!”
He peed on an electric fence. Lesson learned. I don’t like electric fences.
But it was November. I won’t put the Dexters on the pasture until the spring anyway. I can buy the cattle and keep in my turnout. I can use the stables in the winter to keep them warm. I can remove the electric fence in the spring and install a new fence. It can’t be much more expensive. That should work. Plan was taking shape. Buy the cattle.
As soon I called, I knew. I found a website of a seller that was relatively close to where I lived. Looked genuinely wholesome, and in this day and age, you never know. I gave them a call. I didn’t know it then, but I say it proudly now, that is when I first spoke to very nice people who I will later call my mentors. If you are new, find one. There are people out there who share the same thoughts, and have experienced it before, who are willing to engage and assist. Take calls from you while you are on your cell phone standing in the pasture, staring at a cow saying what the heck just happened and what do I do now.
I, my wife, and Bear, my beloved dog, were invited to their farm. In fairness to my dog, I don’t know who is more attached, the dog or me. Both of us have a lot of sticky velcro on us. I am happy with either description.
It helps seeing the farm and the environment that the cattle are being raised in. I had decided that the cattle I wanted were cattle that were well taken care of, loved, not horned, and docile. All of those, of course, are a personal preference. After leaving, my wife told me that we just bought some cattle, though the check had not been written. She was correct.
My mentors delivered Bitsie, Willow, Jubilee (in calf), and Liberty just a few days later. Our Yellowstone was in the cattle business.
A little bit about the author. I own and operate a small farm called “Our Yellowstone LLC” in Illinois. I couldn’t do it alone, but will keep my wife’s name out of it to protect her innocence.
DEXTER CATTLE – JOY, LAUGHTER, AND HEARTBREAK – PART III Read More »
Selling
A Deep Dive Podcast, brought to you by Irish Dexter Cattlemen, on topics of interest to all farmers and ranchers. Subscribe to the free, monthly Irish Dexter Cattlemen Tips & Tricks Guide to get early access.
Sustainability Podcast – The Irish Dexter Read More »
Podcasts
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.
This was part of the reason I purchased a simple pulse machine. Clean up is this easy!
Clean up with a simple pulse machine Read More »
Milking & Dairy
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.
What a Dexter family gathering! Read More »
Historical
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 other is called The Science of Owning Dairy Cattle.
☆☆ Milk Fever
It scares so many dairy cow owners, and for a rightful reason. However I hope that I can shed some light on it and take away a bit of that fear. Hypocalcemia (milk fever) is brought on by the sudden demand for calcium that comes prior to delivery and directly afterwards. This taps her muscles, which carry that, heavily. In a pre calving scenario it will affect labor, since the cow needs muscles to contract. Often in this case she will need assistance. Characterized by lethargic movement, dull, dark eyes, and drop in body temperature, it can also lead to her going “down.”
●● Prevention
First calf heifers are less prone to this, but it CAN happen in them. Commonly it affects 3rd lactation and beyond. From the time she delivers her calf you are either setting her up for a great following lactation, or one doomed to fail. It all start with NUTRITION. Dairy cattle are beautiful, but oh so delicate. She needs fiber, energy, starch, protein, bypass protein and minerals to simply survive. (Keep an eye out for Mariah Gull and her weekly posts regarding this subject!) When a cow calves in she loses body weight rather rapidly. During this time she “milks off” condition. Peak is considered to be day 30 to 90 in milk. If she is being fed correctly, she will not become too thin. Coupled with a good deworming protocol, she will slowly regain weight. At roughly day 80 she ideally will be bred back, and than her body weight will continue to rise. Grain should rise as she peaks to meet her milk volume, than slowly decrease as it falls. If she goes into late stage lactation either too thin or on the alternate, overweight, she is being setup for metabolic problems. During the dry period I either cut grain off completely (during spring and summer grazing, when forage quality is high) or feed a 2 to 3 lb per head feeding rate during the fall and winter.
Transition refers to the time before estimated due date. This commonly starts at 3 weeks out from calving, and technically extends to 30 days in milk. This is my protocol.
1) stop salt access, as it increases the chance of edema.
2) feed either a high fiber, grassy hay or have her graze similar.
3) feed 3 lbs a day of our parlor grain (18 percent protein)
4) top dress with the negative DCAD Soy Chlor
Five to seven days prior to delivery her appetite will drop. If it is significant I give B Complex.
On this protocol I see very little metabolic problems. However I always give Bovikalc to…
A) an assisted birth
B) twins
C) a cow with a known history for metabolic problems (milk fever, metritis, ketosis)
Should she go down, IV calcium is the only way to get her back up.
A cow that has had milk fever typically never reaches her full potential in milk volume for that lactation.
Milk Fever – Prevention and treatment By Juliette Albrecht Read More »
Milking & Dairy
Maybe this is why we get less milk in the winter months?
https://www.bovinevetonline.com/news/education/light-can-have-huge-impact-milk-production
Is milk production like egg production? Submitted by Janelle Soja, Royal Fare Farm, OH Read More »
Milking & Dairy
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!
https://www.mountainheritagefarm.com/blog/cream-variation
LET’S TALK CREAM AND DEXTERS Read More »
Milking & Dairy
COVID. It sucked. No matter what aisle of the plane that you sit in, even if you just want to stand in the middle, it sucked. There was tragedy, heart ache and despair. Some are still recovering. Some never will. All that said, it was eye opening for me. An introvert by nature (though very few of those that meet me will agree with that description), COVID was somewhat of a respite. It forced, for better or worse, solitude. For me, it brought peace. It got me thinking about our world and my place in it. It was time to start questioning old habits and accepting the norm. It was time to start doing.
Where do I start? As my late Dad would say, at the beginning. I started to look for property in a rural area. That was my first mistake. I didn’t have a solid foundation as to what I wanted to do. I looked at field, woods, and pastures. Some had homes, and others did not. About all of the properties were a good distance from where I lived and some were located in other States. After becoming exhausted and frustrated, I realized that my search was futile. I needed to establish what I wanted to do and with what animals.
My initial thought was horses. My thought is I could breed horses, and/or run a boarding business. It was my wife, ever the cynic, who asked the first pointed question. “Do you know how to ride a horse?”
Contrary to popular opinion in my household, I was a seasoned equestrian and rodeo champion. At least in my mind I dreamed I could be. That said, I scheduled horse back riding lessons. While I enjoyed the lessons, and riding, I started to think it was going to take a lot of time and experience to take other people’s horses in and provide appropriate care. But alas, fate had other plans. My wife quit asking about trivial things such as my ability to take care of horses and we sold our home and bought a home with horse stables and acreage. For me, it was heaven.
Then reality set in. I remembered what the goal was. The goal was to raise our own food. Horses would be welcome, but horse meat will never be in our diet.
The internet, love it or lump it, is a source of a great deal of information. I play the game. In that, I mean, I disregard all the “great” comments, and all the “terrible” comments and seek the middle, I tried to not seek articles that I favored but cast a wide net looking for neutrality. Just the facts, ma’am. What I found intrigued me. Dexter cattle. Ideal for beef, milk, and smaller areas of land. Hearty animals and docile in nature. Not miniature, but smaller in stature. Less intimidating for the new and not an animal that has to be considered a pet.
I compared to different breeds. I was intrigued by grass fed and milk that many argue is better suited to sensitive stomachs. Not only for feeding my family, but the potential of feeding others. I was not looking for marketing gimmicks but trying to fit a niche. My niche. I was told finding the acreage was the hardest part of raising cattle. I can say with 100% certainty, that is a lie. But I am having so much fun living my dreams with our Dexter cattle.
A little bit about the author for those who have read this article or maybe even the first article and scrolled to the bottom of this article just to see if someone had the guts to admit writing this. I own and operate a small farm called “Our Yellowstone LLC” in Illinois. I couldn’t do it alone, but will keep my wife’s name out of it to protect her innocence.
DEXTER CATTLE – JOY, LAUGHTER, AND HEARTBREAK PART II Read More »
Selling
The old saying “No feet, no cow” is a phrase that denotes the importance of a cow’s ability to walk. Without good feet there can be no cow to stand on them, thus causing peril to the health of the cow. No Udder, no cow could be a similar maximum, denoting the importance of the cow’s udder. Without a good functioning udder, a cow cannot fulfill her role to nourish a calf or humans thus degrading her value as a cow. Not every Dexter needs an udder like Atlantic Alison, but the quality of a Dexter cow is tied up in the function and quality of her udder.
This scale of points as seen above, is the first scale of points written for Dexter cattle and the most authoritative in breed history. It makes it clear what values can be attributed to a Dexter cow. As you can see udder traits are very important to the Dexter breed. There is no room in the Dexter breed for cows with truly bad udders, as it’s not agreeable to the standard scale of points. So, you see, 40% of a Dexter cows value of points is wrapped up in the quality of her udder, where only 25% goes for her body. That 25% is not just shortness or depth alone but “body, top line, under line, ribs, setting of tail, shortness of leg &c.” The point is cows with good udders are very important to the breed. A cow that lacks valuable udder points would scale very low as a Dexter in general. A cow that is not perfectly short could still score quite high as a Dexter if all other traits were ideal. A short Dexter with a bad udder would easily be beat by a taller Dexter with good conformation and an excellent udder.
Come check out our growing TikTok account and join the fun! Our content is a great mix of cute, fun, informative, and everything in between—there’s something for everyone. Be sure to follow us so you don’t miss out.
Want to see your Dexters or your farm featured? We’d love that! Feel free to send photos and/or videos to
📧 tiktok@irishdextercattlemen.com
We’ll also be posting new ads on TikTok. I’m currently catching up on existing ads, and once we’re up to date, your ad will be posted as soon as it goes live on the website.
Have content ideas or interesting Dexter facts to share? Photos, videos, and suggestions are always welcome, just send them to the email above.
Let’s show off our Dexter community! 🐄💚
We’re on TikTok! 🎉 @idc79807 Read More »
General
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 ever method you choose, make sure you do it, it makes cleaning the udder sooo much easier!
Is Your Dexter Udder Hairy? Read More »
Milking & Dairy
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. I followed the instructions and had to cut off to sections on the red rubber grip to get a proper fit. After that I attached it to her tail and monitored during the day, like I always have. I figured she was a few days out and mostly used it at night, so I could sleep.
After a brief phone call with them, to make sure it was working properly, I relaxed and decided to give it a chance. He due date came and went, but all of my experience told me she was not ready and I slept like a baby.
The next morning while finishing up miking, my husband said…Did you just get an email like this? I grabbed my phone only to have it MOOO at me! I had received the email and text…but now it was mooing at me from the APP I had downloaded.
We quickly finished up and went to check on her…and yes she was in the beginning stages of labor. The Moo Call said she would calf within the hour…and she did! The alerts started at 7:34 and the calf arrived at 8:18. Here are some visuals of our experience.
A little help from TECHNOLOGY can help with calving… Read More »
Technology
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 to use. The pictures are automatically resized to work with the system. No pre approval process. We can tweak it later if we need to. And also a team behind you that can help you make it what you want it to be.
Here are some recently posted ads. Check them out!
The Irish Dexter Cattlemen Marketplace..have you tried a free ad? Read More »
General
Pound for pound, no bovine can match the diversity of Dexter cattle, one of the smallest cattle breeds.
Ideal Small Farm Cows: Dexter Cattle Read More »
Homesteading
Irish Dexter Cattlemen is about farmers & Ranchers. A critical design feature of the website was to connect farmers & ranchers with each other using the latest technology. For example, whenever you list an item for sale in the MarketPlace, you instantly become connected to the buyers interested in your item. Buyers can directly message you and ask questions about the cow you have just listed. As the seller, you begin to collect the names and email addresses of all your potential buyers. This is one way farmers & ranchers become connected to each other..
Announcing the Documents Vault, a new way farmers & ranchers can share information with other farmers & ranchers, plus a unique way to dramatically simplify the sale and transfer of your Irish Dexter. In fact, you can use the Documents Vault to sell and transfer any item you have on the farm. The key feature is how it can share.
Casual users browsing the Irish Dexter Cattlemen website, users who have registered for free on the website, and members who have registered and then have become members, all have access to the Documents Vault in increasingly feature rich ways depending on their chosen level.
To access the Documents Vault, mouse over Dashboards on the main menubar, then select My Documents Vault. If you are a casual user, this will open the Public Documents Vault containing folders and documents relevant for public viewing. If you are a registered user, this will open your Private Documents Vault where you can create you own personal folders where you can upload files and documents plus you will have acess to folders and files shared with you by other farmers & ranchers. If you are a member, you will have access to the same files and folders as do registered users plus you gain access to significantly more valuable documents that enhance your farming operation.
The Documents Vault is no different than an ordinary file system except in one important way. It provides you with file and documents sharing. To begin, use the New button to create folders or upload files. In this example, a new folder was created and labeled Irish Dexters which you can see on the left under Dashboard. Clicking on this folder allowed for it to be opened and four more folders were created as you see above. Click on the Cows folder and here you can create a separate folder for each of your cows. Click on a specific cow’s folder and you can begin uploading the documents for that cow. What kind of documents? The system accepts Word documents Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, text files, pdf documents, images, and photos. This means you can upload a photo of your brucellosis certificate provided to you by your vet. Upload your cow’s registration certificate provided to you by your registrar. Upload the genetic tests provided by your genetics testing lab. Upload your cow’s photos. Collect all the documents as they occur. Use your smartphone to capture your documents. What’s the benefit? When time comes to sell your cow, or heifer, or bull, one simple click of the Share button transfers all your cow’s information to your new buyer. This is how you build value for your farm and your buyer will instantly see that your farm is where they want to buy more cows.
Click on the folder then click on the Share button. It’s as easy as that. In the Share window (shown above) you can enter the buyer’s email address (they must complete a free registration on the website first) and then choose how you want to share your folder. Your choices are View Only, View and Upload, or Full Access. Any folder or for that matter, any single document can be shared. Sharing does not remove the folder or document. You continue to have full access to it, just as before. This new tools makes it even easier to sell and transfer your Irish Dexters and you have a direct record of who bought your cow. They buyer has a direct record of where they bought each animal. They are sure to buy more from you again.
Your fundamental, underlying goal in the operation of your farm is to build value. The Documents Vault does just that. It keeps you organized and it demonstrates to your buyers a significantly higher degree of trust. They are assured that they get everything they bought. This means that your buyers will be contacting you first for all their future purchases. The example here was for your Irish Dexters, but anything on your farm can be documented and shared in the same way. Also, you can add new information on how you farm and capture information you think is valuable and easily share it with everyone at Irish Dexter Cattlemen by selecting All Users in the Share window. The Documents Vault is how Irish Dexter Cattlemen connects farmers & ranchers.
Announcing The Documents Vault Read More »
General
Many may not know that the Dexter at one time was known to have milking properties of equal merit as the Kerry, a known dairy breed, though they are a dual-purpose breed. Mr. R Tait Robertson was to of said ” The milking properties of both breeds may be said to be of about equal merit”. Who is R. Tait Robertson? He is the son of James Robertson, of whom bred or collected a large portion of the foundation Dexters sold to England and other places. He was an influential breeder. For an interesting photo reference of the amazing similarities of Dexter and Kerry cattle see Aicme Check (Dexter cow) and Greenah Florah 2nd (Kerry cow). I did not have to hunt far and wide to find examples that looked closely related. All I had to do is go to the 1901 Herd book and find the only available photos of an example Kerry and Dexter cow. And by the way note the classic white Dexter udder marking on the Kerry cow as this was a common Kerry trait feature too. Nose to nose as you can see in the photo comparison they do look quite alike.
Historically looking at the Dexter milk properties! Read More »
Historical
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!
Top Homesteading Breed! Read More »
Homesteading
Born Survivor – Story of the Dexter – Heritage Cattle.
Dexter Cattle Return to Ireland Read More »
Historical
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 a niche products and should be marketed with that in mind. We happen to be grass fed, grass finished another niche market. I think if you take a step back and look at your market, you will be able to carve out a niche for your Dexter products. I use the chef Ramsey card all the time….do you know that he prefers Dexter beef and uses them in his restaurants.
Did you know that Crest Point Farms, also a member of the IDC online stores is a supplier to the restaurant market. Take a look at his marketing on our website and you will see his marketing of both his Irish Dexter beef and Kune Kune pork. Using the systems put in place for you at the Irish Dexter Cattlemen ( IDC) website you should be able to create this niche for you and your products in your area.
Take a look the products available from Stumpys Acres and Ashron Acres? They are selling Dexter beef and handmade farm items.
Also take a look at Maple Creek Dexters, they have no ads currently running, but a lovely write about their farm. Lucky them, they have nothing at the moment that they are trying to sell. This happens with repeat customers and word of mouth selling from happy customers.
But if an online store is not right for you at this time in your marketing…then look to the IDC Marketplace. To receive a free ad for the marketplace all you need to do is register first and then fill out the information as it prompts you thru the process. The end result is a beautiful professional looking ad. You can then copy and paste that link anywhere like FB, IG or an email. I have found that by using the ad link I look more professional and now have a wait list for my Nubians, Dexters and my soap business has certainly taken off in a big way, as I am now shipping more and more! It’s no longer just a local sale. One important feature for me is…it lets me know when my inventory is low by item. This is helping me produce what I need for my growing business.
The IDC website is so much more than just a marketplace and free monthly newsletter. With an entry level membership you have access to practically everything in the cattle industry, specific Dexter articles, and access to all three registries….I no longer need to remember other website addresses. The IDC website is a one stop shop for everything I need, and provides access to anything Dexter.
We can help you sell your Dexters and farm products Read More »
Selling
Minerals are a small, but mighty, nutrient requirement for cattle. These elements cannot be made by the body and they are essential for proper function of the skeletal, immune, and muscular systems.
Cattle Nutrition – Minerals Matter Read More »
Herd Health
Grass Fed beef is higher in beta carotene, vitamin E, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and omega 3 fatty acids
Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Beef Read More »
Beef
Dexter beef is a breed of cattle that is known for its quality and taste. It is commonly known in foodie circles that Dexter beef is some of the tastiest around and really good to eat.
The Quality Of Dexter Beef Read More »
Beef Selling
”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
What is Dexter Beef? Read More »
Beef
