The Dual-purpose Dexter

Dual-purpose Cattle

Home

Previous Page

The Dexter for Beef

There has never been a recorded case of BSE in Dexter cattle. The meat is quite superb, fine-grained and well marbled and has won taste awards for its outstanding flavour. The breed is renowned for its good meat to bone ratio producing an average killing out percentage of 56 percent.

The Dexter responds well to a natural grass and forage based diet and males should reach a carcase weight of around 200 kgs by 24/30 months of age - females, will obviously weigh less. There are many breeders who produce and sell their own meat, some by conventional methods of farming, others taking advantage of environmental schemes, a few specialising in producing beef organically or following the principles of the Wholesome Food Association. Meat is sold through farm shops, farmers' markets, farm gate sales and specialist butchers through the Rare Breed Survival Trust and over the Internet.

The Dexter for Milk

Sadly, there are no longer any commercial Dexter dairy herds remaining, as the policy for purchasing wholesale milk in this country does not encourage the small producer. When these type of herds were operating, average yields were almost 3,000 litres per lactation and some even exceeded 4,000 litres. Although this figure is lower than larger commercial dairy cows, because of the longevity of the Dexter, its lifetime yield often exceeded that of most dairy breeds.

Dexter milk is very high quality, with butterfat levels well over 4 percent and proteins regularly attaining over 3.5 percent. Being naturally homogenised, some people who find they cannot tolerate cows' milk find it easily digestible.

Fortunately, a small number of breeders have chosen to keep some of the milk lines going so that they can enjoy the benefits of home-produced milk, cream, butter, yogurt and cheese. Those seeking an easier route or who have less time to spare, leave the calf with it's dam and just take a little of the surplus milk for themselves.

If you experience any difficulties with page links or viewing photographs on the site, in the first instance try re-loading the page. If the problem persists or you experience any other technical issues please contact us.