Dexter Beef

[lhaggard]

I've been watching RFD-TV a lot lately and the Angus Association has sure sold the public on "Certified Angus Beef" (CAB). In fact, anything that has a black hide is called Angus. Take a colored calf (other than black) to the sale and see how much you get docked just because it's not black. Dexter beef has been touted by many chefs as about the best beef there is. Why can't we Dexter breeders start our own campaign about Dexter beef. The 2 Dexter Associations don't have the money the Angus Association has, but we could start a grassroots campaign (with the endorsement of the Associations). If consumers knew just how good Dexter beef was, we could be getting a premium on our beef. Just a thought.

[kansasdexters]

It's a good thought. We raise grassfed, grass-finished Dexter beef (and Kerry beef) and we do get a premium for our beef. We have a loyal group of customers that come back year after year and we sell out every year, by advanced reservations. We sell whole steers, sides, and split sides, dry aged for 14-21 days, and then custom cut to order. Our prices include processing and delivery of the orders (our customers like that very much). We've been selling Dexter beef in Northeast Kansas since 2007 and we currently process 12 to 15 grass finished beeves each year between June and October. We sell wholesale and retail, about 50% of our business is wholesale.

When our Dexter or Kerry beef is showcased in the grocery store meat display, there is always a special sign that tells customers it's "Wakarusa Ridge Ranch" Dexter or Kerry Beef, locally raised and locally processed. That is a big selling point in our area. Customers know what they are getting and where it is coming from. We've done in-store promotions with free samples, it is very effective in encouraging people to try Dexter beef and it's so much fun to watch the beef just "fly off the shelves" after people have sampled it!



Once people have tried properly finished, dry-aged, custom cut Dexter beef, they come back for more. The key to being successful with this is to have a very good processor (that will dry age and custom cut the meat), access to clean water, and enough land that grows high quality pasture grasses in abundance to adequately fatten the steers within the proper timeframe.

Patti

[Olga]

In my area of AR people aren't willing to pay premium prices for Dexter beef. Heck, they weren't even willing to pay premium price for my uber-grainfed Hereford steer either. It's as if they thought that grass-fed beef would be cheaper to produce.
The other thing is that the pastures in my area of AR are so void of nutrients that they don't grow good grass. Most producers overgraze their already poor pastures. I drive by fields with malnourished animals every day. If one was to try to properly finish out Dexters on pasture here, the meat would end up being very expensive.
For me it's not an option, as I don't have a big enough herd to be able to predict if I'll even have a single steer from year to year.
A fellow breeder down south, closer to larger cities, tried to raise Dexters for beef. He has been unsuccessful in this endeavor and switched to a larger non-Dexter bull to produce calves that will be the "correct" size, according to the consumers.

[Maple View Farm]

I'd be on board. I know there are others in the Dexter group we are in that would be also. Someone just needs to jump in and see what it would involve and come up with the details and guidelines. Like the Niman ranch does. I think they have 700 farms in their co-op to supply grass-raised beef to stores. Go for it. Get other farms to join in like a co-op.

[theburrowfarm]

We invite people over for cookouts .They see the cows grazing as they sink their teeth into a burger.They always say WOW what is this followed by this is the best beef I've ever tasted. Another customer added.The last two years we have had to buy surplus bulls from area breeders to keep up with demand.We hope to continue growing only time will tell.

[laughingllama75]

That picture makes me want to sink my teeth in!

[Olga]

Oh yeah, that's great looking meat, Patti! I'm almost out of beef in my freezer...

[dexterfarm]

I dont think a big campaign is needed. we have not had enough extra to try and market. but those that I know that do have no problems selling it. With a little local marketing it sells its self. We dont want dexters to be a commercial feed lot beef as the they have turned the Angus into.
Angus is junk or that is what it has become. I have never had good Angus but as I understand it it was good at one time before the popularity rose. As already stated everything black is now called Angus. I was talking with an old timer who remembered the Angus he raised as a kid. He said at one point they were having issues with them being to short standing belly deep in there own manure in the feedlots. He says Guernsey was used to get longer legs on them and there were a lot of mean bulls after that happened.
I have a neighbor who breeds Angus when the calves are old enough they go off to the feed lot auctions. I was going to buy a steer from him once until I found out he to uses the hormone implants. also in talking with him I was asking him about the quality of the meet. He said he didnt know they did not eat beef anymore. That has to say something when a medium large beef producer doesn't eat beef.
the Angus association sure has spent a lot of money on hype but that is all it is hype because they have a product that is no longer that great and they need it to sell.

[Deleted]

Actuall Genebo, I have read the same in many bits and pieces about the short led = tender meat.

This comment is always followed with info that shorties don't move around as much, they hit slaughter weight earlier blah blah and more blah.

Having a mixture of both, I disagree with the don't move around as much - actually our shorties never seem to stop. If they're not eating, they are sticking their noses into things while the longies appear more laid back and seem to rest longer.

And all of ours are barrels on legs, so I can't agree with the slaughter weight comment either.

Maybe we are outside the norm,

[carragheendexters]

Hi Genebo, I think that what Gearld was trying to get across is comparing cattle with shorter flat boned cannons compared to those with great long legs and round bone such as had been the trend in beef cattle, you know how it was in Angus and Herefords "the bigger and beefier the better" which they did by lengthening the legs and getting heavy round bone. These type of cattle take for ever to mature and don't dress out well with good percentages. His breed is Devons and compared to other beef breeds they do have shorter legs. IMO I don't think it really can be compared in Dexters, ie chondro carrier versus non-carrier, as Dexters generally have relatively short legs compared to other breeds and they should all have flat finer bone compared to other beef breeds as they are meant to be dual purpose in structure.
The cattle that he is talking about with these type of legs tend to have flat muscle not the bulging type that you see in Limousin, and flat muscle is notoriously more tender than bulging muscle.
regards Louise

[legendrockranch]

Jul 3, 2013 17:19:14 GMT -5 carragheendexters said:

Hi Genebo, I think that what Gearld was trying to get across is comparing cattle with shorter flat boned cannons compared to those with great long legs and round bone such as had been the trend in beef cattle, you know how it was in Angus and Herefords "the bigger and beefier the better" which they did by lengthening the legs and getting heavy round bone. These type of cattle take for ever to mature and don't dress out well with good percentages. His breed is Devons and compared to other beef breeds they do have shorter legs. IMO I don't think it really can be compared in Dexters, ie chondro carrier versus non-carrier, as Dexters generally have relatively short legs compared to other breeds and they should all have flat finer bone compared to other beef breeds as they are meant to be dual purpose in structure.
The cattle that he is talking about with these type of legs tend to have flat muscle not the bulging type that you see in Limousin, and flat muscle is notoriously more tender than bulging muscle.
regards Louise

I have to agree with you Louise.
As I have previously mentioned in the past I have met and talked with Mr. Fry, although that was several years back at one of the ADCA's general membership meetings.

[ctownson]

Patti, your displays are outstanding and I can see why the beef is in demand. We just processed a bull that was about 2 years old, bringing home 265 pounds of meat. It is simply delicious!

[cddexter]

I think it helps to have access to an urban area. I'm in a blue collar area (fishermen, truckers and loggers), and when I try to sell Dexter beef, they laugh at me, because the cuts are too small. Why, I'd have to eat TWO of them things just to get a decent helping. is what I hear around here. I ended up cutting all my steaks two inches thick, and that helped, but it's hard to break that hanging over the edge of the plate mentality. Then, there's the cheapies...more than happy to let me give them a steak or a couple of lbs of hamburger, but danged if they come back if they have to pay for it, even if at a lower price than store bought. Go figure. Like Olga says, I raise it, so they expect dirt cheap prices. I've always been an idea person, but never much of a marketer. cheers, c.

[legendrockranch]

Patti, I think those of some of the best trimmed steaks I've seen in a long time.

c, two inches thick, wow. We cut ours 1 1/2 and they were pretty thick at that. I should have taken out steaks for tomorrow the 4th of July, but no we're having burgers instead.

Barb

[carragheendexters]

HaHa Genebo, now you have to try VB and XXXX beer, I kid you not we really do have 4x beer, and you'll have to practice saying Howyagoingmate? and Djavagoodweekend? They are 2 common aussie sayings.
regards Louise