Mother Earth News: Grass-Fed Article

[tonyb]

Mother Earth News has an on-line article about grass-fed beef. Its easy to find from the main page at www.motherearthnews.com, but here is the full link anyway:

www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/Grass-Fed-Meat-Benefits.aspx

Tony

[copperhead]

I read that article, it's really good. It gives me ammo when I have people hassle me about my grass fed beef, haa ha.
P.J.

[Clive]

That's a great article. A lot of people think that grass-fed beef is all about feeding grass instead of corn, but it goes much further as the article states. The genes for rearing cattle that can finish on grass have been lost in many cases, as well as the animals getting too big. The dexter breed must be a massive repository of these lost genes. Looking at my cattle I can see Angus from decades ago and other breeds, apart from the Dexter. People complain about introgression; to me it's one of the main benefits of the breed. By selective breeding you could presumably get near regenerating cattle from the past or another equivalent with all the right traits to suit the environment, which to be honest, most cattle don't. A bit like Jurassic Park but with huge and real importance. It's not far fetched at all, I feel, to imagine the Dexter as being the start of a number of new breeds more suited to the future.

[jamshundred]

<<<Looking at my cattle I can see Angus from decades ago and other breeds, apart from the Dexter. People complain about introgression; to me it's one of the main benefits of the breed. By selective breeding you could presumably get near regenerating cattle from the past or another equivalent with all the right traits to suit the environment, which to be honest, most cattle don't.<<

Hi Clive,

I absolutely agree with you. I can look around the American herd and see those introgressed genes also! ( evil grin).

But I also agree that Dexters are absolutely a wonderful animal to use for outcrossing but I don't think the outcrossed genetics should come back into the breed. No one can say with any certainty how far a gene will carry. We have red that has carried for 10-12 generations before turning up from black animals. We now have PHA that has carried 20 years down the generatons from one root animal. So, how far will those Angus or Jersey genes travel when they are being concentrated to make red or polled? A long ways, and it is changing Dexters in the US.

When those other genes are coming forward. . . what isn't? What Dexter genes are being lost?

If we are to sustain the roots of this breed we need to protect the purity or we lose something in every out crossing.

I wanted to ask you if you have experience with Galloway meat?
They had taste tests here last year and the Galloway placed above the Dexter and I've seen written opinions that Galloway is better than Angus for meat production. I wonder if it really would out perform Dexter over the long haul?

Judy

[Clive]

I agree with what you say Judy. I hope the genetics project will be published soon. My point is that to breed for the pure Dexter, and I am assuming there is such a thing, I hope that we do not lose the introgression (i.e. old introgression from the past) which could also contain "magic ingredients".

A really good example is our sheep breed. They are Shropshire Sheep, a breed that was very widespread a hundred years ago but nearly became extinct as other breeds took over. Now there are about 3000 in the UK and thousands in Switzerland, France, Germany and I think Australia has now taken them up. Why? Because someone noticed that they don't eat trees. There must be another breed that doesn't do this also, but we don't know of one. So they are now sold and exported to tree growers, orchards and also vineyards. They keep the weeds down, fertilise the ground and produce lamb all in one go. What a fantastic gene! We've just crossed some to see if the "non-tree-eating" gene gets passed on.

With regards to Galloway, according to taste tests over here in the UK, it doesn't come up to Dexter. It does come on the radar but only just. I have a friend who is now doing Dexter and Galloway so it'll be interesting to see what she says in a year or two's time. I think with taste tests the list changes, but the Dexter is nearly always on the list. So if you did a list of lists, Dexter has to be right up there.

It could be complicated in that maybe when finished on grain Galloway comes out best, but when finished on grass Dexter comes out best. I think that grain-finishing is a great leveller. As I've said before, my wife and I did a year of tasting and it was actually Angus that came out clear second above Hereford, Longhorn (English), Shorthorn, Highland and many others. We did not try anything that could not be obtained or was extremely rare because there would have been little point. But the Angus was at a good restaurant in New York, and the Angus we had in England was good but did not compare. Angus over here is 99.9% of the time a cross.

I still maintain that it is the relatively small size that is key, that as well as it being a non-improved breed which has maintained it's proper fats. I would think that in most modern breeds they have had the genes that produce the good fats bred out of them. The Dexter could be used to re-introduce these fats AND bring the size down, both of which are essential for quality, taste, health and to save the planet. If we had Dexters that didn't eat trees they would be the perfect animal ;D.

i.e. it's not JUST the small size because if you tasted say Lowlines for example, I'd hazard a guess that it will be very good but because it has been bred from something that has already been honed down and probably lost the genes to produce the fatty acids that are responsible for the special taste, it will not be as good as Dexter and other more natural breeds. You can't get lost genes back is what I've been told. Once gone, they're gone forever. You can only reintroduce them from something outside. So if that's correct, then the Dexter must contain all sorts of goodies in fact probably every goody there is.

But that's not a call for new introgression, only things from the past will have any use as I see it.

[Clive]

"I wanted to ask you if you have experience with Galloway meat?
They had taste tests here last year and the Galloway placed above the Dexter and I've seen written opinions that Galloway is better than Angus for meat production. I wonder if it really would out perform Dexter over the long haul?
Judy"

Hi Judy

There has just been a television program (Great British Menu) last night in the UK and a Michelin chef went to a farm that raise Aberdeen Angus and Galloway. They showed the meat from both breeds and the farmer explained the difference. They then cooked a steak from each. Both the farmer and the chef tasted the steaks and the Angus was a clear winner for both of them. They were quite small-medium sized Angus, not the great big things you see nowadays.