Are Dexters the Right Breed for Me?

A few posts ago when I was writing my chapter review for Tim Young's book, "The Accidental Farmers," I mentioned in passing that I was questioning whether or not the Dexter breed was for me. It's something I've been thinking about lately and just this morning someone posted a comment asking why I was thinking that way. So, I figured it was time for me to try and articulate some of my thoughts on the subject. First of all let me say that at this point I'm still keeping the Dexters and trying to work with them, but knowing what I know now if I was starting over with the same goals in mind I'm not sure that I would go with the Dexters.

I don't remember exactly which book it was, although I'm pretty sure it was by Joel Salatin, but early on I remember reading that "seed stock" anything was not a good idea. What that meant was that going with pure breed animals for meat sales based farm probably wasn't a good idea. I tried to think my way around that by telling myself that I wasn't really interested in selling seed stock, so the ability to sell a heifer every now and then was just a bonus. I loved the historical aspect of the Dexter, I loved the small size, and I loved what I read about their qualities as a historical tri-purpose breed (meat, milk, and draft animals).

Here is my totally uneducated thinking of why I may not be sold on them for my farm right now ... The Dexters are listed as a recovering breed by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy and at one time their numbers here in the U.S. were pretty low. I think as they began to recover some marginal animals were kept for breeding stock (both cows and in my opinion especially bulls) that helped grow the numbers within the breed, but didn't really emphasize the strongest qualities of the breed. On top of that I'm not sure there is a very large number of people raising Dexters in the same type of all grass and no antibiotic system that I'm using right now.

That's all to say that while I still think Dexters are a great breed and that they would work in many situations (including mine) they may not work perfectly in my system. Or more specifically the particular Dexters I have weren't the perfect ones for me. When I decided on Dexters over three years ago what I was doing was choosing a breed based on their general historical background. What I should have been doing is choosing cows (not a breed) based on how I want to raise them. I honestly believe I would have been better served spending the money to get cows from a rotationally grazed farm that was grass based only. This may have meant I bought Dexters or it may have meant I bought cows ... just great cows ...

I think Dexters can still work and I hope to make them work on the farm. Above all I still think they are perfect breed for the small land holder because of their size and relatively calm disposition (although there are exceptions. I would like to add a couple other cows at some time though ... just to see ...

Not Exactly Spring

Last year for various reasons there were a couple cows (although one cow hasn't had a calf for a few years as far as I know and I'm still not convinced she is bred) that did not have a calf. Because of that (and the joys of setting up a farm on the fly) our calving has begun already. We were shooting for calves when the grass was green, but I guess now we are having them when we are dreaming of green grass! Nonetheless, cow and calf seem to be doing fine and I hope things continue down that direction.

The little bull calf was born early this afternoon inside the shed. As I was doing chores this morning I noticed some tell-tale signs that she would be calving soon and guessed that today was going to be the day (I had know she was getting close for a bit now). So, I decided to separate her from the rest of the herd inside and throw in plenty of bedding for the cow and the soon to be calf on the ground. It seems like it was just another carefree Dexter birth!

I am still amazed at how little these calves are when they come out ... and so very cute looking! As you can see this little guys is black and in the picture he was still getting his cleaning from momma. Also, while I was out there I was able to see him eating. I'm always glad to see that when we have a bull calf because for some reason the few bull calves we have had haven't been as smart about the whole eating thing! But, this guy has it figured out.

Hopefully we'll have a few more calves to come ... But, I'm perfectly okay for them to wait until it is a bit warmer out!

Calling the Cows...

One thing that I have really appreciated about the new perimeter fence is the ease of moving the cows to new grass. We are not yet to once a day rotations yet, but we are getting there as I figure out how much grass they need each day and how to handle them with the tall warm season grasses that we have right now. I'm trying to use the cows as part of my pasture renovation by getting them to eat down as much as I can before I come back in with the anthill buster and the brush hog (to get rid of all the bushes).

All that being said, one of my favorite things to do is call the cows to some new grass ... it always amazes me that they will come (even from the other side of the farm) and it surprises people when the see it. I can't say that I've done anything special to train my cows, so I just think it is in their genes (kind of joking there).

But, Saturday evening a they were in a far corner of a large open area and I wanted to get them into some fresh grass. I walked out into the field and started calling out, "Come on now cows!" Slowly but surely they started bawling out and starting to move towards me. I kept calling and walking towards the opening in the electric fence I wanted them to go to. Once the lead cows came over the hill and saw what was going on they took off running!

In a matter of minutes they were all in the new area and grazing away. I stood there for quite a while (with some friends) watching them fill their mouths with fresh grass and see the calves bound around and upset their mothers by walking under the fence to the good stuff (there is clover in the areas where I have mowed). I'm not saying that I know why it works to call them like I do ... I'm just saying it works and it is enjoyable!

(I'll try and get a picture up this afternoon or evening)

I Had a Dexter Wish List...

On Saturday we got up early and took the stock trailer up to Fort Dodge, IA for the American Dexter Cattle Association Annual General Membership auction. The AGM had been going on for a few days prior, but there was too much going on here at the farm so I could only get away for one day and I wanted it to be for the sale. I had been looking over the 38 Dexter cows, heifers, and bulls for the past couple of weeks and I had sort of put together a wish list.

Not that I was planning on buying anything for sure, but there were four or five that I was interested in bidding on if I felt the itch while I was at the sale. Really, what I'm looking for right now is that "great" herd bull. I didn't see the "great" one on the sale bill, but there was a potentially nice one that I wanted to check out and there were also a few cows and heifers that caught my eye.

After sitting through all of the auction (about two hours) we could drive away with nothing in the trailer because I didn't buy anything (which also helps the checkbook balance). What I did learn though is that I really like the most expensive ones. In fact the heifer pictured above is Wieringa's Belle NQ and she brought the most money at the auction. I had picked her out from the pictures as one that I may be interested in and once I saw her in person I knew that I wanted her on the farm.

I told my wife that I would be willing to cull out a couple cows in order to get her and that I was going to try and bid ... try being the key word on this one, because she went from a starting bid to $3,500 or so in no time! In the end the winning bid was $4,050 ... way out of my league for one bred heifer (although she was really nice). The yearling bull calf I was semi-interested in sold for $850 (I decided I'd rather spend more money and see what they look like when they were older). Another dun heifer that I liked a lot sold for $2,250 and a black cow that I hadn't really paid much attention to until I saw her in person sold for $2,525.

Even though I didn't bring anything home it was a very profitable day because I was able to see some good examples of what I would like our herd to look like in the future, and I realized how much we need a new bull! On top of all that you can't beat a day with the family ... so I would say it was a win, win, win!

Dexter Cattle Show

Just thought I would do a little advertising here and let every one know about the upcoming American Dexter Cattle Association Annual General Meeting that is set to take place June 25th through June 28th in Fort Dodge, IA. Of course the event will include the normal membership meeting and keynote, but is should also include something for the everyone ... especially those interested in learning more about the Dexter breed and seeing some good examples of what a good Dexter cow or bull looks like.

If everything comes together for me I would like to make a run up there for at least the show and the sale on Friday and Saturday just to see as many Dexters as possible. I think it would help me continue to develop my "perfect cow/bull" image and also will give me a chance to talk with some experienced Dexter cattlemen/women.

But, that is not the only reason to go. As you can see from the schedule there will be plenty of times for learning. There is going to be a session on beef marketing for small producers (ought to be worth while), a session training for show (something that would be fun to do sometime), and possibly even a session on grazing management.

The good thing for me is that all of this is in my home state, but if you are in the area or could be in the area I would encourage you to come on out and see some Dexters!

Not My Favorite, But...

I can't say that our current bull is my favorite Dexter bull, or even close to that. He has give us plenty of frustration with his desire to get out and roam around and he isn't exactly as cuddly (not that you should ever cuddle a bull) as some Dexter bulls that I've bet. But, with all that being said he does have a few redeeming qualities that I don't hate.

He seems to have fleshed out nicely on the spring grass so far (at least comparatively speaking) and it also seems like he is a guy that will get his job done. One other thing is that he is a little smaller in size so I'm hoping he will bring us a couple smaller calves from our two bigger cows. Our big cows hardly even seem like Dexters when you compare them to the others in the herd!

All that being said, I'm still on the hunt for a herd bull that fits us perfectly and will continually improve our herd. We have an uphill battle to get the herd to where I would like it, but this is an okay start.

New Life

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. Well, that is the case today because this picture tells it all. The first little Dexter calf was born on Stoneyfield farm sometime late Saturday night and everyone is doing wonderful.

When I went out to do chores Sunday morning before church I found all the cows up waiting for some water ... all the cows except for one that is. On Friday I had noticed that our newest cow (that came with the bull from Nebraska) was really starting to bag up and she looked like she would be calving soon. I'm glad to say that I was correct in my assumption, because I found them down in the valley just hanging out and enjoying some nice mother/son time.

If all went well last year we should be coming up on some more calves in the near future, but I sometimes wonder how many cows our previous bull settled. We will see for sure in the next month or two. Not exactly the schedule I wanted to keep, but we will get things back on track over time.

Tomorrow I'll share an update on the hog hut, and I bet I'll have some pig news soon as well!

The Thing About Grassfed Dexters...

...They won't come to a bucket of grain! Yep, that is one of the downsides to the grassfed cows we have because they just aren't to interested in the sound of grain in a bucket. And, grain in the bucket would have come in handy last night for an hour or more after 10:00 PM when we were out trying to round up our new cow, heifer, and bull. Let's just say it was dark, our flashlights were failing fast, and of course it had to be cold and very windy! But, when it was all said in done all three of them were in a pen. There was just one problem...

All three of them ended up in the main lot where the rest of the cows and heifers were. This would not be that big of a deal except for one little thing. There were four heifers in there that I did not want bred because they were too young. We did the very best that we could, but finally we had to give up after only getting three of them cut out and into a small pen in the corner (I will move them tomorrow). What I wouldn't have given for a lariat last night!

As if that wasn't enough ... I still had a funeral message to prepare. So, if you are of the praying inclination I wouldn't mind if you lifted me up today as I do my very first solo funeral for a man in our church that has been a big help to us. He was one of the great group of men that came out and worked on the house to get us in a finished building before we had to move. His help with the drywall and mudding was invaulable and a true expression of what the Church is supposed to be like.

Nevertheless, the bull is now in with the cows. I guess we will see what Hershey didn't get covered and then I will make sure we have a building up year for bad season calving. Actually, I'm going to think about pulling him out this afternoon. What I really need to do is just weigh the pros and cons. The pro of course is that I would actually get some 2009 calves out of the cows that I know are not bred. The con on the other hand is that it just pushes back my attempt to get on a spring calving schedule back another year for those cows.

We'll just see what happens...

I Fought the Mud...

...And I Won! Yesterday you might remember that the Expedition and the stock trailer were stuck in the mud. But, it was more than just that because inside the stock trailer were three new Dexters for Stoneyfield Farm. It was getting late and we were too far from where they were supposed to be to rig something up, so I just threw a bunch of hay in the trailer and bedded them down for the night. But, today I finally scored a point against the mud!

When I came home from work today I decided I was just going to try and get the truck and trailer on the gravel. I figured if I could do that I could figure something out. So, after a little slow going I was on firmish ground and I thought maybe I could make it to the pen if I took a run at it driving towards it instead of backing up to it. My plan worked and with the help of a cattle panel and a 16 foot gate all three of the new Dexters are in place.

So, you may be wondering why three new Dexters and why now? Well, we are going to need a bull this summer and if I have learned anything over the past couple of years I have learned that it is somewhat difficult to find a decent bull when you need one. So, when I saw this group for sale at a good price I jumped at the opportunity. I figured it was best to at least have something.

This was a package deal though, so I came home Monday (after about 7 hours of driving) with an almost three-year-old bull and cow along with their 7-month old heifer. While he isn't the greatest Dexter bull ever he is a decent looking bull and will work for our herd. The cow and the heifer also have added something to the herd.

I am beginning to think that I want to focus mostly on the dun or red cows mostly for heat resistance and the way they look. So, this summer (maybe after calving) I'm going to sell two black cows and keep these two dun cows. This will help with the money we just spent and will also bring us closer to the dun/red herd I'm looking for.

One more thing ... none of these three are registered yet. That means they don't have names! Do you have any good suggestions?

A Couple of Pictures...

Since our Dexter's were the first piece of the puzzle that we began putting together a few years ago I just wanted to take a second today and let you admire them! This whole thing, which is now Stoneyfield Farm, began because I had high cholesterol and we heard that grassfed beef was a good option. From there I began researching and came across Dexters (good forage converters) and we decided to take the plunge.

At that time taking the plunge included buying one bred heifer and a steer calf. It is also important to point out that at that exact moment we were living in town (a town that doesn't allow chickens) with no real prospect to move to the country, but we knew that it was the direction that we felt like we were being led so we jumped out on the limb. Now, as you can see from the picture above we have gone a little deeper into the Dexter world ... and that is only about 1/3rd of our herd!

Below is a picture of RAD's Victoria. She is the little heifer that started it all for us and I must admit that she is still one of my favorite cows (there is a dun heifer that is my favorite, you can check out a picture of her at my Epi-Log. Victoria also happens to be one of our most photogenic cows, thus the picture of her. I hope to get up some better pictures of Hershey this week, but you have to sneak up on him or he will be right beside you mooing!

Playing Farm...

"It looks like I'm playing farm again, just like when I was a kid ... except this time everything is way more expensive!"

That (or something like that) was my quote to my dad today as we gazed out across seven of our Dexter cows and our herd bull ... on our farm for the first time. What started out as, "We are just going to get a bred heifer and a steer and do a one year experiment", has in a short time (about a year and a half) become a herd that will take three trips to bring here and another trip to bring the equipment. Sometimes I sit back and think it is cool, other times I'm a bit amazed, and sometimes I think about admitting myself to the crazy house... But, all in all I'm very excited that we are beginning the big move and bringing our herd home.

Thanks to a lot of help from my dad we were able to put up the fence we needed (in used cattle panels and old posts that we got from Becca's uncle) earlier this week and then finish up a little today. On Tuesday we pounded posts into wet and mushy snow. Today we pounded a few more posts into dry and blowing snow, but thankfully the snow has acted as insulation and the ground was still very soft underneath.

It was nice watching them all come out of the trailer and check out their new digs ... even though they are a little small. It will be a good area to feed them over the winter and a nice sacrificial area that we can allow to get torn up a bit in all of the freezing and thawing of a Southern Iowa winter.

Now my son and I will have a few more chores to do in the morning, but I think he is just as excited as I am!

Baby Beef and Dexters...

I wrote a post for the Epi-Log that will go up later this morning about Marin Sun Farms in California. The cool thing was that they have a meat CSA that helps them do a better job of selling the entire animal and allows them to have consistent sales. But, there was one quote that struck me while I was reading the article in, "The Stockman GrassFarmer" that I didn't touch on in the Epi-Log post.

Specifically the qoute was, "He is currently experimenting with harvesting beeves at weaning as 'baby beef' to get their carcass size down to a more customer friendly size".

The first thing that popped into my head is, "that is exactly what a finished Dexter is ... a customer friendly size!" Of course I do understand that he will get to that size much more quickly with baby beef, but Dexter owners can reach the same "perfect carcass size" by finishing their beeves, marketing the meat as meat with a great flavor, and all along mantaining a small buy very useful breed.

Like I said, I understand the differences, but I also see this is as a great way to market Dexter beef for consumers. I continue to become more and more interested in the idea of a meat CSA, even to the point of combining pork and other meat into the monthly packages (I think they may do that at Marin Sun). I'll have to do a little more research into this...

RED!

Dexters are either going to be black, dun, or red (in order from most common to least common). On our farm we have both black and dun and we absolutely love them... But, why not have all the colors? That is the question I asked myself when we got into Dexters, so even though I said that I was done buying cows I ended up getting a nice little red heifer this weekend. Her name is Grandma's Jasmine and she is from Grandma's Dexter Farm near Toddville, IA (north of Cedar Rapids). We picked her up on Saturday and she is already settling in to her new environment as the first Dexter on our new farm.

One of the reasons that we decided to purchase her is because our herd bull, Hershey, carries a red gene (he is dun). Now that we have a red heifer on the property we will have a chance to have some red calves most likely beginning in 2010. Of course I doubt we are going the seed-stock route, but is nice to see the various colors in the herd and if we did want to sell some heifers at some point we could have a nice variety ... maybe

Also, we were able to put a halter on her at Dan's farm so I plan on working with her this fall and training her to lead. Hopefully we can show her next summer at the ADCA annual meeting that will be in Fort Dodge, if nothing else it will give me an excuse to go out and mess with the cows a little bit more.

So... we have pigs, chickens, and now a Dexter on our new farm. This week we will begin moving in and need to be totally in by the 14th. After that fencing and preparing for the baby will be our priorities. Hopefully we can find time for it all!

The Building Continues...

Okay, sorry for such a late post today. Between family, church work, farm chores, trying to sell a house, and the building work things are a little crazy around here lately. Because of that my early morning posts are becoming more difficult to pull off if I don't write them the night before. I would encourage everyone that enjoys reading the blog regularly (I do feel sorry for you if you keep up with this mumbling) to subscribe on the right through Feedburner to receive the posts in your inbox. It is just an easy way for you to keep up.

Now, for the updates:

• As you can see from the picture above we have the waste lines roughed in and the water line run. It is absolutely wonderful to have water on the farm ... now for the electric ...
• We went to a wedding this Thursday/Friday ... it is always nice to take a break from the work.
• Saturday morning we worked on the plumbing stuff in the morning and then my Father-in-Law and I went out to finish pulling all the old fence posts. I got one pulled when a seal burst on my left hydraulic cylinder on the loader. Let's just say that fluid was flying and the work was done for the day!
• I spent a small part of Saturday evening dickering with my cousin/uncle over the price of some used cylinders. Now I have two cylinders from an old Hesston baler. They are two-way instead of one-way, so that will be nice. I do need to get more hoses, couplings, and fittings now though before I'm up and running again.
• Yesterday we went to my dads to check on the cows, horses, and chickens. I was dinking around with some stuff while the family looked at the cattle. When I went over I noticed something was different ... there was one more calf! There was a little black bull calf born in the last two days to Kenosha. That makes five calves this year (three heifers and two bulls).

Lots of stuff on tap this week... I'll keep updating and remember to check out the subscription on the right if you would like.

Are Dexters a Fad?

A few days ago a question was raised on a post over at Homesteading Today. The question was, "How long will they last?" The "they" was referring to dairy cows. Of course depending on whether or not it is a commercial operation or a home cow the time can vary from a few lactations to a quite a few years. But, when the idea of Dexters lasting a long time was brought up the responses weren't all daisies and roses. And I admit that I threw my two cents into the fray in defense of Dexters. Not that they were a better breed, but that they were an option for the small land holder looking for a dual purpose cow. You can read the thread and my comments by clicking on the link above.

One statement that was brought up is that the Dexter bred shows all the signs of being another "fad" breed. That one really got me going, because I know that from a historical standpoint they have been around for quite awhile (going back to their origins in Ireland) and the reason for their longevity has a lot to do with their usefulness. Just because their numbers have dropped off over time does not mean that they are not a viable option in certain situations it more than likely means that they didn't fit the industrial model of agriculture. They have even been in Iowa for almost a hundred years now! But, continuing the argument wasn't the reason I brought it up today...

The reason I bring it up today is because I thought about the question, "what if they really are a fad?" I know this is something I have thought about at different times, in fact I even blogged about it once before. What if the bottom of the market falls out in the Dexter world? What happens when nobody wants to buy my extra heifers or older cows? Am I going to end up with some high priced "lawn ornaments" as one poster mentioned on Homesteading Today?

Well, I think I have come to a conclusion and I'm going to run with it ... WHO CARES! I am not going to throw myself into the seedstock business. Of course I will sell some cows or heifers from time to time and maybe even some bulls if I have a notion, but the reason I chose to go with the Dexter breed is because I wanted to produce beef that I could direct market. And I believed and still believe the Dexter suits my needs the best.

After everything is all said and done on our new land we will probably have around 23 acres of pasture. You could not run a very big herd of commercial cattle on that acreage, but because of the size and forage conversion abilities of Dexters we can run a few more head. Also, from everything I have read, heard, and experienced these Dexters are great foragers and good gainers on pasture ... of course that speaks to their heritage as a small cottage or farm cow in Ireland.

But, most importantly I have tasted and I have read great things about their meat and their ability to finish on grass. And that is the main reason I went with Dexters, because I want people to eat them! Of course there are the health benefits of eating grassfed beef, there are many articles and books to point that out. But, how about this for a healthy marketing angle ... Dexters are smaller, so their portions are going to be smaller. Portion control is one of the many buzz words in the health and dieting community today, so I can market my beef in a few ways.

First of all it will be grassfed. You are what you eat is the saying ... cows eat grass, so they are grass ... we eat cows, so we are grass ... grass is a lot like salad and my teachers told me salad is good for me! Secondly, I can tout the benefits of being able to buy the whole steer, not just a half or a quarter. That way you will get all of the cuts instead of just 1/2 or 1/4. It is almost the ultimate freezer beef in my opinion. Third, there is the portion control angle. You can still have your steak, but you don't have to have one the size of your dinner plate (and you probably shouldn't no matter how it was raised). And finally, I can market the fact that Dexters are a heritage breed that deserves to be maintained for so many reasons (I don't want to list them now).

I don't think Dexters are a fad that will come and go. I also don't believe they will become a commercial mainstay. But, I do believe they are a great option for our farm and many other farms like ours. I also believe they are a great choice for families freezers all around me ... and I will be working to convince them of that!

If they are a fad ... WHO CARES ... I have a plan. But, they are not a fad :)

Dexters Eat Hay!!!

I'm not sure if any one can relate to this, but let me just say right away that it started out as an experiment. About a year-and-a-half ago we really came to the realization that farming was something that we wanted to pursue. We had discussions with many different people and looked at many different options and decided it was the direction we wanted to go. After some research we decided that we would like to have grassfed Dexter cattle as one of our centerpiece operations if we were able to make a go at this farming thing. So, we started looking for Dexters thinking that it would be nice to have a bred cow or heifer and a steer that we could raise for our own freezer. We just wanted to get a start on something and we worked out a deal with my family so that they could live on the farm.

We found exactly what we wanted, we made the trip and picked them up, and we had the beginnings of our Dexter herd ... or at least a bred heifer and a steer. It was a nice little way to get our feet wet. Well, one thing lead to another and I found some cows for sale in Missouri that I thought I needed and then we had six Dexters. Still not to many, but a nice little amount. We made hay this time and put up what we thought was going to be plenty! Then I found a few more Dexters for sale in Illinois ... and I just knew I needed them. So, after a trip to Illinois we added 7 more to the herd. Our "experiment" now numbered 13! That was 4 boys and 9 girls roaming the pastures of the farm and we were beginning to think the hay might not last.

Now, with that many Dexters roaming around and so many girls that would need to be breed soon we knew that we needed a bull. That is why we started our search for a bull that ended with Hershey. After many trials and tribulations we were finally able to go down and pick him up. There was only one problem ... when we drove out of Five Ponds Farm there was more than Hershey in the trailer. We also brought home a cow and her heifer calf! Now, if you are scoring along at home, the herd total is up to 5 boys and 11 girls purchased! Also, don't forget that we have already had two calves this year ... one of each (boy and girl) ... bring the grand total up to 6 boys and 12 girls and a herd of 18 hungry mouths that all love to eat hay! In fact, with all the snow we had this year they have had to eat A LOT of hay.

That brings me to the conclusion of this little story about our "experiment". Yesterday I had to take some time to drive down to the farm and the over to another farm to buy our third load of hay! What started out as, "plenty of hay for a heifer and a steer," just didn't cut it for a herd of 18 hungry mouths. Hopefully we will be seeing green grass soon and our herd can begin to forage on their own. I for one know that I don't want to buy any more hay this year!

One more word of caution ... make sure you have the details of your "experiment" spelled out completely before you take off on your venture! :)

Eight...TEEN is Enough?

The past couple of days have been pretty eventful around here. Well, I guess they haven't been as eventful around here as it the past couple of days have been eventful on the road! Late Monday morning I was finally able to get away and pick up SGF SANT Hershey. You may remember reading about when the deal was finalized way back in THIS POST, but because of mechanical problems, schedule problems, and weather problems I had not been able to get down there yet! But, now he is home ... along with a cow and heifer!

The traveling actually started on Saturday when I drove up to Dan Butterfield's, of Grandma's Dexters, to pick up a bull calf and two cows that I was going to deliver to Steven in Southern Missouri (you may recognize the name because he comments from time to time). So, late Monday morning I headed out of town and swung by the farm to pick up the trailer and Steven's cows. The driving was uneventful (except for a traffic jam in St. Louis) and so was the unloading (even though it was slightly muddy and 9:00 PM). It was great to finally be able to put a face to the name and chat with Steven and his family. They have some pretty cool things starting up down there so it was neat to see what was going on.

After that I headed on my way to Erik and Marian Van Beever's Five Ponds Farm (with a break for sleep). I arrived there and also enjoyed putting a real live face to the many e-mail conversations we have had. It was neat to see their diverse livestock ranging from sheep and goats to Dexters and of course their Red Wattle Hogs! Of course I picked up Hershey while I was there, but I also had decided to bring back a bred cow and heifer calf they had for sale (Gigi and Tinkerbelle). Hershey looks as great in person as he did in the pictures and I'm looking forward to seeing him mature this summer. I am also pleased with the prospects of Gigi and Tinkerbelle bring to the herd.

So, now there are eighteen Dexters roaming (not so much in the snow I guess) Stoneyfield! If you are scoring at home it adds up like this: 8 cows ... 4 heifers ... 4 steers ... 1 bull calf (to become a steer) ... and of course, 1 Herd Sire!! Don't forget that we have at least three more cows we are expecting to calve. And to think, this started out six months ago as an "experiment"!

**The first picture above is of Hershey of course, and the second is of Tinkerbelle (calf in front) and Gigi (horned). Hopefully I'll be able to post some more pictures soon!**

Updates from Stoneyfield...

There have been a few developments around the Stoneyfield farm lately so I thought I would take a few moments in the middle of the week to update everyone.

• First of all is an exciting piece of news. I was hoping to make this a post of it's own, but with the snowy weather and busy happenings at work I don't know when I will able to dedicate some space and pictures to this little tidbit of good news (I eventually will make this it's own post). This past Sunday afternoon our first Dexter heifer, RAD's Victoria, had her first calf. And, it was a heifer! Victoria just went off by herself in the early afternoon and had her calf under a thick stand of cedar trees ... as it was snowing! It wasn't a perfect birth because my family did have to bring the calf inside to help her warm up and gain some strength, but after a short time inside they were able to take her back out to her mom (who was under cover by now) and she started nursing. Now a couple of days later the little girl is bouncing around and doing pretty well. As soon as I'm able to get down and take pictures I will post them for everyone to see.



• I mentioned in an earlier post about the current hay situation on the farm. If we continue to have a full cover of snow like we have now we will probably be able to make our hay last until the end of February. If the snow cover were to melt away we would probably be able to stretch it a little further. With the ground completely covered in deep snow our nine cows and four steers go through about four small square bales each day. But, if it is mostly open ground we can get by with between one or two bales. In fact yesterday (before the snow came) they only ate one bale. The good news in the whole deal is that we probably have hay available to buy from my uncle. He has some big round bales from this past summer or some year old square bales. We will probably go and check it out and get a little of both. Next year we plan on making three cuttings of hay if the weather allows so hay shouldn't be a problem.



• As I just wrote our first calf was born on Stoneyfield, but I think it won't be too long until the second calf comes along. The next cow we expect to calve is A.A. Mandy who is ten years old and dun. She is also breed to a dun bull so in the best case we would have a dun heifer born! Along with Mandy there is a chance that three other cows could cave later in the spring. We bought them as pasture exposed to a bull so hopefully they are bred. If all goes well the Stoneyfield herd will have five new faces in the pasture this summer.



• The last little bit of news is kind of something that I don't want to totally unveil at the moment. But, if you are inclined to pray we would appreciate your prayers for discernment and guidance!

Odds and Ends on the Farm...

We had to go to the farm today to do some odds and ends. As you can see from the pictures there isn't too much snow on the ground, but there was snow in the air while we were there. It is a blessing that the snow has melted off. Until the snow cover left we were having to feed four square bales a day to the Dexters, but now that they can graze a bit on the stockpiled forage we are down to one-and-a-half or two bales a day. Hopefully the Southern portion of the state will stay fairly free of the white stuff for the rest of winter.

While we were down there my dad and I discussed the idea of moving the steers out onto some tall fescue. We have probably 10-15 acres of fescue that hasn't been mowed since last winter so there is plenty sticking up above any snow that comes. By moving the four steers out there we could save a bit on hay which would mean that we may not have to buy in any ... or as much. Now, we just have to wait for a bit of a thaw so we can go put up a electric fence for them. In the future we are going to be stockpiling other areas of the farm with different grasses for winter use, but this is the first winter so we are really just starting to get the plans together.

One thing that I really wanted to do when we were down there is take a picture of our cow, Breagha. She was the only cow in our small herd that didn't have a picture up on the on-line pedigree site. If you haven't checked out our herd yet I encourage you to check out the link in the right column for the Stoneyfield herd. If you are interested in Dexters at all it is neat to read through the different pedigree's ... at least it is something I enjoy!

I must admit that every time I have a chance to spend some time working with the Dexters I become more and more impressed with them as a breed. They are just so easy to work with and so docile. Our herd doesn't really have any interaction with people now other than when they are feed hay in the morning and watered ... and that isn't exactly a personal touch kind of thing. Despite the lack of daily handling they are very calm when we are out there working amongst them and I can usually entice them to come up and eat hay out of my hand. I am looking forward to being able to have daily interaction with them and handling them more often. If you haven't already I encourage you to check out the Dexter breed!

The Importance of Our Heritage Cattle

Recently I came across a very interesting article written by Gearld Fry on the New Farm website. The article was originally published on his website, Bovine Engineering, and is titled, "Intelligent Husbandry of Primary Heritage Breeds Could be Our Key to More-Sustainable Farming and Food." That is one super long title, but it is a great article so I will let it pass!

I believe the opening section of the article is an amazing representation of what is happening in livestock agriculture (and probably crop too) right now and you should probably read it and re-read it several times so it sinks in. But, the basic premise is that at one time our farms were filled with "truly functional family cows" raised by this generations fathers and grandfathers. Once the sons and grandsons returned from educational institutions they bring with them new "knowledge" about creating the perfect herd from a commercial standpoint. Oh, and they learn this knowledge from Universities that are funded by large corporations with greed behind their motives.

So, the son our daughter takes over and starts to implement change using the latest breeding techniques in animal sciences. They create calves that wean bigger and finish bigger and that produce more milk, but they also find that despite all of the vaccinations their cattle keep getting sick and dying for no apparent reason. With all of the inputs, work, burnout, and animal loss their farm becomes increasingly unsustainable...

I think this quote from Mr. Fry sums up best where we are right now as an agirculutral industry (maybe it is a bad thing to be considered an industry) and culture:

As it is, cattle—animals that in their natural state could normally stay fat and healthy on green grass and good hay, and nourish families with wholesome and healthy meat and milk as God intended —have been steadily transformed into what has become a starch-dependent, mongrelized production machine that produces food that tastes like cardboard and causes heart disease and numerous other health problems.

At one time farmers and ranchers never or rarely had to give any sort of treatment to calves while still nursing ... not so today. At one time twice yearly worming wasn't even on the radar ... not so today. At one time cattlemen breed for sick-free cattle who could produce instead of super producing cattle who rarely weren't sick. In the words of Mr. Fry, "My friends, this should not be."

The rest of the article goes on to tell more about the faulty system that we are operating under in today's livestock world. I think this is a must read article for any farmer who believes that their farm should and can be sustainable.

In the article Mr. Fry mentions that there were 8-10 breeds of cattle that were adapted to various environments across our country. I think he raises Devons, so I assume that would be on the list, but I wonder what else. Maybe he mentions on his site or maybe some of you have some guesses? Let us know what you think.

In the meantime, check out the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy to learn more about our heritage breeds that are in danger and consider a breeding program that takes advantage of the genetics that our forefathers perfected over years and years ... not just the ideas of 50 years and research funded by animal medicine companies.

**As you may have noticed from the picture above I suggest Dexter cattle. They may not work for everyone, but the do fit the definition of a dual purpose home cow!**