You would be forgiven for not knowing of too many herds of Dexter cattle in Ireland. After all, at just over 1,000 cows, they account for a little over 0.1% of the national suckler herd. However, for Sligo farmer Oliver Davey, this small breed is making a big impression.
Oliver farms with his wife Eleanor along the N17, just a couple of miles north of the town of Tubbercurry. It is safe to say that Oliver’s pathway into farming was quite a unique one. His work as a trained toolmaker saw him spend two years in South Africa in the 1970s before getting a job with European Airbus, which took him to Friesland, Germany, where he ended up living for over a decade.
Oliver Davey.
In fact, it was here that he had his first encounter with the Dexter breed.
“I used to visit a farm that was milking Dexters, as well as bringing them through to beef. The farmer would always tell me that he was operating an Irish grass-based system in Germany. I was impressed with what the breed had to offer.
“I always knew I would come back to the home farm eventually. We moved home in 1984 and I became more and more involved with the farm. Over the years, we were running a herd of suckler cows made up of Charolais, Simmental and Limousin crosses and selling weanlings at around nine months of age – a typical west of Ireland system, I suppose.”
Change
In 2003, the first Dexter cows were purchased from the northeast of Scotland, just outside Aberdeen. Then, in 2009, the family decided to go organic and the farm is now a member of the Organic Trust. A number of factors led to the change in approach.
“The weather patterns definitely changed in the early 2000s. We get a lot more rain now than we used to and the ground just isn’t able to handle it. The land is quite marginal around here.
My cattle get nothing, only grass and whatever herbs and plants they forage on the hill
“We were trying to adapt the farm to the system rather than the other way around. We had big cows at the time, out damaging the ground, winters were long and the price of inputs simply got out of hand – once the vet bill and feed bills were paid, there was nothing left for us.”
“Dexters are quite small, so they are not as hard on the land – they are very healthy, so the inputs are much lower as well. Going organic was just something I was passionate about. I want to produce and eat healthy beef that’s full of flavour.
Cows can be black, red or dun in colour.
“My cattle get nothing, only grass and whatever herbs and plants they forage on the hill. My vet bill is very small and the stock have never been healthier. I think there are huge opportunities for organic farming in the west of Ireland.”
When asked how he keeps rushes under control, Oliver says: “We don’t have a major rush problem, as we are not poaching the ground like we used to. Where they are on the farm, I cut them and use them for bedding. Getting straw into this area of the country is very expensive, so why not use what we have here. It is important to let the dung rot properly to avoid spreading seeds. A dung heap will reach over 70°C and this will kill the seeds.”
Farm system
The farm system in place today sees 28 pedigree organic Dexter cows calve in two main blocks, one in spring and the other in late summer.
“Dexters don’t like to be indoors, so we keep them in for as short a time as possible. They are housed usually in early December and start to go outside once they calve in March. One of the main benefits of them is their ease of calving.
“For the summer herd that calve outside, you might not see a newborn calf for a week or more. The cows have great mothering ability and they will go and find a quiet spot to calve down and look after their young.”
Two of those cows were 17 years old and the other one was 19 years old, so you can see I don’t need to keep many replacements
The last cull cows that Oliver sold were between 390kg and 435kg liveweight.
“Two of those cows were 17 years old and the other one was 19 years old, so you can see I don’t need to keep many replacements.”
This allows for surplus heifers to be sold to other Dexter breeders as breeding heifers at around a year old, which there is good demand for at the moment. Steers are kept and brought through to beef at between 24 and 28 months of age.
In 2018, we were getting a price premium of €5.50/kg, in 2019 it was €5.25/kg and this year, due to disruption in the restaurant trade as a result of COVID-19, demand is lower so it’s back to €4.50/kg
“The steers never come indoors, they are wintered on the hill ground. Typically, we will get a carcase weight of between 190kg and 200kg at the point of slaughter. Over the last few years, the Dexter beef producer group has been sending cattle to ABP in Nenagh.
“It is going into specialised markets – a lot goes to Belgium and Holland. In 2018, we were getting a price premium of €5.50/kg, in 2019 it was €5.25/kg and this year, due to disruption in the restaurant trade as a result of COVID-19, demand is lower so it’s back to €4.50/kg. I would be confident we will be back up over €5/kg again next year.”
Selling direct
The main reason for the split calving is to give Oliver a year-round supply of cattle for slaughter, as in recent years, he has begun selling ‘Dexter Beef Direct’ to customers.
“It came about very naturally really – we had an animal slaughtered for our own freezer and I gave a few neighbours a piece to taste. The feedback was very good and it started from there really.
“At this stage, I am selling about 10 animals/year direct. They are sent for slaughter and then hung for 28 days prior to butchering. I then take the meat home and freeze it. We sell at local food markets, which is a good way to get your name out, but once people know you they will come and buy from us on the farm.”
Downtime
When he isn’t farming or busy with the meat sales side of the business, Oliver enjoys a round of golf in the local Tubbercurry golf club.
“I thought I had retired, but I am now busier than ever,” Oliver jokes. “It’s nice to meet up with family and friends for a game of golf though. Health is number one, as long as I have that, I will be golfing and farming!”
44ha owned land.12ha
commonage.28 Pedigree Dexter cows.Member of the Organic trust.24 – 28 months slaughter age.190 – 200kg
carcase weight.
You would be forgiven for not knowing of too many herds of Dexter cattle in Ireland. After all, at just over 1,000 cows, they account for a little over 0.1% of the national suckler herd. However, for Sligo farmer Oliver Davey, this small breed is making a big impression.
Oliver farms with his wife Eleanor along the N17, just a couple of miles north of the town of Tubbercurry. It is safe to say that Oliver’s pathway into farming was quite a unique one. His work as a trained toolmaker saw him spend two years in South Africa in the 1970s before getting a job with European Airbus, which took him to Friesland, Germany, where he ended up living for over a decade.
Oliver Davey.
In fact, it was here that he had his first encounter with the Dexter breed.
“I used to visit a farm that was milking Dexters, as well as bringing them through to beef. The farmer would always tell me that he was operating an Irish grass-based system in Germany. I was impressed with what the breed had to offer.
“I always knew I would come back to the home farm eventually. We moved home in 1984 and I became more and more involved with the farm. Over the years, we were running a herd of suckler cows made up of Charolais, Simmental and Limousin crosses and selling weanlings at around nine months of age – a typical west of Ireland system, I suppose.”
Change
In 2003, the first Dexter cows were purchased from the northeast of Scotland, just outside Aberdeen. Then, in 2009, the family decided to go organic and the farm is now a member of the Organic Trust. A number of factors led to the change in approach.
“The weather patterns definitely changed in the early 2000s. We get a lot more rain now than we used to and the ground just isn’t able to handle it. The land is quite marginal around here.
My cattle get nothing, only grass and whatever herbs and plants they forage on the hill
“We were trying to adapt the farm to the system rather than the other way around. We had big cows at the time, out damaging the ground, winters were long and the price of inputs simply got out of hand – once the vet bill and feed bills were paid, there was nothing left for us.”
“Dexters are quite small, so they are not as hard on the land – they are very healthy, so the inputs are much lower as well. Going organic was just something I was passionate about. I want to produce and eat healthy beef that’s full of flavour.
Cows can be black, red or dun in colour.
“My cattle get nothing, only grass and whatever herbs and plants they forage on the hill. My vet bill is very small and the stock have never been healthier. I think there are huge opportunities for organic farming in the west of Ireland.”
When asked how he keeps rushes under control, Oliver says: “We don’t have a major rush problem, as we are not poaching the ground like we used to. Where they are on the farm, I cut them and use them for bedding. Getting straw into this area of the country is very expensive, so why not use what we have here. It is important to let the dung rot properly to avoid spreading seeds. A dung heap will reach over 70°C and this will kill the seeds.”
Farm system
The farm system in place today sees 28 pedigree organic Dexter cows calve in two main blocks, one in spring and the other in late summer.
“Dexters don’t like to be indoors, so we keep them in for as short a time as possible. They are housed usually in early December and start to go outside once they calve in March. One of the main benefits of them is their ease of calving.
“For the summer herd that calve outside, you might not see a newborn calf for a week or more. The cows have great mothering ability and they will go and find a quiet spot to calve down and look after their young.”
Two of those cows were 17 years old and the other one was 19 years old, so you can see I don’t need to keep many replacements
The last cull cows that Oliver sold were between 390kg and 435kg liveweight.
“Two of those cows were 17 years old and the other one was 19 years old, so you can see I don’t need to keep many replacements.”
This allows for surplus heifers to be sold to other Dexter breeders as breeding heifers at around a year old, which there is good demand for at the moment. Steers are kept and brought through to beef at between 24 and 28 months of age.
In 2018, we were getting a price premium of €5.50/kg, in 2019 it was €5.25/kg and this year, due to disruption in the restaurant trade as a result of COVID-19, demand is lower so it’s back to €4.50/kg
“The steers never come indoors, they are wintered on the hill ground. Typically, we will get a carcase weight of between 190kg and 200kg at the point of slaughter. Over the last few years, the Dexter beef producer group has been sending cattle to ABP in Nenagh.
“It is going into specialised markets – a lot goes to Belgium and Holland. In 2018, we were getting a price premium of €5.50/kg, in 2019 it was €5.25/kg and this year, due to disruption in the restaurant trade as a result of COVID-19, demand is lower so it’s back to €4.50/kg. I would be confident we will be back up over €5/kg again next year.”
Selling direct
The main reason for the split calving is to give Oliver a year-round supply of cattle for slaughter, as in recent years, he has begun selling ‘Dexter Beef Direct’ to customers.
“It came about very naturally really – we had an animal slaughtered for our own freezer and I gave a few neighbours a piece to taste. The feedback was very good and it started from there really.
“At this stage, I am selling about 10 animals/year direct. They are sent for slaughter and then hung for 28 days prior to butchering. I then take the meat home and freeze it. We sell at local food markets, which is a good way to get your name out, but once people know you they will come and buy from us on the farm.”
Downtime
When he isn’t farming or busy with the meat sales side of the business, Oliver enjoys a round of golf in the local Tubbercurry golf club.
“I thought I had retired, but I am now busier than ever,” Oliver jokes. “It’s nice to meet up with family and friends for a game of golf though. Health is number one, as long as I have that, I will be golfing and farming!”
44ha owned land.12ha
commonage.28 Pedigree Dexter cows.Member of the Organic trust.24 – 28 months slaughter age.190 – 200kg
carcase weight. 
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