Providing That Finishing Touch

There are so many ways and methods for finishing your Dexters out to produce the best beef they can. Here are several things to consider when managing your herd.

1. Remember that a Dexter's nutrition from birth to death is often what separates the best from the good.
   • Gaps in nutritional content can have a detrimental impact on the health and thriftiness of a Dexter. An example of a gap is when a herd is put out on poor forage and are allowed to thin down to an undesirable level. Oftentimes in these cases, a simple supplement of better forage would have made a huge difference. Make sure your pastures are in good shape and when they are dormant try to find the best hay you can afford. Your hay supplier will become one of your best friends since his/her hard work is what is going to help your success pay off.
   • Dexters are known for being pretty hardy and many are “easy keepers” but much of that depends on the available forage and your long-term herd management. Even the easy keepers can be drained down by poor forage especially if there are too many animals on one area of land. So monitor your herd size for your property. Better to have less animals than too many for a piece of land. Also let them get into that brush and weeds. There can be decent nutritional content in forage we would consider mowing over.
   • The dam of a steer calf is given the job of growing this calf to its full potential but if the dam herself is struggling to maintain her weight and mineral balance, then she may or may not be able to produce the best nutrition for this steer calf. The nutrition really starts with the dam, who is the first provider for the calf's growth and future. Make sure the entire herd as the forage they need not just the one's in line to go to the processor.
   • Ensure your herd has proper minerals available. Not enough importance is placed on a ranch's mineral program. You may need to have your soil tested to determine any deficiencies that could affect your herd's potienal. Your large animal vet is also a good resource for deciding on a mineral program. The biggest problem with finding the right mineral program for your ranch is finding something the “picky eaters” will like. Dexters can be like children at dinner time. Sometimes you have to try several brands before it is a hit with the Dexters.

Grass Fed simply means a cow that ate grass at some point in its life, but it doesn't mean pasture grass, it could mean hay, and it doesn't mean they were finished on grass. That's it. As smaller time farmers we do this everyday and in fact, for most of us it is our goal to let them graze all day, for health reasons and so we don't have to pay for the feed/hay.

Grass finished Dexters are fed with forage only, from the time they are born until the time they become beef. These are the Dexters that just roam across pastures all day or during poor pasture forage weather, they will have hay only, never any grain-type products or ingredients.

The Grass Fed Dexters may have started off with grass and pasture grazing but were not necessarily finished solely on forage and may have been given grain in those last several months. Too many times the terms are used incorrectly or in deceptive ways in the grocery store. How many times have you seen “ Grass-fed beef” for sale on the shelf? All that means is that the beef is from a bovine, that ate forage at some point in its life.

Neither is wrong, but rather is just a preference for those who will enjoy the beef their own way. Some breeders really prefer the taste of their Dexters finished with a little grain, while others only like the taste of grass finished beef. Both can take a great deal of management and money to be successful in flavor outcomes.

Good fat coverage and size.

1. Live weight 803 #
2. Hanging weight 465# (58%)
3. Finished dressed beef 315# (68%)
4. Age at processing 28-29 months
5. Banded castration at 7 months
6. Nursed to 10 months of age

Gearld Fry's take on WHY GRASS FINISHED? CLICK HERE