Dexter & Jersey Beef

                          High-quality beef from small steers after a good life.

 

The first thought for many people will be "How can beef be humane & sustainable?" And the simple answer is that industrial, grain-fed, feedlotted beef is not. There are mountains of literature to back this claim and I think most people would know it instinctively.

However, Dexters are renowned for the quality and yield of their tender, marbled beef. They frequently out perform the larger breeds in carcase competitions and anyone who has eaten Dexter beef will usually say the same- I have yet to hear a single voice to the contrary.

What will come as a shock to most is that Jerseys are also renowned for their tender marbled beef! Jerseys are held in low regard in industrial beef production due to their small size and lack of muscling which makes them uneconomical to run in feedlots. The tendency for Jersey cows to produce high-butterfat milk also translates into a tendency towards yellow colouration in the fat of their meat, which has no impact on taste but is rejected by the supermarkets. As a result most male Jersey calves and unwanted female calves are euthanised at birth or slaughtered early for veal production.

So Dexter & Jersey beef is humane and sustainable because: 

   They finish beautifully on grass- turning this inedible substance for humans into valuable protein- no crowded feedlots and grain-feeding.

   Starting out smaller, they take longer to reach their full weight and enjoy a full life before reaching slaughter weight at around 18 months.  This is slow food at its best as they get to experience life and develop more flavour.

   Creating a market for Jersey beef gives value and therefor a good life to calves who would otherwise be slaughtered soon after birth. With consumer acceptance of their beef they are no longer just a waste product of the dairy industry. 

   Their quiet temperament makes them enjoyable to handle and impacts on the tenderness of their beef - stressed cows are tough, calm cows are tender. Their docility also makes them better suited to small scale production- where they can be killed on-farm, whilst enjoying a bucket of feed- a much more humane option than being trucked to sale and eventual slaughter en masse.

   And of course such lovely quiet cows don't have to become beef, they now enjoy the option of being pampered pets or grasseaters on small acreage- the best outcome of all!