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We are located in the Ozarks, near the southern
border of Missouri.....not far from the Arkansas border, 30 minutes from
Thayer, 40 minutes from West Plains, MO, and 2-1/2 hours from
Springfield, MO. |
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Our small, MAC FARMS leans towards independence, survivability, and
healthy living, so the Dexter cow was a natural choice for us when we
decided to expand our farm from heart healthy goat meat to include
heart healthy grass-fed beef. Because we did not have cattle
experience, the Dexter's known good nature, smaller size, hardiness,
fertility, and their efficient ability to convert their grass to meat
were the reasons we chose this breed. We have had Dexter's for three
years, now, and have also found out that the grass fed meat from a 10
month and a 2 year old Dexter were both so much more tasty, tender,
and red than the meat from an Angus/Herford cross steer that we grass
raised with the Dexter's. An added bonus for us is that the Dexter is
a dual meat/milking breed, so we are covered down the road should we
ever need to get our milk from them. I have read that a milking
Dexter cow can produce more milk per weight than any other breed. We
made a good choice choosing the Dexter as we have never had any
birthing problems or health issues, and have found ours to be docile
and easy to manage.
The smaller size of the Dexter per age is penalized at the standard
auctions where folks are usually buying young steers to feedlot or
grow out for later butcher; but the size is perfect for the personal
or the custom local consumer market that wants grass-fed and/or
organic beef delivered on the hoof to their butcher of choice. The
price, per pound, live weight will be as good or better than the
smaller animal would bring at the local auction.
Additionally, by keeping good stock there is a breeder market for
excess stock. Breeder market prices are affected by color, style
(long or short leg) genetic and polled factors. That is why we chose
our herd sire, PeeWee, who is a short-legged, tested ee Red, and
tested Chrondrodysplasia free; which means PeeWee can be bred to any
cow, even a carrier, without producing the chrondro factor caused
"bulldog" syndrome which causes the calf to die before or after
birth. The short leg style tends to produce more muscling (meat) per
live weight than the long leg, and red is the most popular color.
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