Simplify Your Beef Purchase

A detailed "cut sheet" will be provided to guide the processing of your animal. This document will outline various options available for cutting and preparing the meat. Our team will thoroughly explain each choice, ensuring you understand how to customize the process to best suit your preferences and needs. We're here to help you make informed decisions every step of the way.

1. Initial Deposit: You need to pay a $650.00 non-refundable deposit to secure the beef. This payment is required upfront.

2. Post-Processing Payment: After the beef has been processed, the actual weight and therefore the final cost will be determined. 

3. Invoice and Payment Options: 

   • You will receive an invoice that includes:

     • The remaining balance due.

     • A link for online payment.

   • Alternatively, if you prefer, checks are also accepted for payment.

4. Payment Due Before Pickup/Delivery: 

19 to 20 Cu. freezer space is recommended

Not at this time. However you can find other families to split your beef with.

Beef must be picked up within 7 days of completion.

We offer delivery for $1.00 per mile.

Dexter cattle are considered a heritage breed. Here's why:

• Heritage Status: The term "heritage breed" refers to livestock breeds that were established before modern industrial agriculture. These breeds are typically adapted to local environments and often possess traits that make them more sustainable or resilient. The Dexter fits this description perfectly, being well-suited to pasture-based farming systems and requiring less feed than larger breeds.

• Origin: Dexter cattle originated in Ireland, where they were known for their small size and hardiness. They are one of the oldest breeds of cattle, with records dating back to the 1800s.

Our Dexter herd are all registered. Here’s why:

1. Breed Integrity and Genetic Diversity: Registration helps maintain the purity and standards of the Dexter breed. By documenting lineage, it ensures that breeders can track genetics, which is crucial for avoiding inbreeding and maintaining genetic diversity. MOST IMPORTANTLY, you know you are getting actual Dexter beef.

Beef Characteristics:

• . Taste and Texture: Dexter beef is often praised for its rich, beefy flavor. The meat has excellent marbling, which contributes to its tenderness and flavor. However, unlike traditional marbling where fat is distributed evenly, Dexter beef sometimes shows what's referred to as "spider-web" marbling, suggesting a more intricate fat distribution which might affect both flavor and tenderness uniquely.

• Health Benefits: Due to the breed's natural grazing habits, Dexter beef, when grass-fed, tends to have higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids and CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid), which might offer health benefits like reducing inflammation and supporting heart health. The meat is also leaner, which could appeal to health-conscious consumers looking for lower saturated fat content.

• Culinary Recognition: Chefs and food enthusiasts often seek Dexter beef for its unique attributes, leading to its recognition in culinary circles as a gourmet choice.

• Grass-Fed: This term indicates that our cattle have been fed a diet of 100% grass

• Grass-Finished: This means that our cattle have been fed only grass and forage from birth until slaughter. There is no grain or other supplements given, ensuring that the beef retains the flavors and nutritional profile associated with a diet of grass throughout the animal's life.

• Marbling and Texture: Grass-finished beef typically has less marbling (intramuscular fat) than grain-finished beef. This can affect the tenderness and juiciness, although Dexter beef is often noted for being tender despite less marbling due to its breed characteristics.

• Cost: Grass-fed and especially grass-finished beef can be more expensive due to slower growth rates of the animals on grass, higher land requirements, and often smaller-scale production.

• Flavor: Many people find that grass-finished beef has a richer, more complex flavor compared to grain-finished beef.

• Nutrition: Grass-finished beef often contains higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), and antioxidants like Vitamin E. It might also have lower levels of saturated fats depending on various factors.

• Environmental Impact: Grass-fed and grass-finished systems can be more sustainable if managed rotationally, promoting biodiversity, reducing soil erosion, and sequestering carbon.

• Animal Welfare: Allowing cattle to graze freely can be considered more humane, as it aligns with their natural behavior.

Rotational grazing, often referred to as managed grazing, is a system where livestock are moved through a series of pastures in a planned sequence. Here are several benefits associated with rotationally grazing beef cattle:

1. Improved Soil Health:

• Increased Organic Matter: Grazing followed by rest periods allows for better plant regrowth, which leads to more root biomass and organic matter in the soil.

• Soil Structure: Enhanced soil structure due to root systems and manure distribution, leading to better water infiltration and reduced erosion.

*2. Enhanced Biodiversity:

• Plant Diversity: Managed grazing can promote a more diverse plant ecosystem, as different plants have time to recover and thrive.

• Wildlife Habitat: Better ground cover and plant diversity can improve habitats for wildlife.

*3. Higher Forage Quality and Quantity:

• Selective Grazing: Animals tend to eat the most nutritious parts of plants first, leading to more uniform grazing and potentially higher quality forage over time.

• Regrowth: Allowing pastures to rest encourages plant regrowth which can be more nutritious.

*4. Economic Benefits:

• Sustainable Productivity: Can lead to consistent or increased beef production over time without depleting the land.

*5. Animal Health and Welfare:

• Nutrition: Cattle often have access to higher quality and more varied forage, which can improve their health and weight gain.

• Behavioral Health: Allows for more natural grazing behavior, which can reduce stress and improve overall welfare.

*6. Water Management:

• Water Retention: Improved soil health means better water retention, which can help during droughts and reduce runoff.

• Reduced Water Pollution: Proper management reduces the concentration of manure in any one area, potentially reducing nutrient runoff into water bodies.

*7. Carbon Sequestration:

• Soil Carbon: By promoting healthy soil ecosystems, rotational grazing can increase carbon sequestration

Feeding grain to cattle, particularly in the context of modern industrial agriculture, can be seen as unnatural for several reasons:

1. Evolutionary Diet: Cattle, like all ruminants, evolved to eat grass and other fibrous plants. Their digestive systems, including a complex stomach with multiple compartments (rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum), are designed to break down fibrous plant material through fermentation by microbes. This diet is low in energy but high in fiber, which is what these animals are adapted to.

2. Health Issues: When cattle are switched from their natural diet of grass to grains like corn or soy, it can lead to several health issues:

   • Acidosis: The high starch content in grains can cause a drop in the rumen's pH, leading to acidosis, which can be fatal if severe.

   • Liver Abscesses: High-grain diets increase the risk of liver abscesses.

   • Bloating: Rapid grain fermentation can produce excessive gas, leading to bloat, which can also be fatal.

   • Reduced Lifespan: The health issues associated with grain feeding can reduce the lifespan and overall health of the cattle.

3. Digestive Efficiency: Grains are more energy-dense but less fibrous than grass. While this can lead to faster weight gain, it's not what the cow's digestion is optimized for. The microbial flora in a cow's rumen changes when fed grains, which might not be as beneficial for the cow's overall digestive health as a grass-based diet.

4. Environmental Impact: Growing crops like corn for cattle feed involves extensive monoculture farming which has its own set of environmental issues, including soil degradation, water usage, and pesticide use. This contrasts with pasture-based systems which can be more sustainable if managed correctly.

5. Ethical and Natural Behavior: Cattle on grain diets often live in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) rather than on pasture. This restricts their natural behaviors like grazing, walking, and socializing in large open spaces, which many argue is more natural and humane for the animals.

6. Nutritional Quality of Meat: There's debate over whether grass-fed beef is nutritionally superior to grain-fed, but there are differences. Grass-fed beef tends to have higher levels of certain beneficial fats like Omega-3 and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), though it can be leaner with less marbling.

The argument that grain is an "unnatural" feed for cattle isn't just about what's natural in an evolutionary sense. It also encompasses considerations of animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and even human health outcomes from consuming the meat.

Worth mentioning: Cattle raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are often exposed to:

1-Growth Promotants: Hormone Implants: These are small pellets inserted under the skin that release hormones (like estrogen or testosterone) to increase growth rate and feed efficiency.

2- Beta-Agonists: Feed additives like ractopamine that affect muscle growth and reduce fat deposition, leading to leaner but heavier cattle.

3- Vaccinations: A growing list of vaccines are being administered.

Raising grass-fed, grass-finished cattle generally takes much longer than raising grain-fed cattle due to differences in growth rates and dietary impacts on weight gain. Here's a rough comparison:

• Grass-Fed, Grass-Finished Cattle:

  • Time to Finish: This method typically takes 24 to 36 months or even longer to bring the cattle to market weight.

  • Diet: These cattle graze on pastures for their entire lives, which means their growth is slower because grass has less energy density compared to grains.

• Grain-Fed Cattle:

  • Time to Finish: This method usually takes about 12 to 16 months.

  • Diet: After an initial period of grazing (often 6-12 months), these cattle are moved to feedlots where they are fed a diet high in grains like corn and soy, which promotes faster weight gain due to the higher energy content of the feed.

Reasons for the Difference:

• Nutritional Content: Grass is less calorie-dense than grain, leading to slower growth rates.

• Metabolic Differences: Cattle on grass tend to develop more slowly but often have leaner meat with different nutritional profiles, including higher levels of certain vitamins and healthier fats like omega-3 fatty acids.

• Management Practices: Grass-fed systems often rely on rotational grazing and pasture management, which can be less intensive but require more land and time.