Lowline, Dexter, Galloway?

[potomac]

I am moving to Virginia soon where I hope to have a very small acreage farm. I'm looking at 12-15 acres with at least ten acres in pasture. I want to raise beef cattle and while I am willing to try and want to try direct marketing, should that prove unsuccessful, I want a breed that I can still sell in a more conventional way. I want to start a breeding herd where my ultimate goal is to grow beyond the limits of my pasture necessitating either land leasing or another land only purchase. These animals will be grass fed and finished, moved daily or every other day, hopefully utilizing electric fence. So what breed? I have heard good things about Dexters though I'm a bit afraid of chondrodysplasia. Lowlines sound great, but I'm not sure if this is kind of a fad. I'm not interested in fast money, I'm looking for a long-term beef-based farm. Also, they seem pretty expensive to get into. Galloways sound good too. I've heard they are relatively docile, good gainers, and do very well on grass. I'm hoping to eventually build up a herd that can provide me with a livelihood. It doesn't have to be much, but something. Any ideas, either on these breeds or another I haven't yet discovered, would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[potomac]

I should have said that I am not at all opposed to larger breeds. I am just aware that there are a lot of limitations for the amount of initial pasture I am discussing. I have heard that some of these smaller breeds are more efficient converters which is my primary attraction. If you think I'd be better off with Red or Black Angus, I'm willing. Thanks.

 

[goodhors]

With the smaller animals, you have a shorter time before they reach market size. I did a Dexter last year, heifer on grass, who gained remarkably. I saw her steer friend, same age of one year, when I purchased her, and he was READY at the 12 month age. I bet he was over 700#. He was getting some grain daily, added the fat layer to tenderize meat in a carcass. Not much grain though, mostly hay and pasture to eat. Looked like a much older animal, big neck and all.

Guess the hormones or lack of, can make a bid difference in getting them market ready. Heifer was MUCH smaller, 300. Though by summer end in Sept, she was up to about 600# on pasture, using a handful of grain only to catch her for stalling at night. I have heard a lot about how nice the Dexter beef is, just haven't ever eaten any.

I sold the heifer, bred, so that was the end for me. I did like her smaller size. The registered Dexters have got the problem issues listed as carrier or not carrier, on the papers. Calves are DNA tested to be registered. Bulls have all that infomation available if you want to buy semen or a bull. The Association is quite upfront about breed issues, wants to let buyers have the information to use for their needs. If you have a long-legged animal (up to about 44"), you won't get the short legged ones if you don't breed to a carrier. Both sides have to have the gene to create the short legged cattle. You can also breed for any of the 3 colors, Black, Red, Dun. Reds seem to be a bit higher priced, just on color.

Dexters are coming along with some polled cattle in the breeding, otherwise you should plan to have calves dehorned for safety. My heifer was dehorned, no horns for us!!

Have to say the cuteness factor of small cattle is very appealing. Dexters seem to be excellent mothers, no one could tell of a female refusing a calf. Work with them, handle them, tie and pet them regularly, so being around them is easier for everyone. Starting as calves seems to work best, they stay tamer. Dealing with unhandled cattle who get loose, is a BAD thing. Better to rattle a bucket and they come RUNNING to you, because they KNOW you and then lead them home. I kept a bell on my heifer, let me know where she was all the time. Honestly, western cattle can hide behind a fencepost, so losing cattle is easy and you WON'T find them without a bunch of help.

Many of the Dexter folks sell the steers at about 600-700 pounds, because the animals are pretty done filling out by then. As mentioned, that can be a yearling or older, depending on quality of feed. Less time in owning them, so faster turnover for profit. If you are selling off the farm, smaller portions of half or quarters might be greatly appealing to smaller families too. With 2-3 members, they just don't need the big beef size portions when buying. Meat stays fresher with faster freezer turnover, no wasted stuff that gets old before you can eat it.

 

[Royd Wood]

Well as usual I will fly the flag for Galloways - check out my website for more info.
Our cattle are strictly grass fed only and take upto 26 / 28 months to finish for fantastic beef.
As goodhors says Dexters are worth considering as my neighbour gets really good results from them - also just grass fed.
Good luck with whatever you choose

 

[animalfarm]

I have galloways and black angus. The angus are almost 2x bigger then the galloway and the calves can be sold for meat at 18 months at about 600-900lbs (on the hoof) and will be fed through one winter. The galloways do better in the cold weather and require less shelter but need to be fed over 2 winters and will ave. 600-800lbs. (on the hoof) at 24-30 months. I am selecting my angus to finish on grass but they require more pasture then a galloway because of the size difference, so keeping the adults has a different economic picture then keeping the calves till butchering age.

So.... it becomes more complicated to figure out what is the right breed to raise.

Remember, wintering calves over 2 winters also means more hay needed and the $ earned per lb of beef stays almost the same for each situation. Also, the galloway (highlands, dexters ect..) will have to be direct marketed since they will have a greatly reduced value at the auction if you are forced to go that route for any reason. (they don't fit the conventional stock yard so they don't sell well) The angus can be direct marketed or sent to the auction.

Now the nice thing about both the angus and the galloway is that they are both naturally polled which means NO horns. If I had my druthers and was only raising beef for myself it would be galloway. Easy to care for with a minimum of facilities and my belties are just plain cute. They are also good mothers and non-aggressive when they have new-borns. The angus may or not stomp you into the mud if you even look in their babies direction and there are certain chores that need to be done with calves and not having to worry about getting injured can be a big +