A dual-purpose ‘poor man’s cow’ that has spread across the globe

Dexters were originally bred from Kerry and Mountain cattle in Tipperary by Christopher Dexter (17401801), and the breed has historically been known as the cottier’s cow or poor man’s cow.

They were easily kept on the acre of land which traditionally accompanied the cottier’s house and provided an abundance of rich milk as well as a calf each year.

They sometimes grazed the ‘long acre’ (roadside verge) in times when motorised traffic was limited and kept the fences trimmed, as they like a variety of vegetation.

For this reason Dexters are used for conservation grazing in the UK and now in many parts of Ireland.

Described as a dual-purpose cow, the Dexter is native to Ireland, and like the Irish is to be found throughout the world, as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya, Cuba, Argentina, Canada and the USA, as well as Italy, Belgium, Denmark and Germany.

Dexters have made a remarkable revival over the last 25-30 years, aided by their ability to adapt to varying and extreme climatic conditions and to different systems of management. They are hardy animals, easily kept and capable of being fattened on grass.

They have been making a comeback in Ireland as a beef breed. A small breed with plenty of milk lends to being good sucklers and because of their size they are not severe on land; they like the outdoors in winter and like a wide variety of vegetation.

The beef is marbled with a succulent taste and is high in CLAs, Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9.

In his encyclopaedia on cattle breeds in Ireland, Greg Walsh writes that Christopher Dexter worked in Dublin and farmed at Brannackstown, Co Kildare.

His sister Elizabeth married Thomas Ellard near Pallasgreen on the LimerickTipperary border, where he established the Newtown Dexter herd during the 1770s.

Christopher was originally a sheep farmer, and the first historical reference to the Dexter cattle was around 1845 when he is referred to as agent to Lord Hawarden at Dundrum House, Co Tipperary.

Sean Flannery, chairman of the Irish Dexter Breed Society, says: “The Dexter practically died out in this country and there was only a few of the native Irish breed left on farms in the Burren and West Cork.

“Apart from that they had to be re-introduced to this country from the breed in the UK, where they had been introduced from the Irish herd in the 1880s.”

In the early years they were registered with the Kerry breed in the same herd book in the UK. The Dexter split away from the Kerry around the early 1900s.

Sean adds: “From the UK they made their way to be established in several countries, while at the same time disappearing from Ireland.”

They were easily kept on the acre of land which traditionally accompanied the cottier’s house and provided an abundance of rich milk as well as a calf each year